we-love-it-here-thank-you

a time bomb is about to go off, so i have to hurry. we just had the best weekend ever. anne took friday off, and we were so happy she could come adventure with us for the weekend. because since she's not a gym or woodshop teacher, it makes summer planning kind of difficult. first we went to tacoma, where auntie liz and uncle seamus live. adah loves them, and when we're at a portland pool and she is on a raft, she will

randomly say something like, "float me over to tacoma so i can be with seamus and liz!"

oh the camaraderie. here are some snippets:

the morning after we arrived, there was some nail painting, adah running around with the cats' nylon toy on her head, a visit to the zoo where there are puffins AND seahorses and camels to ride. don't tell PETA.

after THAT, we ate the best cupcakes in the entire world, and while adah slept, anne and i drove to seattle to stalk molly wizenberg of orangette fame, and to eat at her new restaurant delancey, which knocked our socks off. there is no other pizza after delancey.

next morning: bainbridge island, home of seamus' parents and lots of beauty. i have 30 pictures to post right here, because the aesthetics of the entire experience made every moment a delightful one. forgive the overwriting, but it's true. so many beautiful things. like my wife and kid:

and tree swings, and herbs growing in olive oil cans, and little pieces of art everywhere, and food growing, and fresh ice cream, and our rainbow dinner:

adah was strikingly comfortable there, which can be attributed to the gentleness and kindness of sue and thomas, our incredibly welcoming hosts, and their beautiful stretch of land she got to romp on.

here she is making everyone some carrot and lettuce soup after our walk to the beach for some impromptu tidepooling:

the fun continued, with homemade popsicles and a funny seamus accent:

and it didn't cease to continue because we then went to a wood-fired pizza party in the backyard of some seriously nice people, and this gave liz and adah some time to run and roll down hills:

uncaptured: seamus pretending to be a rhinoceros with adah on his back, and the ferry back-up and our arrival at home about 4 hours before anne had to leave for work the next morning.

the end. time bomb.