Life Wright Now | August 2024

August almost always turns out to be a grandparent-filled month! My parents tend to visit before my dad's school year starts, and then we fly to Connecticut for a grand finale of summer fun. This year was no different and we felt spoiled to pieces :) We got a night away plus a double date with Mr. Fleece's sister and her husband -- something that hadn't felt possible in past years. 

More Highlights:
- Hearing CCW say "for real life" and "trust me" when he's trying to convince me of something
- Hearing EDW say "How 'bout this?" when she's proposing an idea
- NLW's continual love for pool time
- Obsession with low tide
- My mom's excitement about the wooden troll sculptures
- Dogsitting Sadie
- Six-year-old's pirate themed birthday party 
- New bike for EDW

Two separate reptile guy presentations!! One for a birthday party and the other at our campground. 

Connecticut Trip -- So fun! We did our classic beach, pool, and boating outings and even made it to the Bronx Zoo! Other new activities included: making tie-dye shirts, kayaking with the twins, water tubing, and setting up the kids great-grandparent's pup tent, which was a favorite spot for EDW. 

Connecticut Vacation 2023

Connecticut Vacation 2022

Camping Trip -- wonderful and challenging.
We opted to stay only one night and come back early :) 

Watching | Butterfly in the Sky
I didn't watch a ton of Reading Rainbow growing up, but loved this documentary featuring the origin story of how it came to be. It was LeVar Burton's authenticity paired with the crew's intentionality that made the show so creative and fun. What a dream job!

Eating & Drinking | Vegan Chickpea Curry 
It's always a treat when Mr. Fleece gets excited about cooking something in the kitchen. He found this recipe and has been making it weekly. 

Reading | Come and Get It by Kiley Reid 
This book brought me back to freshman year and for that reason alone, I really liked it! I don't usually go for cringe-worthy stories and likely wouldn't have picked up the book based on the tagline "a fresh and intimate portrait of desire, consumption and reckless abandon, Come and Get It is a tension-filled story about money, indiscretion, and bad behavior." Because I loved her debut, Such a Fun Age, I was curious enough to pick this up and am glad I did. I found it entertaining and discussable -- not only the colorful characters and the themes of class/money/race, but because the storyline is quirky/unusual and the whole time you're wondering where is this story going. Curious to hear what others think of this one, as I imagine it could be polarizing. 

Listening | Thunder by Imagine Dragon 

We had three accounts of thunder in Seattle  and one evening of an extreme lightning show -- super rare for Seattle! This old song has been fitting a new hit for our family. What a great mood booster!

Dreaming of bigger things,

-SJW

Life Wright Now | July 2024

It feels like we fit three summers into the month of July in the best possible way :) I'm really happy with the pace and activity of summer fun with our three kids. We still try to keep our morning outing + lunch and quiet time at home + afternoon outing template which allows for a good balance of adventure and rest. They have been playing so well together lately, especially when outside, which has been extra fun to see! 

Recent Joys:
- EDW's nickname for CCW (first four letters of his name)
- NLW's current obsession with drawing marine animals
- EDW helping her brothers with chores
- CCW's "One Hug One Kiss" + "Bye, See ya!" at drop-offs
- The amount of entertainment scotch tape provides
- Celebrating our 12th wedding annivesray with a family trip to Hawaii
- Evening audiobook walks 
- A fab 4th of July
- Water play on hot days
- Rearranging our living room to set the "drafting table" in the corner for our trio of artists
- Hearing the kids say "Octonauts, to your stations!" 

Watching | Harris' speach to her campaign staff 
Joe Biden's decision to exit the presidential race still astonishes me. That someone with that much power would be humble enough to consider the bigger picture, set his ego aside, and do what he thinks will better serve our country. I'm excited about Kamala Harris and the new wave of energy going into the election season. Also enjoyed learning more about her career in this documentary from a few years ago -- hopeful she will topple Donald Trump come November!

Eating & Drinking | Otter on the Rocks 
Grabbed fun cocktails with out-of-town friends. They are some of our favorite people! 

Reading | They're Going to Love You by Meg Howrey 
Loved the writing, the sense of place, the perspective and storytelling, and strong Center Stage vibes :)

 

Listening | These Days by Rudimental 
This is the song I can't stop playing. Love the beat, danceability, and the sentiment of these lyrics -- 

I hope someday we'll sit down together
And laugh with each other 'bout these days, these days
All our troubles, we'll lay to rest, and
We'll wish we could come back to these days, these days

Think 'bout you like a past time,
-SJW