Connecticut Vacation | Summer 2025

Our trip to Connecticut was an absolute dream! We had 5 days to decompress, sleep in, and relax followed by five days with cousin shenanigans (i.e. five children under the age of 7). Basement fun with LEGO creations combined with beach days and boat outings made for a great closeout to our summer! The highlight this year was swimming in Mr. Frank's pool every afternoon. Eight days straight meant each of our children made huge progress with their swim skills. NLW started swimming without a life jacket and started touching the bottom of the pool. CCW is still in floaties but now happily jumps in from the side and is comfortable going underwater. And on the very last day, EDW still in floaties finally let go of the edge (haha!) and ventured into the center of the pool. Already excited for what next year will bring!

Childhood is the best,
- SJW

Life Wright Now | July & August 2025

For all the thought I put into planning our summer, it has still felt like the Wild West! No two weeks in a row have been the same, childcare hours have been trimmed, and I often find myself in a high-noon showdown with my children — quite literally :) As a personal pick-me-up, I'm showcasing the ways we struck gold — happy moments from our berry-picking, Rat-a-Tat Cat-playing, marble-run kind of summer.

Highlights:

- 4th of July festivities
- Port Angeles trip with friends
- Poppa cooking for us and his gourmet omelettes
- EDW losing her first tooth(!)
- listening to "Fantastic Mr. Fox" on repeat
- my newfound skill of googling "easy drawing [noun/animal]" and drawing free-hand
- celebrating the end of "Reptile" summer camp week with a zoo visit
- beautiful blooms
- discovering Chism Beach Park along Lake Washington
- so. many. popsicles.

Love my tiny band of outlaws,
-SJW

Bonus Vacation | Port Angeles

My updates are filled with pictures of grand adventures and charming kids—but they tend to leave out the low points: the whining, arguing, hitting, dragging of feet, crying, moping, teasing, making demands, copying, etc. It's almost guaranteed these reactions show up right before we leave the house or as soon as we return. I know kids struggle with transitions, but in the words of Scarlett O'Hara, "God's nightgown!"—does it have to feel so constant? 

Half the reason I post these blogs is to remind myself of the sweet, fun moments that make up for the noise, mess, and friction of daily life. It’s just so much more uplifting to capture this:

[photo of beaming woman carrying tray of delicious homemade blackberry ice cream with summery wildflowers in the background]

than this:
[photo of three hot, sweaty, and tired children, desperate to find shade, none too happy to be picking blackberries alongside the road in the blazing heat.]

But both are true. And both (I think) are worth remembering. The sweetness almost always comes with a bit of struggle. 

In the middle of a packed and stressful workweek, squeezing in a trip to the Olympic Peninsula didn’t make sense for our family. We were already stretched thin recovering from our previous trip, and timing a ferry and packing the whole house never bodes well for my nervous system. But a road trip out of the city alongside friends was exactly what we needed. I'm so glad we prioritized the change of scenery and time away. It didn't erase the hard parts of parenting—but it gave it acres of fresh air, breathing room, and extra sets of hands. 

Highlights:
- our friend’s beautiful five-bedroom childhood home outside of Port Angeles, featuring an idyllic yard and magnificent garden...peas! raspberries! lettuces! cherries!
- homemade pizza
- camping in the front yard
- cocktail hour with fizzy drinks + hot tub
- trying new water sports at Lake Crescent
- tide pooling at Salt Creek Recreation Area
- community pool day and jumping off the diving board :)
- watching kids on their bikes on the pump track
- kids playing with kids (pure magic)

We even got to spend the morning of our 13th wedding anniversary on top of Hurricane Ridge at Olympic National Park. Mr. Fleece just had to see a marmot! And we did!

If only we could learn to pack the day before we leave, 

-SJW