2017 in Review

I've been blogging on and off for almost 10 years, and this is the first time I've ever done a year-in-review post. Well, why now? Because even though we didn't do a whole lot last year, I've been taking more pictures lately, so I do have some nice ones to share.

In January, we spent a lot of time indoors and watching TV. Not my proudest mommy moments, but I was going through a rough transition two months into our move from sunny San Diego to cold, grey Seattle. (To be fair, I did take the kids to a museum or two.)

February and March saw us trying to make the most of our surroundings and exploring local parks and trails. Our favorite was visiting the winter garden at the Washington Park Arboretum.

In April, I took the kids back to San Diego for a much-needed visit (and to meet my new nephew!). Then in May, we took a weekend trip to Port Townsend to meet up with friends. Other than that, April and May were full of trips to local parks and beaches (including back to the Washinton Park Arboretum to see what it's like in spring as well as Golden Gardens and Discovery Park), weather permitting, or course. 

Then all of a sudden, summer arrived. Summer in Seattle is amazing, just beautiful. I have never appreciated summer so much in my entire life. We spent June, July, and August basically basking in the sun, enjoying cultural events and street fairs, and beachcombing. We squeezed in a quick weekend camping trip to Ocean Shores, attended a Festa Junina party at our dear friends' house, and at the end of August the whole family went back to San Diego to attend a quince años party.

I spent the majority of the month of September lamenting the end of summer, but we did enjoy a lovely visit from my mom and stepdad. We took them to the Washington Park Arboretum, the Ballard Locks and our local McMenamins, among other touristy things. 

In October, we celebrated Paloma's birthday, played tourists in Seattle some more, went to a pumpkin patch, and met up with friends at Cape Disappointment for yurt camping. 

In November, we started house-hunting but were feeling a bit discouraged by the crazy market here. Then in December, the stars aligned for us because we went into escrow on a house, celebrated Hunter's birthday, and visited my in-laws in Pennsylvania for Christmas. We started 2018 with a trip to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., and by the time we got back from our trip, we were officially homeowners. Here's to more adventures in 2018!