Hot & Sweaty

Did I get your attention?? Ok, so the title sounds a little ostentatious. But there's nothing crazy or inappropriate here, I promise, it's just a tad warm for us Seattle peeps. I've seen it happen the last few summers. As soon as the heat comes, everyone flocks to the store fighting over the last few fans on the shelves. It's not very often that it gets too terribly hot around here, so many homes/apartments do not have air conditioning. Luckily, my dad bought us a window A/C unit a few years ago when we lived in MT. (Thanks, Pops!) So, we dug it out of the garage and installed it today, since it was 80 degrees inside our house yesterday. The pups were not happy about that! They were panting and shedding heaps of hair at a time.   Today, they were much more content "chillin" inside until the sun started to set.

However, the little one and I were getting a bit stir crazy (the hubby went golfing with his buddies), so we ran to a few stores looking for a baby pool. Of course, everyone else had the same idea. The first store only had two pink Disney princess pools left. I almost bought one just so I didn't have to drive to another place, but I figured the hubby wouldn't be too thrilled about that. So, we checked out Target's inventory and I found the perfect blow up pool for $4.99. Score!!

Could I really get out of Target only spending $5?!? Ha ha! Yeah right! I then proceeded to browse the dishes section where I found these cute plates and place mats.

Then, I decided I needed a bottle of rum to make watermelon mojitos with the Costco watermelon I bought yesterday (best idea ever!). Oh, and some baby portabellas since the hubby wouldn't be home for dinner (silly guy hates mushrooms). Finn ate way too much watermelon as I was trying to keep him content while I fixed dinner. I melted some grass-fed butter and sautéed up the 'shrooms with garlic, thyme, and kale. When everything was nearly finished, I drizzled on a little homemade balsamic Dijon dressing and crumbled goat cheese over the top. It was superb! The little one must have agreed because he ate the majority of the dish. He is such a good eater. I know most toddlers go through a picky phase, but I am going to be truly devastated if/when this happens.

Sunday was another scorcher for us Seattle-ites, but we still spent almost the entire day outside and had sooo much fun! We stopped at Duke's Chowder House for a quick lunch. I had a salmon salad and the hubby had the scallop and bacon tacos. It was a little spendy, but everything was fresh and had tons of flavor. Then we were off to Greenlake where Finn played in the water for awhile before we were asked to leave if we didn't have a swim diaper, which we didn't. She told me I could ditch the diaper and just let him swim in his jean shorts. Really?!? I didn't feel like risking it, and we even managed to escape without a meltdown.

"Where are we goin' guys?" 

Playing in the water.

 We then made our way to a soft, grassy spot in the shade where we were entertained by people watching and our little guy's silly antics. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the park.  

I <3 his messy hair and dirty little face. 

I adore watching their relationship blossom.
Finn is becoming quite attached  to his daddy. 

Look at those yummy thighs!

Watching a group of frisbee-throwing hooligans

 Shortly after 4:00 that afternoon, we started walking to the zoo, since the concert doors opened at 5:00. As we slowly drudged along under the hot sun, it wasn't hard to convince the hubby to stop for ice cream. I chose one scoop of lemonade sorbet and one scoop of strawberry cheesecake ice cream. The hubby is a simple man and always gets vanilla, but apparently was feeling a bit wild this time and added a waffle cone. Finn was lucky enough to try all three kinds and, of course, we couldn't keep up with his demands. The concert lines were already lengthening considerably by the time we arrived to the zoo. However, my smart hubby grabbed his golf umbrella, so we got a nice reprieve from the sun's burning rays. Parker Millsap opened for Old Crow Medicine Show. The group has a bluesy, folksy vibe, but it's Millsap's gravelly voice that adds a unique richness to their melodies. Check out his song "Palisade" below:

 Old Crow Medicine Show took the stage around 6:45 and put on quite the show. Of course, they saved their most popular songs for their last few performances. Within the first couple notes of "Wagon Wheel" everyone was on their feet and soon the whole zoo was rockin' along. It was our first experience at Zoo Tunes, and it was such a positive one. Plus, it's kid friendly and was over by 9:00 - Important for us parents who have to wake up at 5:00 am the following morning. :)

The little one was such a trooper! He crawled around, threw popcorn, played with plastic cups, snacked, and drank lots of water. He loved dancing with us at the end of the concert, especially when Daddy started to throw him up in the air. His bedtime is typically between 8:00 and 8:30, but he was in such good spirits the entire show, and we nearly made it the whole way home before we heard any fussing. Such a good little guy. :)

Finn enjoying Zoo Tunes. 

These two cups kept him entertained for a long time. 

"Weee!" They love making Mama nervous. :) 

I hope everyone has a wonderful time celebrating Independence Day! We're off to MT for a family reunion. Wish us luck on our flight with a busy 13-month-old!