Summer in Seattle

Summer brought several new experiences for Cara. We did our best to ensure that she started her summer out right, with a trip to the Fremont Solsitice Festival. In good Seattle tradition we cycled there, with Cara in her trailer. To our delight we discovered that Cara actually likes wearing her bike helmet! We all had fun strolling
around the booths, watching jugglers and listening to the street musicians. Unfortunately we had to head home before the famed parade, so Cara could have her nap. And our departure was good timing; Cara fell asleep soon after we started cycling home. It was hard to comprehend that she could sleep with her head in the helmet, bouncing as we rode home, but she must have been a tired girl.



Part of the festival fun was that all the kids were given orange balloons. This was Cara's second balloon, and they both made big impressions. 'Balloon' was quickly added to Cara's growing vocabulary. Unfortunately balloons are very transitory playthings, quickly loosing their helium and deflating to nothing. But maybe that is part of their allure, that they never stick around long enough to become boring.


Warmer weather also meant more opportunities to play with water. Seattle is blessed with many wading pools, so when the weather cooperated, Cara had several opportunities to splash in the water. A trip to a park on Lake Washington was less successful than those to the wading pools, since Cara didn't really like the waves. She was, however, happy to visit the beaches on Puget Sound where the main focus was playing with the sand. And mom supplemented some of her outdoor water play with an occasional after meal splash. It's one way to make sure her hands get clean!