Seattle!

July 13 was my mother-in-law's 70th birthday. (We'll pause a minute while those of you that know her gasp in awe, since she looks about two decades younger than that.) We were unable to visit during her actual birthday (DAMN YOU COMICON) so her husband Jim hatched a belated birthday plan. 

 

Papa Jim leads his California brood to the car at the airport. 

 

This is pretty much my favorite view ever, and the fact that Oscar is tenderly holding The Goose's hand and keeping her from falling in the drink makes it even better. 

My WA/NY in-laws live on a landmark houseboat on Lake Union in Seattle, and sometimes in a swanky apartment in NYC. 

The entrance to their dock/co-op  is tucked behind an old old train track. You open some gates (with a "residents only" sign that everyone seems to ignore), head down some steps next to a brass water sculpture, and head down that gorgeous dock. Houseboat savvy means you don't peer into peoples' houses when you walk down the dock. But you can chat with them if they are outside or on the common dock. 

Gretta ("Grandma-Loretta") and Papa Jim (coined by a young Oscar) are wonderful hosts, doting grandparents, and canny and smart friends. When I first visited them for one of their legendary 4th of July parties in 1998 (as a mere girlfriend!) I was in awe of the beauty of their home, the lake, Seattle, and their hospitality. As if that wasn't charming enough, they were boatsitting a friend's tugboat, and Evan and I bunked on the tugboat, so we didn't have to stay together under their roof. Quel horreur!

Now we stay in a room upstairs, but I miss the tugboat. 

 

The Goose liked the electric boat they had on loan from another friend.

 

Oscar too. This particular boat had been unused for two years, so when we took it out for a test run, Papa Jim and I told Oscar that he might have to get out and swim back home for help if the boat conked out. This is Oscar's "I'm Not Entirely Sure You Are Kidding Me" look. 

Whenever Arlo gets crabby, we walk him up the dock to the train track. Woo-hoo!

 

 

 

 

The next morning I awoke to a line of matching bedheads watching Scooby Doo. 

   

 

We puttered about and hung around the dock. 

  

 

 

The Goose horses around the platform of the house. (Although it's called a houseboat, it's actually a small, charming cottage on a floating platform. Their dock is all floating homes but on the other side, it's all large sailboats, some of which are used as permanent residences. I like to imagine a bitter rivalry between the docks, including slingshot battles and sneaky pranks where the houses steal their boats' steps and the boats cut the moorings of the houses, but sadly, it only exists in my imagination.

 

Here's Ninja Oscar on the dock. You can see the bitter enemy sailboat dock (only in my mind) on the left. 

 

Goofing on the steps down to the dock. 

 

Standing on the sidewalk, looking out to the water. Gretta and Papa Jim's home is the last on the dock. 

I've been walking down to that deli a couple blocks down the lake for years. I used to go for cigarettes and booze. Then I went for diapers. Now I go for ice cream to placate my children.

 

We were taking a walk down the shore to the deli to get the kids some ice cream. This is the next dock of houseboats after my family's.   

We  took the kiddos to Fremont, the Center of the Universe.

 

Mmmm. Conveyer belt sushi. 

 

Udon noodles, sushi rice, and some dumplings. ON A CONVEYER BELT. Culinary heaven for our little guys.

 

The Goose is flanked by her back up brothers. 

 

"STOP! In the name of Bros.! Before you break my arm!

Think it o-wo-ver! Before our mama ki-ill-s you!"

 

 Of course, we went to Archie McPhee's. Their catalog has been a cult object since I was in college -- how happy am I that my in-laws live a couple miles from their home base? We go there every year and stock up on fake vomit and Jesus band-aids and punching nun puppets.

 

This trip, we convinced the kids to buy a Mystery Bag -- at least $95 worth of stuff for $22. I don't have pictures of the eventual contents, but we totally got $22 worth of entertainment and drama out of that bag. Plus we got some Tiki stuff for our friends' Tiki-warming next month!

Tuesday, Gretta and Papa Jim sensed that Evan and I might need a break from parenting three kids. They graciously took Oscar off for a haircut (we booked a family photography session on Thursday, and it was sorely overdue) and took The Goose along for good measure. They got Oscar an excellent haircut, took the kids out for lunch, and took them out the the locks to see the salmon jump.

Evan and I got this cuddlelump. 

 

At Duke's Chowder House, drawing his own iPhone. 

 

 

We took him downtown to check out a couple comic shops (well, I was at Nordstrom's The Rack sussing out color-coordinating accessories for our family photos) and the new downtown City Target.                    

We got home and remembered it was Tuesday. Tuesday on Lake Union is Duck Dodge. All the sailboats come out and race around the lake. I try and schedule my visits to watch the Duck Dodge.

 

 

 

The ducks on the lake are a constant fascination for the kids. Why wouldn't they be? At their grandparents' place, their front lawn is the lake. The ducks are like the tame squirrels that eat out of your hand in Griffith Park back home. 

 

 

The big boat in back of The Goose is from the Argosy fleet. They have a fleet of tour boats that sail by the house pretty much every 45 minutes.

 

Sometimes, you can hear the tour operator's voice from the boat.  "zzzz.zzzz. Sleepless in Seattle...zzz. movie...couple from New Jersey...married on the boat.zzzz." 

House rule on the houseboat: when you are on the back porch, and the tourist boats or Ducks or interested kayaks or paddleboards go by, you wave. We are really lucky to be here on this place that has so much pop culture history, and when folks go by and want a piece of it, you need to share it with a simple wave. It's a good house rule.  

 

 

It's easier if you have ice cream. 

 

 

 

 

 

Arlo peering out from the second floor window. 

 

That there's my man. I'm a lucky girl. 

 

 

 

Mugging with my sweetlings. 

   

 

 

Moon over Lake Union. How lucky are we to have family living in such great beauty?

The next morning we tried to tire out the kids at Green Lake.        

        

 

Thise merry-go-rounds don't exist anymore in New Jersey or California. Our kids adore it. The Goose took a giant header off it and, after a minute of cuddling and smooches from her mama and daddy, she was right back on it.

We went back home and saw some folks go by in the early evening in the Hot Tub Boat.

 

The Hot Tub Boats haven't been around for long. They are still in their beta phase. But it's no wonder that my in-laws booked them for our trip. 

 

The Goose is ready!

Those kids are ready! Papa Jim, sign the papers so they can dive in!

Oh man, that's better. 

Evan is not a hot tub guy. I am TOTALLY a hot tub + a boat girl. but I needed to stay dry so I could put the little guys to sleep so I could dive in.

We got the little guys down and I got to hang out in the hot tub boat with my darling niece, mother-in-law and step-father-in-law. The Hot Tub Boat doesn't bubble, but the bobble of the boat in the wake totally makes up for it. 

An awful, unflattering picture of my niece Kendall and I in the hot tub boat!