Did I mention that I love summer?

I'm not sure if it's La Nina, global warming, or just good luck, but here in Seattle, the weather this summer has actually been... summery!

It's been hot and gorgeous. We have been getting weather that usually comes a week after the 4th of July weekend, for 4 weeks out of the year, if it ever comes at all. Skies are clear and blue. We can see Mt. Rainier daily.

There are always a lot of community festivals through out the summer in Seattle and the surrounding cities. Now that our daughter, Dahlia is 2 1/2, she gets up early and naps later in the day. We have until around 1pm to play. It's easy to take her to new places as long as there is a place for her to run around.

Yesterday, our early bird required attention at 6:30 am. We gave up on sleep, packed up our Ready-for-Anything toddler bag and headed to Pike Place Market. We were there so early that some of the vendors were still setting up. We wanted to skip the massive crowds, so we hit the important spots before her next diaper change and left downtown.

At Pike Place, we entered at the paper stand on the south end and made our way directly to the mini doughnuts. We bought a dozen, plain. They were soft, warm and deliciously greasy.

We meandered toward the famous flying fish mongers and watched as they scared tourists. I took some photos of B holding D as they looked at the fish.

Next, we put D on The Pig for a few pictures. She still had doughnut in her mouth, so it was somewhat of a failed attempt.

Next we took the obvious route through the market, buying veggies, two king crab legs for lunch (at home later) and a couple chunky sweaters for winter, despite it being 80 degrees by then.

We crossed the street and looped back by the original Starbucks. It was packed with mostly Asian tourists, so we skipped coffee for a block.

The smells from Le Panier sucked us into the French bread shop. We bought a couple croissants that were nowhere near my top two favorite croissants ever 1) Any croissant ever, in France and 2) Specialties Bakery in downtown Seattle and Bellevue. (When in doubt, add more butter!) Le Panier also supplied us with coffee. I had a mocha.

I pushed the stroller and my 30lb kid up a super steep block and back to the car we went. It was still only 10am.

So, we went over to Woodland Park Zoo. We left the stroller in the car and let D walk until she dropped. We saw a lot of monkeys, a few lions, an ostrich, some huge ostrich eggs, an elephant, bears, snakes and zebras. To be honest, I was pooped. I was ready for a nap. We made it through the labyrinth of pathways and found the exit. We were back home by 12:30 where I laid in the aforementioned sun while D napped upstairs.

Today, we got up early again and went to downtown Kirkland for breakfast. We walked through Peter Kirk Park to Park Lane where Kirkland Uncorked and the Classic Car Show were going strong. B decided to enter his BMW 2002 tii in next year's show. He's a perfectionist with that car, so we'll see how he does at getting it pristine enough to show.

Now, I'm sitting on our deck not working, like I'm supposed to be, and watching my sweet girl play in her mini swimming pool; an inflatable bathtub that I used to wash her, when she outgrew her infant bathtub. She's out here snacking and eating an Otter Pop. I can hear kids playing, a neighbor mowing the lawn and the lazy drone of an airplane; all memories of my childhood summers.

This week, we're driving to Eastern Washington to spend some time at Lake Chelan; another throwback to my childhood summers. D can't stop talking about sand castles, toys, swimming and cupcakes. It's her dada's birthday, so we're going to make cupcakes and decorate them.

It's not even August yet; there's plenty more summer to come.