Happy Birthday, Leeloo!

Location: Mill Creek Trail, Mill Creek, WA – stolen Snohomish and Coast Salish land

Date: November 20th, 2018

Activity: Stroll and birthday party!

Since Leeloo is a rescue, we aren’t sure when she was born, so we decided to celebrate the day I brought her home, November 17th (she’s probably about three months older than this, but hey, who’s counting).

Tio Jamie came up to Bothell for Leeloo’s birthday festivities! I picked him up, we ran a couple of birthday-related errands, and then took the kids to their favourite store, Paddywack! As usual, I completely forgot to get any pictures of them while we were there. This place is really so great. When Sieh decided to crawl into a shelf and lounge on a bag of dry food, one of the employees commented that that’s exactly what Noodle used to do. It really touched my heart. We grabbed some birthday treats and toys, and headed out.

We then went in search of the woman-owned, pet-friendly comic store that a friend had told us about, only to find that it had closed its doors. That was a bummer, but we got the kids out on the Mill Creek trail, so they didn’t have time to be disappointed about not being able to explore another business.

The kids got to explore and jump around on some rocks,

Leeloo got to stalk some squirrels,

and they both checked out a wooded area.

They got to play for a while, and then we had to head back to their Gramma’s so we could get the party started!

We dropped the kids off, then headed to Central Market for supplies. Tio Jamie helped me buy Leeloo’s birthday steak (as a vegetarian, I’ve never bought meat before, so I needed help!), we grabbed a cake and some prosecco for the humans, then headed back and started decorating.

Thankfully by this time their Gramma was on hand to start cooking the steak (another thing I don’t know how to do, though I probably could have figured this one out, haha). The kids had several rounds of birthday steak (even Dewey got in on the steak action), and then it was time for cake and presents!

Lots of their friends came! Leeloo’s Very Good Friend Jackson came with his mom, Michelle, and our friend Haley, which is Leeloo’s dog friend Kai’s mom came too! We all sang to Leeloo, and then enjoyed our cake while she played and ate.

Leeloo got some fun Pusheen toys, and a BUNCH of treats. She got chicken jerky (and ate the entire bag when we weren’t looking!), more steak, and a really cute pupcake that we picked up while we were at Paddywack.

It was such a fun first birthday!

Chilly Visit to the Arboretum

Location: Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle, WA – Stolen Duwamish and Coast Salish land

Date: November 13th, 2018

Activity: Exploration stroll!

Tio Jamie came over and together we roused the kids and got them into their stroller, then we all rolled down the hill together.  Tio Jamie stopped to get a coffee (which was so poorly made he ended up having to throw it out) and while we were waiting, the kids and I ducked into the tiny dog grooming salon next door.  We found Sieh a super cute grey Seattle hoody, which I imagine Leeloo may end up borrowing too.

Leeloo was afraid of the traffic noise, so Sieh draped himself over top of her. He’s such a brave protector, taking care of his sister.

We started out at the south end of the arboretum, in the area with the trails where Sieh first really started trail-walking.  He’s such a competent walker now!

He yells when he wants out of the stroller, and then he’ll walk right by my side.

Leeloo went with tio Jamie,

and Sieh went with me.

We worked our way northward, taking breaks for exploration and rest.

So much is blooming, there are berries everywhere, and there are still some mushrooms to be found.

We hung out in the Winter Garden for a while, then headed back home.

Bonus pic of the Woodland Garden pond.  So different from just a couple of weeks ago!

Late Autumn Visit to Lorien

Location: Outskirts of Lorien

Date: November 5th-7th, 2018

Activity: Camping!

Ended up being a pretty uneventful camping trip due to the cold, but we had some fun anyway! Had to drive through some pretty foggy stretches to get out here! Especially since this is deer country, you really don’t want to be going too fast at night. There was also quite the obstacle course to get through the final 5 miles due to all of the downed trees. Consequently, we didn’t arrive until around 10:45pm, which is quite a bit later than our usual. The kids’ grandpa had arrived around 1pm, and had steak waiting for them. They love camping with Grandpa!

Getting camp set up didn’t take too long since I downsized a bit (no cot, no side table, etc), so we were in bed before midnight. Both kids wore their fleecy sweaters for warmth, which was plenty for Sieh. Leeloo is a lot more sensitive to the cold, so she slept in the sleeping bag with me (under a ton of extra blankets, it was chilly!)

Woke up at precisely 9am to two very hungry kids. Got their breakfast for them, then got the water heating for my tea, breakfast, and face washing. Ate breakfast, got cleaned up, and decided it was time to get the fire going.

Had just gotten the kids all kitted up and out for a walk when it started raining pretty steadily, so we had to postpone while we got a tarp over the fire. I always carry a very small, stinky, black-stained tarp for precisely this reason. I’d never put my nice tarp over a campfire, but a cheap blue one certainly does the trick! Should have done it earlier, but we were hopeful that the weather would remain fine.

Had a bit more tea while waiting for the fire to recover, then proceeded with the interrupted exploring. Sieh was feeling his tent time so I just took Leeloo instead of carrying him in the backpack and then switching them out. She mostly wanted to explore the road that runs by our site. It’s a source of endless fascination for her.

In spite of her cold, she had lots of fun running around!

We even got some jogging in!

She loves hanging out on the bridge, looking down at the raging waters below.

She rubbed against the bridge and got paint and green slime on her coat, officially breaking it in.

Sieh gets more and more confident on every adventure! He’s getting a very good sense of where the leash is, so now he feels more comfortable making leaps and bounding about.

He has to stop frequently to joyfully rub against things,

and tree climbing is high on his list of ‘things to do in the woods’.

He explored all over and then was very cross when it was time to head back to camp because it was getting dark.

Wow, the temperature got down to freezing our second night out! I finally had both kids in the sleeping bag with me! Leeloo had already burrowed in when Sieh came over and laid on top of us, and I could feel him shivering. I grabbed him and shoved him inside and he didn’t even shift around to get comfortable, he just feel right asleep all warm and happy. He finally learned the joy of camping snuggles!

Day two we didn’t do much, just took a short wander around the campsite, packed up, and shipped out. It was too cold to stay without a fire, and we burned all the wood the day before.

This place is so ridiculously beautiful.

Bonus mushrooms!

Autumnal Stroll Through the Arboretum

Location: Washington Park Arboretum

Date: October 30th, 2018

Activity: Stroll and exploration walk

The kids were being so lazy!

But we finally roused them, got them sweatered up, and in their stroller. It’s getting brisk outside! The weather held long enough for us to take the kids on a loop through the arboretum. We started out on the newer paved trail that runs down by the road. Sieh gave Leeloo a protective hug to make sure she felt secure.

We saw so many mushrooms! All different kinds!

We let the kids explore the pavilion at the Visitors’ Center, and they quickly found a little path that wrapped behind it.

There were spotted towhees hollering in the trees, and the kids found a little hollow full of bushtits. It was like a spectator event, with the little birds flying and hopping around inside! Both kids spent quite a while checking this out.

We saw more things blooming.

After checking this area out for a while longer, we finally got going to head back. We took the main gravel trail this time, through the winter garden, and emerged by the Woodland Garden. The kids had fun exploring the dock and around the pond (though they were strictly forbidden from jumping into the water!)

Tio Jamie has become Camp Like Noodle’s de facto PR person! Every time we were stopped by someone who was asking about the kids, he’d make sure to tell them about this website and blog! I really need to print up ‘business cards’ that have our info so we can hand them out when people are curious about cat adventuring.

We’ll have to make sure to come back when the Winter Garden is in full swing!

Trip to Doomed Country Village

Location: Country Village, Bothell, WA

Date: October 10th, 2018

Activity: Stroll, explore, and reminisce

Woke up with another yoga class taught by instructor Sieh.

He’s very talented.

Decided to take the kids to Country Village after I heard that rumours of it being bulldozed soon were true. It’s been talked about for quite a few years, but apparently by next May this place will be gone. I don’t really know how to explain what Country Village is, other than that it looks like a tiny country village and is populated with shops, etc. There’s also a pretty legit duck pond. Anyhow, this place holds a lot of happy childhood memories for me (and quite a few as an adult thanks to Keepsake Cottage Fabrics), so I’m seriously bummed that it’s all going to be gone soon.

There were lots of little human kids, so my kids mostly stayed in the stroller (Leeloo loves screamy grabby toddlers but Sieh is TERRIFIED of most children) while I took them around to see the sites. The did get to do some on foot exploring around the duck pond.

We started out at the duck pond, with its little dock and tiny boat shop.

Sieh was, of course, very interested in the bamboo growing alongside the pond.

We saw a chicken that was eating an ENORMOUS grub, and got to watch him clean his beak in the dirt after finishing his meal.

We showed up right at duck nap time.

I really recommend that you check out pictures of this place (I should have taken more scenery shots), or visit if you’re nearby. Many of the shops have already closed up but you can still wander the grounds, which are the best part to me. When it’s gone, it’s gone!

Sieh’s First Trip to Elliot Bay

Location: Centennial Park, Seattle

Date: October 9th, 2018

Activity: Stroll and Beach Exploration

Sieh got to visit Elliot Bay for the first time! Leeloo has been on the Centennial Park waterfront trail a few times, but now she got to go with her brother which was even more fun!

To get there, we rode on the bus, which was a first for the kids to do in the stroller.

Tio Jamie lives in Belltown, so we went to his place and waited outside for him to join us. While we were waiting, a nice person stopped to ask us about cat strollers, and it sounds like they’re going to get one for their cat! That’s a victory in our mission here at Camp Like Noodle!

We walked down to the waterfront trail, and headed for the beaches. Leeloo was afraid of the big freight trains, but Sieh was brave and let her hide behind him. We don’t know why Leeloo is so afraid of transportation, but suspect it may have to do with something that happened to her before she was rescued. We’ll definitely be working on it so that she doesn’t have to feel afraid!

Leeloo was still too nervous about the trains and other industrial sounds to enjoy the first beach that we got to, so she hung out in the stroller while Sieh explored. (I wish we had gotten a picture of the dogwalker who stopped and was absolutely ENTHRALLED by Leeloo. She even held her! We meet such nice people on our adventures.)

This seagull was hoping that the kids had some snacks to share. My kids are not the snack-sharing type.

The beach is extra fun with tio Jamie!

By the time we reached Leeloo’s favourite beach, we were far enough from the scary sounds for her to relax and really have a good time. She was so excited!

There were so many rocks to climb on,

and holes to investigate,

and sometimes you get told “no” and have to be grumpy about it.

Leeloo even managed to get stuck to the blackberries.

The sandy beach is so much fun!

After we played at the beach for a while, we headed up to the Belltown Mud Bay. The staff here are so friendly, and the kids had fun climbing around on stuff, and they even got some freeze-dried chicken.

All in all a very lovely afternoon out!

Long Day of Fun

Location: Canyon Park Petco, Paddywack, North Creek Trail, McCollum Park

Date: October 3rd, 2018

Activity: Strolling and exploring

Had a big day up near Gramma’s!

First we went to the big box store to check out all of the small and twitchies. While the fish and the birds were interesting, the guinea pig was the first prey animal to really captivate them. I had to keep reminding Leeloo to keep her feet off of the glass.

After that we drove to Paddywack (an independent pet supply store in Mill Creek) for some treats and a new leash for Sieh. Everyone at Paddywack is super friendly, and the kids always have a good time. Leeloo even met a puppy who has the same leg broken as she had when she was found. No pics of all of this because one mom to two kids is a tricky ratio.

After that fun we set off on an epic stroll along the North Creek Trail. The wetlands that we were at yesterday are actually part of the trail, but we were starting farther north than that. The kids made lots of people smile as they sat side by side in their stroller, taking in the fresh air and sights. I was mostly excited to get to take them into the wooded loop at McCollum park, something I couldn’t do with the old, smaller-wheeled stroller.

We unfortunately arrived at the same time as several schools’ worth of crosscountry students. They were walking the route that their race would take through the park and the woods, so we didn’t get to spend as much time poking around and exploring as I’d have liked. Sieh is very easily startled by people running or moving quickly if he feels exposed, so they mostly stayed in the stroller. They did get to play by the creek for a bit, though, and explored a short section of trail before we had to head back to Gramma’s.

I can’t wait to bring them back to explore here where there aren’t several hundred kids running around, haha.

First Visit to the Wetland!

Location: North Creek Park, North Creek Trail

Date: October 2nd, 2018

Activity: Exploration stroll

We started the day with a yoga class taught by instructor Sieh. Then, once we were all limbered up, we headed off to the wetland near the kids’ grandma’s house. I can’t believe I’ve never brought them here before!

It was very overcast, so there was hardly anyone else there.

The kids had never been on a floating boardwalk, either, and they were very surprised when it would move around!

Sieh, of course, was mostly concerned with how much grass he could eat,

while Leeloo wanted to stomp around off-road.

In his quest for more grass to stuff in his face, Sieh made a grave miscalculation. What he thought was solid ground was actually scummy marsh water with a thin layer of duckweed.

Thankfully both kids had on their fleece sweaters so they were good to keep exploring for a bit.

We stopped at a local pet supply store on the way back to pick up some shampoo and conditioner for my stinky kids, and then we headed home.

Once we got to Gramma’s, it was bathtime! I brought a space-heater into the bathroom, and filled the tub while the kids waited in the hallway in their carriers.

Sieh was very upset about his bath until I started his shampoo massage, and then he ended up liking it in spite of himself! He was very docile and let me give him a towel dry and snuggle.

Then it was time for some serious drying work with Leeloo’s help!

Until it was time for Leeloo’s bath! Leeloo enjoyed the sensation of floating in the water, but was not pleased by the shampoo massage or conditioner treatment.

Neither kid was feeling the blow-dryer, and since it was so warm in the bathroom from the space-heater, I let them air and tongue dry. I think once they get used to them, they’ll have fun with their baths. Now I get to enjoy their soft and lovely-smelling fur until the next time they decide to get mucky.

Stroll to the Owl Park with Special Guest: Gramma!

Date: September 19th, 2018

Location: Highlands Park, Mill Creek, WA, USA

Activity: Stroll to the park

A stroll with Gramma! Since she got them the new stroller, their grandma was eager to take them for a spin in it. The higher handle (we’re 5’9”, and it’s actually tall enough for us) and big bicycle-style wheels and tires really make this stroller a joy to handle.

We walked through Gramma’s neighbourhood and crossed over into the bougie Mill Creek Highlands neighbourhood, and headed for the owl park (there’s a big carving of an owl on a prominent stump). Gramma found a little tiny cedar grove that the kids enjoyed exploring!

Sieh worked on climbing trees,

while Leeloo stomped around in the underbrush,

and trees continue to be excellent scratching posts.

Gramma walked Leeloo,

and I walked Sieh,

and we all took a family selfie together.

An Evening Stroll Down 24th

Date: September 16th, 2018

Location: 24th Ave

Activity: A quick stroll

Second time using the brand new stroller that their Gramma got for them! The first time it was already dark and we walked to Volunteer Park to look at the Space Needle, so no good pics of that.

Wanted to get a quick walk in, so we bundled the kids up and headed out!

It was a little chilly!

The kids really wanted to get out and explore, but this was strictly a quick walk.