Day of Discoveries

SLIME TIME: Right after breakfast this morning, the kids were all over the slime that Annabelle brought home from a friend's house yesterday.

Actually, it was more stretchy than slimy today, which made it better to play with, really.

I got some mats out and gave them each a pizza cutter and they had fun pulling and cutting it.NO REPLY: This morning an ad for a Dora doll came on TV. That sent CJ into a bit of an anti-Dora rant. He doesn't like how Dora the Explorer will ask a question and then stare out into TV Land, waiting for viewers to answer her.

"It's stupid. They can't hear you," CJ he said. "It would be smarter (to talk to them) if they could hear you," he pointed out.

I must say, the boy has a point.

OUR COUNTRY 'TIS OF THEE: For some literature and history learnin' we turned to the (library) book "America The Beautiful" which came with an audio CD - which ended up being a bad thing.

The book's words are the poem by Katharine Lee Bates which was eventually paired with a tune called "Materna" by Samuel A. Ward, producing the familiar patriotic tune still sung today.

The paintings in the book, by artist Wendell Minor, are gorgeous. But the s-l-o-w narration of the book was, well, off-putting. Obviously the slow meter of reading was to allow the kids to enjoy the scenery in the illustrations, but it just came off as awkward. It probably didn't help that the language is super stilted compared to today's standard. (Example: "God mend thine every flaw, Confirm they soul in self control Thy liberty in law!" isn't the stuff most kids' books are made of.)

But it wasn't just the meter that was odd. It was the manner. For instance, at one point facing pages read "America!" and "America!" However, they were read as nearly a whisper, and not imploringly or all that urgently, in our humble opinions.

"It doesn't sound like they're using the exclamation points," CJ astutely observed.

Clearly, the book was a bit of a bust with us - all because of the distracting audio accompaniment. I think I'll read it with the kids in a few days and just talk about the message of the words and what's in Minor's pictures (there's a neat guide at the end of the book that has info about each scene).

Next up was the very entertaining "The Scrambled States of America" a book turned into an animated short by Scholastic. In the story (by Laurie Keller) all 50 states go to a party, and there, they decide to switch places so they can each see a new part of America. It didn't turn out too well. ...

With all the switcheroos, "They won't fit together, and, well, the United States wouldn't look good," said Annabelle.

And in their new places, "They ended up having stuff they did NOT want," CJ said of the states.

Also on the DVD was "This Land is Your Land." Written by Woody Guthrie and sung by his son Arlo, it was a fun tour of the county "from California, to the New York Islands." I was able to cajole the kids into singing along.

Third up was "The Star Spangled Banner," illustrated by Peter Spier and sung by the amazing Aretha Franklin. How could you not like that?

There were also a couple of bonus features on the DVD - two tall tales the kids are quite familiar with. Samuel L. Jackson narrated Julius Lester's version of John Henry (illustrations by Jerry Pinkney). And last but not least was Reeve Lindbergh's telling of "Johnny Appleseed" (illustrations by Kathy Jakobsen).

LOVELY LUNCHEON: Just after noon, we headed to one of our favorite outdoor spots - the Olympic Sculpture Park - to meet a friend passing through Seattle for lunch. We love going there - every time there's something new and interesting.

While we were waiting at the rendezvous spot, a couple of freight trains went by on the very nearby railroad tracks. The train was less than a stone's throw away, so we could really see the wheels in motion and feel its power.

Soon, our friend came and we headed up a couple of blocks to the building on site housing a small cafe, restrooms and a rotating art exhibit. We stood and pondered the current installation. On the wall was a very pop art (to my eye) piece. On the floor (you have to look closely in the photo) there were clear acrylic containers in which you were supposed to deposit any plastic caps you might have on you. Interesting.We wandered outside and showed our visitor some of the sculptures and crossed over to the portion of the park that has lots of chairs and a fan-freaking-tastic view of Puget Sound. There, we sat on the grass in the shade of a tree and used a chair as our table for lunch. Big People enjoyed sushi while the kids savored Mighty-O donuts scored in the cafe.

Afterward, we strolled around the sculpture park, and found one path down along the waterfront we'd never even explored before.

Soon, it was time to walk our friend to her car - several blocks to the south on Alaskan. On our way back to our car, instead of staying on the streetside sidewalks, we ventured out around the backsides of a couple of buildings, including Anthony's (restaurant) at Pier 66.

I really wanted to take the kids to get good look at the HUGE cruise ship docked out back. Man oh man, what a big boat!!!! It was like a small city back there, bustling with activity. We watched cranes load and unload cargo for awhile.
Right there on Pier 66 we also discovered a sweet little wading pond in the shape of a fish. The kids puddled about in it for awhile, and also played in a Saturn-esque, low-slung fountain right next to it.

We headed home and took Kirby for a walk, much to her relief (ha ha).

ANOTHER DISCOVERY:
Though we'd walked many blocks today already, when Christian got home, I was raring to go for a run. I was also itching for more adventure. For years now, I've known that somewhere in 330-some acre Discovery Park there's a children's playground, but in all our trips out there (it's less than 2 miles from our house), we'd yet to find it. I decided today was the day to right that wrong. After about 15 minutes of Internet research, I was able to find a map online that showed where the park was (on the park's east side, near 36th street, and behind the Visitor's Center). We loaded the kids and dog into the VW bus.

We parked in the Visitor's Center lot and followed the trail to the southeast of it. Truth be told, I was expecting some crappy, land-that-time forgot playground with a tire swing or two, but I figured we HAD to check it out. Almost immediately we passed a pair of tennis courts that looked brand spankin' new. Hmm. ... That was promising. ... And then we came upon the play area.

There were lots of swings of various sizes and styles, a nice sized play structure with a couple of slides, a suspended bridge and some swinging/hanging apparatus and wait, what's this, off to the side?

Christian saw it first.

"A zipline!" he announced. Woooooohoooo!

Oh, we had so much fun! The zipline was about 50 feet long, and just enough of a decline to it to give you a good rush. The kids probably went on it 20-plus times apiece, and yes, Christian and I both gave it a go, too. What a wonderful discovery and so close to home. We've been here a couple of YEARS now. I could just kick myself that we haven't been to this play area sooner. Not only are the zipline and play structure great, there's a great canopy of evergreens over it, making it wonderful for a sunny day, or a slightly drizzly day - I think the trees would keep you mostly dry.

Also, there's a natural amphitheater right next to the park, and some great grassy hills for rolling down. And those tennis courts, they were, in fact, brand spanking new. A sign on them said they'd just been resurfaced and are set to open tomorrow. There was also a full basketball court and a volleyball court right there.

Did I mention that on a sunny afternoon in August, we had the whole place to ourselves?

By the time it was time to leave, daredevils CJ and Annabelle were both doing the zip line standing up.

It was a good day. :)