Checking Up

DOGGY 'DO: One of the first things we did this morning was clean up Kirby's act. I decided that it was high time the kids get in on the action. I figured it's good for them to learn that if you have a pet, you have to take care of it - that's under the "life skills" category, I suppose.

Secondly, it's always good to learn a trade. Maybe one of them will become a professional dog groomer some day. ;)

CJ did most of the hosing duties. (And, remarkably, he kept all the water in the sink.) Annabelle helped with lathering Kirby up (with flea shampoo - tis the season).

Once Kirby was clean, it was time to get rid of some of her cloud of hair. I armed each of the kids with some round tipped scissors and they started snipping.

CJ lasted about two cuts. I don't think he liked the feel of the clingy wet dog hair. (Frankly, I don't either.) Annabelle hung in there, styling away.

Kirby was so patient. She's really such a good dog (when she's not being a bad dog).

I told CJ it was his turn next, that his bangs were way too long.

"Bangs? What bangs?" he asked.

So, CJ got a vocabulary lesson along with a trim.

OPEN WIDE: In preparation for the afternoon dentist appointment, I had the kids read "Open Wide" by Laurie Keller. Whimsical artwork in a dynamic layout, and the facts about dental health are presented in a captivating way. It had enough "silly quotient" to keep CJ turning the pages.

We checked it out at the library and it came with an audio CD which was also really well done. There were great sound effects, a multitude of talented voice actors and even an "Open Wide" anthem.

After reading, we also did some math worksheets - a mixture of addition and subtraction in columnar fashion. They both got 'em all right. Nice!

Before long, it was time to head up to the car and out to the dentist.

BUT FIRST: Since we were going to have to drive all the way through downtown and over to the Madrona neighborhood, on the western shore of Lake Washington, I thought we'd better make it worth our trip. So, I looked for parks near the kids' dentist and just because of its proximity (about 6 blocks from the dentist), from a Mapquest map, where it was just a green rectangle, I chose Powell Barnett Park. It was a good choice.

As we pulled up to it to park, we saw a huge boulder with an inscription that the park was the recipient of a Starbucks "Ultimate Park Makeover" grant. Score!

I think the park had more climbing/play structures than any other park we've been to in Seattle so far. There was a section for little ones that included a cute firetruck. There were two steering wheels so the kids competed for control over which direction they were heading.

The middle of the playground had this awesome climbing structure that looked a bit like the Eiffel Tower. It was made of steel cables covered in red rope. One of the great things about it was that because it was cables, it moved when you climbed on it - and when other kids were climbing on it. That made it even more challenging - and a little frightening for CJ and Annabelle. CJ thought he should tell the other kids to quit moving, so he could climb. I told him I didn't think that would go over too well. :)

There's even a great paved tricycle course, and the bathrooms are hidden in a circular castle facade. Oh, and as an added bonus, while the kids were playing, I watched a skirmish between a bald eagle and a crow.

The only bummer at the park was its wading pool was dry as the Sahara. Budget cuts.

Powell Barnett Park is named after the Leschi Improvement Council's organizer and first president.

PEARLY WHITES: The dental assistants were ready for CJ and Annabelle as soon as we arrived. They were in side-by-side chairs, and I hopped between the two stations. This office, Lakeview Kids Dentistry, is a place you'd LOVE to visit if you're a kid. I wish they took adult patients! Everyone is friendly, punctual and competent and they have the coolest toys and tools. :) The kids each had a flat screen on the ceiling above their chair, and the patients wear headphones to hear the audio (which is also great for blocking out those annoying dental tools' sounds). Annabelle watched a "Dora the Explorer" video. That kind of surprised me, because this morning when Annabelle got up, I turned on Dora for her and when the cartoon character implored watchers to "flap your arms as fast as you can," Bee mumbled, "Yeah, whatever," through a mouthful of Cocoa Puffs.

CJ opted for "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs." At one point during the session, I heard CJ protesting, so I hopped over to his chair to see if he had some kind of discomfort. Apparently he was troubled because the hygienist was blocking his view of the screen. Geesh! If only that were my biggest worry at the dentist.

Happily, the kids both got a "no cavities" report. Hooray!

CRASH LANDING: At one point today I heard a pretty loud crash from CJ's room. I haven't even taken my first step toward his door to go see what's up when he pops his head out and says, "I can explain that to you. I can fix it."

Nothing like being proactive, CJ. ;)

He'd been jumping around to a video and the reverberations had knocked a lightweight nightlight off the top of the TV in their room.

About two minutes later: Crash! followed quickly by CJ popping out to assure me, "I can explain this again!"

Whirlwind Thursday

"NON-TOXIC LOVE": That's the title Annabelle gave this little doodle she produced this morning.

AIR APPARENT: We have some library books we need to take back, so this morning we worked a short stack of 'em.

First, we read " I Fall Down," which was all about gravity. One of the things we learned is when you drop something, whether it's big or small, it falls at the same rate. For instance, if you drop and apple and a paperclip from the same height, they'll hit the ground at the same time. (The only exception would be if wind blew the lighter object, which could affect its touch down time.) The book pointed out if there's no air, gravity pulls everything at the same speed - a fact that was demonstrated by NASA astronauts on the moon.

That said, some things land with more force than others, because they are heavier. ("The bigger they are, the harder they fall" is true!)

"I Fall Down" is by Vicki Cobb, and part of a "Science Play" series.

Next, we read "Air Is Everywhere" by Melissa Stewart. We all loved this book because it was full of simple experiments to drive home the points it was making.

For instance, to demonstrate that you can't see or feel air, but it's there, we were instructed to tear up a sheet of paper, put it in a clear plastic bag, cinch up the top and blow in it with a straw. The kids enjoyed watching the paper particles dance.

Next, we did an experiment that clearly showed how air can take up space. We were instructed to shove a napkin in the bottom of a clear glass and then submerge the upside down glass in a sink full of water. When you remove the glass from the water (careful to keep it vertical in the process), you find the napkin is still dry! The air occupying the space kept the water from getting to it.

In that same sink full of water, we submerged the upside down glass and this time tipped it over while it was underwater. The result -burping air bubbles escaping from the glass.

The book also reminded us that the reason balloons filled with regular (exhaled) sink is because the balloon itself is heavier than the air.

We also did a fun experiment where the kids ran across the room and the force of the air held a piece of printer paper against their tummies. As the book says, "It doesn't fall because air holds it in place."

We even got to do a little art project while experimenting with air. The book told us to water down some paint and then blow through a straw to push it around on paper. Annabelle's work is called "Coral City."

CJ called his "The Aoesh Ship." "It's some kind of weird looking ship," he explains.

MORNING MOVIE: Instead of his usual sunrise cartoon session this morning, I fired up "King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters" for him.

It's a great documentary about high drama in the world of vintage arcade gamers seeking world records. The anti-hero is smug, smarmy Billy Mitchell of Florida, whose "records" are all set in private, and submitted by VHS. The people at Twin Galaxies fawn over Billy Mitchell, and are completely (and perhaps willingly) overwhelmed by Mitchell's superior social and manipulation skills.

Things get interesting when Steve Wiebe enters the scene. A middle school math teacher from Redmond, WA. Wiebe seems like a super nice guy, gifted intellectually, musically and athletically, but he's had to deal with a number of barriers and hardships in his life. Anyway, Wiebe breaks Billy's record and then all hell breaks out.

It's a great movie - suspense, drama, life lessons and some great vintage gaming all rolled into one. CJ was rapt the entire 1 hour and 23 minute run time.

CJ is looking forward to meeting Steve Wiebe this Saturday, at a public appearance/fund raiser .

IT'S CAPITOL: This afternoon we headed on over to Capitol Hill. just east of downtown Seattle. We checked out their library branch. It's small, funky, diverse and crowded - in other words a reflection of the neighborhood.

We found a dozen plus items for check out - mostly DVDs and books with accompanying audio CDs.

CJ, who is super intrigued by different versions of things, found two similar but different copies of Ten Apples Up on Top. He and Annabelle sat down and read them side by side. The words and drawings were all the same, but color was used differently in each book.

PLAY TIME: After the library, we went looking for a park or a school. We soon found Lowell Elementary's playground. There, they spent a good amount of time playing a chasing game on a bridge.

From there, it was on to Group Heath, which has this wonderful, enormous slide. It must 10-plus feet tall, and two-plus kids wide. So cool!

As an added bonus, the kids got to go to a THIRD play place - Cal Anderson Park.

There were some temporary art installations there. The kids' favorite was a crash-landed rocket. At first Christian and the kids thought it was just a sculpture, but lo and behold, there was apparently an astronaut inside!

Christian heard CJ talking to someone and went around the rocket to find CJ talking to someone "in" the rocket. There was a 5x7 video screen and a Web cam behind the panel. Next to it was a speaker and hole housing a microphone. All of this allowed CJ to converse with the Rocketman, whose face you could see in realtime on the screen. (Christian thinks it was a remote hookup to wherever it is that Rocketman works/lives.)

At one point CJ said something like, "You're not real," to which Rocketman asked, "What do you mean by 'real?' " CJ said he meant something here on earth. Rocketman said, "Well, I'm here on earth."

Quite curious what was inside the rocket, a couple of times CJ threatened, "I'm going to open the hatch."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that," Rocketman replied.

And CJ kept putting his finger over the lens. At that, the Rocketman would ask, "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Oh, sorry," mischievous CeeJ would reply.

Turns out the rocket installation is by Jason Puccinelli and part of MadArt Seattle, which supports emerging artists and brings art to lives in unexpected ways.

After the rocket talk, the kids explored the park's playground and got their feet wet in its water feature. LIVE, IN CONCERT!: Since most all of their big brothers' gigs are in a bar setting, Annabelle and CJ rarely get to see them jamming. However, tonight they, along with their friend Nick, played a one hour set at a church up on Phinney Ridge (it's where Nick goes to church). I must say, it was different seeing them play in a church. ...

CJ and Annabelle were good audience members, though CJ did have a habit of asking, "Was that the last song?" after every song. :0

Ballet and Baseball

MRS. ROBOTO: Above is a creation of Annabelle's from the PBS Kids Web site. "It has three heads, six arms and four legs and it was almost all gold," she says of it. The heads are topped with beehives "because I liked the bee hats," she explained.

To get to the robot building tool, you have to visit Word Girl's Web site, then click on Huggy's House of Fun, and then Tobey's Robot Workshop.

TAMBOURINE TIME: Annabelle sprang out of bed with more gusto than usual this morning. Her enthusiasm was due to her remembering that this morning she had a special dance camp, Tambourine Time.

Though it's the same teacher and the same place (the Magnolia Community Center) it's different than her regular lessons, in that there are more fun and games type activities as opposed to the more drill-like approach during standard lessons.

The teacher always has special dress up items for the kids, and a little takeaway gift (today it was a small tambourine-like instrument).

We dropped Bee off at 10:30, and CJ and I took Kirby for a stroll around the village, hitting the post office and a park along our way.

Soon, it was time to pick Ballerina Bee up. When we arrived, she was prancing about with ribbons and a tambourine to music from Swan Lake. She had a ball. And speaking of ball ...

MARINERS MATINEE: From ballet we went straight to the ball field for a 12:40 start of the Ms vs. the As.

Christian went down early and was able to find a parking spot without too much trouble. The kids and I were not early (due to ballet) and the only spots to be had anywhere near the stadium were $35 apiece. I wasn't going to pay that, no how, no way. Thanks to our cell phones, Christian and I were able to connect and he came and got the kids out of the car right by Safeco. Then I drove. And drove. And drove ... for about 10 minutes looking for a spot. Because it was a weekday afternoon, none of the local businesses were selling spots in their lots (instead reserving them for customers), and because of Mayor McCheese's full speed ahead on tearing down the viaduct (even though no replacement is in the works), thousands of former parking spots have been taken away, with no replacements.

I ended up parking about 12 blocks away, on the street. I was glad the kids weren't still with me - it was a bit of a hike. I didn't make it to the field until the second inning, and walked past many poor souls still in search of a parking spot.

It was a lovely day for a game - about 80 degrees and blue skies. We were in section 115, on the infield side of the right field foul pole - in Ichiro territory. Unfortunately, he's about the only one worth watching any more.ACTION!: CJ and I worked on verbs this morning. He had a worksheet where he was supposed to circle the 'action' word. He circled a noun or two initially, but got into the grove by the third worksheet. Annabelle worked on some descriptive word exercises this evening.

BEST BOOK EVER?: When we were at the Pacific Science Center last week, in their video game center, they had "High Score: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games." As soon as I saw it, I knew we had to get a copy.

It was in the mailbox today. Christmas in August!

CJ has been poring over it all evening. It's nearly 200 pages with tiny type, but I have a feeling he'll have it read cover to cover in no time at all.

Let's Play

Please note - In this a.m. performance (above), the part of Bunny is being played by Turtle

ANGRY: Via a Facebook post, I learned that anger is the topic of Brain Pop Jr's (free!) movie of the week. CJ had (very uncharacteristically) been a little snippy with Annabelle yesterday, so I thought we might as well avail ourselves to it.

The short video talked about why people get angry, how you can tell when others are angry, suggestions about what to do when you're angry or what to do when you've made someone else angry. Good life skills stuff, really.

Afterward, the kids had a blast completing the suggested accompany activity - writing a skit "where one person gets angry and deals with it in a healthy way. Then, act it out."

I had them choose one of the IKEA finger puppets strewn across my desk. Bee opted for a bunny, CJ a shark. Their play's setting, per the kids: "Bunny's house, during a sleepover. The shark is in his tank."

Here's the script they came up with, dictating it to me. (Annabelle scripted Bunny's lines, while CJ wrote for Shark).

Bunny: Where's my carrot sandwich?
Shark: Uh. That was good, what I ate.
Bunny: Did you eat my carrot sandwich?
Shark: Yes, I did. I'm sorry I ate your carrot sandwich.
Bunny: Yeah, but I'm still hungry.
Shark: Sorry about that. Um, I hope I can make this ... (slicing sounds)*.
Here it is - a carrot sandwich.
Bunny: Yeah! I love you!

*(Yes, CJ actually said "slicing sounds" parenthetically. Too funny!)

Tonight they performed it for Christian, complete with the new wooden "action!" board we scored at Value Village today for $2.

SHUTTLE SIGHTINGS: I keep forgetting to post about recent space shuttle sightings we've had. At Seafair this past weekend, the Museum of Flight had a booth. They're currently conducting a huge push to bring one of the retired shuttles here. In their booth, the kids got to 'ride' a shuttle. Perhaps a little overwhelming after having walked inside the real thing at Kennedy Space Center. ;)
And a couple of weekends ago, as we were driving on Mercer, we happened upon the lineup to the Seafair Torchlight Parade. Fortunately, when a light turned red on us, we found ourselves stopped next to the Museum of Flight's float - a space shuttle!

DOT DOT DOT: "What does three dots at the end of a sentence mean? CJ asked me this morning.

I told him it's kind of like a "to be continued," that there's more to the thought.

"Could it mean someone's worried?" he asked.

I told him it could. I then informed the kids that three dots used that way is called an ellipsis. "Kind of a weird word, isn't it?"I asked.

"You used alliteration!" Annabelle pointed out.

Ah, my little grammar geeks. :) STRINGING THEM ALONG: Another Value Village score today - a full set of real wood beads for stringing by Melissa & Doug, whose products are really great, but usually fairly spendy. In fact, I found our set on the M&D Web site. It retails for $16.99. We paid $2.99 - w00t!

The kids spent about an hour playing with the beads and strings. CJ fashioned a Mario vs. Wario design (careful to incorporate the characters' colors), and Bee worked on two projects. One that reads "Bee ♥♥♥♥♥♥s MOM" and another for a birthday gift. Plus, there are still lots of beads left over for future projects. We definitely got our $3worth out of the set! Oh, how we ♥♥♥♥♥♥ Value Village.

MULLING MILLIONS: This morning's reading was "How Much is a Million?" by David M. Schwartz. (Now that I think about it, it doubled as a math lesson, too!)

In its pages we learned that if we wanted to count to a million, it would take about 23 days. I asked the kids if they wanted to try it. They both declined.

We also learned that a bowl big enough to hold a million goldfish would be big enough to fit a whale in.

The book is a great example of how a non fiction book all about math and still manage to be very entertaining and engaging. I really think the more books like this kids see at an early age, the better.

KICK UP HER HEELS: Today at noon Seattle Parks & Recreation registration for fall classes opened. I was online, ready to commit. ;)

I signed Bee up for Pre-Ballet III, which she'll be doing Monday afternoons come September. I also signed her up for a several session long soccer workshop. In recent weeks, she has been asking to join a youth soccer or baseball team. I'm very glad she's interested in sports, but I have to admit, that given our schedule and her age (she's only 5), I'm not quite ready for once (or more) a week practices, plus a game every Saturday that signing up for a league very well could entail. So, our compromise is a once-weekly session (Thursday afternoons). According to the course description: Players will learn dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting, age-specific defense, etc. Fun skill games are played at every session, and every participant will have a ball at his or her feet. Small-sided soccer matches will be introduced gradually."

Sounds reasonable. Bee's got her pink shinguards (from a garage sale), so she's ready to go. It starts Nov. 18 (which sounds far away, but will be here before we know it).

CJ is choosing not to do soccer. Or ballet.

BATTY: For whatever reason, this afternoon Annabelle was wondering how bats eat. She wondered if they grabbed food with their "hands" at the end of their wings. I told her I thought not, but wanted to show her something more concrete.

For answers, we turned (of course) to the Internet. We found a video from Discovery New's "Why? Tell Me Why@" series about bats. We learned about their evolution and how some of their body parts work. For instance, that bats are related to lemurs, but somewhere along the line, their fingers fused and they developed wings. Bats use their thumbs to hang on to branches, where they live - they do NOT stand - they don't have the muscle structure for it. They have a special valve that stops the blood from flowing to their heads while they're hanging. Bats are the only mammal that takes to the sky on flapping wings. (Why I'd never realized that before, I'll never know.)

We also resourced Animal Planet's Web page on bats, which taught us about echolocation.

PARK PITSTOP: I promised the kids that today we could go to a park we'd never been to before. We wound up at Soundview Playfield, just west of the borderline between Ballard and Crown Hill. An expansive place covering 10.5 acres, there are multiple baseball and softball fields, and soccer and football fields.

There's also a play area that is probably a real gem in a summer with no budget cuts. You see, the large and lovely wading pool area was nothing but a sea of concrete. I'll bet it's a beauty and bustling when it's open - it's surrounded by several cool, mosaic covered columns and the park has lots of shade and places to picnic. (In checking the city's Web site, they only fill the wading pools when it's 70 and above. This afternoon was very sunny - clear blue skies - and 69 degrees.

The park's play structures aren't much to shout about. We only hung around about a half hour. Before we left, the kids rolled down a couple of hills. They are novices at hill rolling, and wound up going mostly sideways.

THE TRUTH HURTS: Today marked our second jaunt with training wheel-free kids out in the great wide open. We took the paved path down to Terminal 91 - on the south shore of Magnolia. The kids are embracing their new speed and freedom. We made the quickest trip down there we've made since the kids were in strollers - a long time ago. Christian and I were both winded at the turnaround point. ...

On the way back, Christian and Annabelle were in the lead, while I ran alongside (well, mostly behind) CJ. Sweet boy that he is, he kept looking back. I presumed he was checking on me to make sure he didn't get too far away from me. ...

Then, on about his 25th check he innocently says to me, "Why can't you keep up?"

In my head, my immediate response was, "Well, because I'm old, overweight, have a bad hip and a bleeding ulcer ..." However, what I said to CJ was, "Because you're so darn fast, CJ! Good job!"

And then I told him to ride on ahead. :)

Covering Lots of Ground

OFF WITH THEM!: This weekend we finally got around to something long-past due. We took the training wheels off the kids' bikes.

We could have and should have done this months ago - I really think the kids were ready for it long ago. However, CJ was balking Big Time at the idea, so we didn't push.

But now that they'd worn the tread off their wheels, there was no way I was buying more. And so out came the wrench.

For their maiden 2-wheeled voyage, we took the kids up to the baseball field a block from our house. I figured that would be good training grounds because it's flat, pretty wide open and a bit more forgiving than pavement.

First, we practiced the use-your-leg-as-a-kickstand exercise, which is necessary when you come to a stop. But before long, it was off to the races. The ballfield was a great place to practice because it gave the kids targets - ride to first. Stop, and use your leg/kickstand. Ride to second, repeat. And then the next go round it was "Go for a double!" and then a triple and then a home run (all the way around, without stopping).

There was only one oops on the day - CJ went down hard rounding first. He got a strawberry on his knee and wanted to quit, but, of course, we made him hop back on. We wanted to end on a positive note, not a fall.

This morning, we took our first run/ride on pavement. We chose to go along the south side of the ship canal (between the Ballard Bridge and just east of the Aurora Bridge), because it's a pretty wide trail, it's flat, and it's not heavily trafficked. It was a good choice - though Annabelle found this sign in the parking lot very unfriendly. She thought it was directed at people named Christian, like her dad and brother. ;) I explained to her it was probably someone mad at students from Seattle Pacific University, a nearby Christan institution.

We practically had the trail to ourselves and the kids had no trouble with the terrain. CJ's ride was perfect! Annabelle laid her bike down once, but it was a very controlled fall, really.
We got to see the Fremont bridge lift twice (coming and going) and some pretty spectacular boats (is a yacht a boat) today. We raced the most enormous one to Lake Washington - and won! (I guess that means we can run in excess of 7 knots!)

Speaking of running, Christian and I did have to actually RUN today. Now that the kids' training wheels are off, they're about 30 percent faster. Kirby's wiped out. :)

TALL TALE: Last week while perusing the Queen Anne Library shelves, I decided I wanted to do a unit about Tall Tales with the kids.

This morning, as an introduction, I had the kids complete a worksheet from Scholastic about Tall Tales. It had a nice, simple explanation of what one is: "a story about a superhuman hero. The story is funny because everything is exaggerated. That means it is much bigger and better than real life."

The worksheet had a passage about Paul Bunyan, and I had the kids raise their hand every time they heard an exaggeration. (Their arms got a workout!)

Next, we turned to a picture book "John Henry," by Julius Lester with pictures by Jerry Pinkney. After reading along with the book's audio CD (which was wonderfully narrated and had great sound effects), we talked about some of the exaggerations we heard in the book.

Then, we hopped on YouTube, where I found a wonderful episode about John Henry from Disney's American Legends series. Introduced by James Earl Jones, who told us the story was based on a real man, "one of the earliest African American role models." Henry's laboring in the Allegheny Mountains in the late 1800s, where he supposedly pit his own flesh against a modern machine, is the stuff of legends.

Also on YouTube, we also found this awesome version of Johnny Cash performing John Henry (at his Folsom Prison concert), as well as a bizarre-o animated version of a decidedly more modern day John Henry, done by some 5th graders.

The Three Rivers Travel Council has a nice, short article about John Henry, "Steel Drivin' Man - Man or Myth?" The story goes that Henry was born into slavery in Missouri in the 1840s and that he worked on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in Talcott, West Virginia, where the man vs. machine battle supposedly took place. Since 1972, the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Big Bend Tunnel for the C&O Railroad, a statue and memorial plaque stand along a highway south of Talcott as it crosses over the tunnel in which the epic competition may have taken place.

OUTTA THIS WORLD FIELD TRIP: Late this afternoon I had itchy feet to go somewhere. I immediately struck upon the idea of the Experience Music Project (EMP)/Sci Fi Museum. A few weeks back I scored a Groupon coupon for a greatly discounted membership there.

So today we claimed our membership, and boy was I glad we did. That place is just phenomenal. It's definitely somewhere you could spend hours on end (especially if you didn't have kids with you - ha!). We checked out the guitar lab where all sorts of rare specimens are on display. Some are cherished for who once held them, like this one Jimi Hendrix smashed on stage. Others were noteworthy due to their and and/or design innovations.

We spent some time in the music lab, where the kids enjoyed playing this fantastic interactive percussion machine. And we went into a sound booth for 10 minutes where the kids each had a keyboard to mess around with. They spent lots of time adjusting the tempos and sounds their instruments could produce. At one point I actually recognized something CJ was playing - with dramatic flair might I add. I asked, "That's a video game theme, isn't it?" I was right.
He said, "It's Zero 2's theme from Kirby 64."

Next, we wandered over to the super groovy Supremes special exhibit. There was display after display of Diana Ross and the Supremes' extravagant outfits. They were simply stunning. The designs were so extravagant and you could tell each one was handmade, with exquisite workmanship. Here's Annabelle, in front of her personal fave:

We marveled at how tiny those three people are/were. Seriously, I don't know a lot of 12 year old girls who would fit into any of their dresses.

Eventually we wound our way down to the basement, where the Science Fiction Museum is. The kids dug the Ninja Turtle and ET the most. Christian and I loved all of it.

Before we left, we gave them a few minutes to dance in front of the wall of sound and vision. Bee's a blur in the lower lefthand corner. ;)

A few more photos of our EMP excursion can be found here.

WEEKEND REWIND: With hydroplane races and air shows, this weekend was the pinnacle of Seafair. We got some free passes from a friend (saving us $50) for Sunday's festivities. We got to the west shore of Lake Washington by about 10:30. We immediately set up "camp" - a waterproof blanket and three boat cushions in the front "row" along the lakefront. Then, I held down fort while Christian took the kids to see the exhibits and attractions.

At the Boeing booth the kids got toy replicas of 787s and they got to learn about other Boeing projects, including the ScanEagle. Also in the Boeing booth, the kids got to operate LEGO robots. They had pre-programmed courses and the kids got to have their robot navigate through a course and pick up hoops. Christian talked to a Boeing rep about the FIRST program. The postcard he brought me says "FIRST is the only school sport where every student can go pro."

FIRST is a nonprofit that encourages students to find a passion for science, math and technology through team-based robotics contests. The rep asked Christian if the kids' school has a FIRST team and Christian told him about MPA. The rep said there is funding available to homeschool groups. Sounds like something we need to look into.

There was also a big LEGO/Duplo booth. There, Annabelle built a river monster and CJ played Thomas (the Tank Engine) tug o' war.

The trio also took advantage of the pit passes we had and went and checked out the hyrdos up close. They were able to get a good view of the hydros being moved around by cranes and checked out some guys working on a jet engine. Then they came back to our spot and we watched the air show. There were a couple of crazy biplanes doing cartwheels and somersaults and stalls over the lake. (The kids like the biplanes the most, I think.)

I loved watching the F-18 thundering overhead (I couldn't help but start to sing the "Top Gun" soundtrack in my head). When he'd nearly break the speed of sound, a halo would form around the jet's tail. It was freakin' awesome.

We also saw Fat Albert (the Navy's C-130), which was remarkably agile for such a big plane. Of course, what we were all waiting for was the Blue Angels.

They didn't disappoint.

Of course, we watched some hydroplane heats, too. The Oh Boy! Oberto boat won the championship.
It was a lot of fun - we sure appreciated the passes.