Going Up!

SOCK IT TO ME: As I trudged up the stairs with some clean laundry from the basement, it occurred to me that the weight I was hefting was all the kids' clean clothes. And it occurred to me that while I made sure it got washed and dried, there is no reason on earth why they shouldn't help fold it and put it away.

So this morning we engaged in a "life skills" session. :)

Bee learned how to do a sock ball awhile back. Today, CeeJ got a lesson. Mercifully, he caught on rather quickly.

LAUNCH IT: A Kennedy Space Center Facebook post this morning let us know about a fun feature on NASA's Web site called "Launch It." It lets the user pick their type of space vehicle, their pilot, their cargo and then through the magic of the Intertubes, you get to see your mission carried out. Annabelle was so pleased with her result, she did a print screen and modified the "successful mission" notice to include her name. In pink.

GOLDEN AFTERNOON: Once Christian got back from the building dept. this morning (we're closing in on getting a permit for the addition), I told him we all needed to get out and enjoy what had become a sunny day.

We opted to go to Golden Gardens. The last couple times we've been there it was on the weekend for an event, and the place is packed like sardines and not a lot of fun. A Monday afternoon is a lot more leisurely there, to be sure.

The kids enjoyed splashing in the (small) waves, and digging in the sand.
However, the A#1 activity at this park for kids is playing in this small stream that leads to the Sound. Kids work (mostly together) trying to dam it up to prevent it from reaching the Sound, or digging channels, so that it can reach the Sound.

I was really appreciating how a dozen plus kids were all working (mostly) together, talking engineering (Dig there! Dam here!) Everything was super until a 9-ish year old boy arrived on the scene. From the get go, he seemed to be sans parent.

The first words out of this new kid's mouth were a nasty shout, and it only got worse. The poor kid was completely incapable of working in/with/around a group of other kids. :( And even though he was COMPLETELY belligerent, I immediately felt sorry for him. This poor kid was just so lacking in self control and social skills, and he had no one (um, hello! parent anywhere?) to help him navigate. The newcomer became increasingly belligerent, frazzled and soon thereafter, threatening. I heard him scream, "My dad will KILL you, capice?!" at a 5-year-old at one point. (Guess mob movies are big in their household?)

The kid spiraled more out of control/louder and in your face, bumping up against kids and throwing sand at them. Finally, after nearly an hour of it, a young, military haircut man appeared from the parking lot, calling to him. The kid ignored the man's calls and continued terrorizing other kids (throwing sand, posturing, threatening, etc.). As we packed up to leave the beach, the terrorist kid's dad(?) send his friend (also a military haircut) to the beach to retrieve the boy. As the kid leaves he turns back toward the group of 20 some kids from toddlers to 10 year olds, shakes his fists at them, puffs out his chest, sticks out his tongue and I hear him mutter, "SICK!"

Meanwhile, back on the beach, a spontaneous, loud CHEER goes up that the kid is leaving. :(

The whole thing was just so sad. I have no doubt that poor kid will be in jail before he's 18 without some SERIOUS intervention by someone, somewhere. Whoever that person is apparently isn't in his life at this point, however. The whole scene really put a damper on the sunny beach outing.

WEEKEND REWIND: When I got up Saturday morning, I had no idea how we'd be spending our day. Christian was headed I-5 southbound, to his 30th class reunion. But the kids and I had no plans.

I poked around on the Internet for awhile, and eventually wound up on the (Seattle) Museum of Flight's Facebook page. There, I saw a wall post of theirs noting they'd be at the Space Elevator Conference on Saturday, on the Microsoft campus. Um, HELLO, a SPACE ELEVATOR CONFERENCE, free and open to the public just a half hour from home? Yes, please!

So we struck out for Redmond. Traffic was a friggin' nightmare but it was worth it. There was a huge room there with hands on displays from Pacific Science Center, all space-related.

(Above), CJ loved playing with these atom-like toys.

The kids both spent about a half hour building robots which they wired to electric controllers and operated remotely.
They also both loved the display with different weighted softballs that illustrated the different gravitational pulls of three planets in our solar system.
At the door, we were greeted by a life(?) sized, fully operational R2-D2. It had spot on Star Wars sound effects, and even rolled around to the Cantina song. (I did not, however, see it project any Princess Leia holograms).
The kids loved the challenge of trying to pick up blocks with a robotic arm. They could control its shoulder, elbow and wrist. It was harder than you might think.
There were several floor puzzles, including a shuttle themed one they just had to work.
And they got to see a real live meteorite!
The kids also used rubber bands to try to replicate constellations.
There were also informative displays about various educational science programs and, of course, info about the Space Elevator!

We're in love with the idea of riding along a ribbon constructed of carbon nanotubes!

JUST SO YOU KNOW: "If I had a butler, I would treat him kindly," says CJ. "I would only ask him for things I really needed."