Blanket

END OF THE ROAD: This morning I threw a piece of history (and myself?) into the garbage. This piece of history is know as "The City Blanket."

It is/was a quilt (in the loosest sense of the word) I made for Rick and Kennedy when they were babies (in the mid to late 80s, OMG). I saw the roads and community panel at a fabric store and thought, "Oh wow, my boys might like driving their toy cars on this."

But a funny thing happened (or, rather, didn't happen). Rick and Kennedy never were into Hot Wheels type cars, so they never used the blanket as a plaything, though it might have kept them warm once in awhile. And I saved the blanket (for R&K's kids -ha ha) but it ended up being for their sibs. Go figure. And while CeeJ and Bee play with cars more than R&K ever did (thanks to the "Cars" movie franchise), they never played *with* the blanket. However, they did use the blanket nightly and, finally, after 20 years, its bottomside has shredded in several parts, revealing holes.

And so, this morning, 'round 6:10 a.m., when Annabelle complained of her foot getting caught in one of the blanket's (many) holes for not the first time, I figured enough is enough. While I'm sentimental and all, I'm also a pragmatist. This blanket had run its course. So, right now it's in our stinky garbage can. End of story.

SHUTTLE BY THE SYLLABLE: We did some math this morning (adding dollars and cents), and afterward I wanted to work a little writing and free thinking into our day. So, I asked the kids to write a haiku (5-7-5) about the space shuttle program.

Annabelle took about two minutes to come up with this -
Shuttle launch to space
Bird soaring with rocket fire
Coming back to home

CJ took about 15 minutes to come up with this -

I saw Atlantis
Shuttle had our Face in Space
It is over now

I have to tell you, his haiku bummed me out. Poor boy thinks the closest he'll ever get to space was uploading a digital mug shot. :( I reminded him that when we saw Buzz Aldrin, the astronaut predicted the 'barnstorming' days of spaceflight are just around the corner. Here's hoping that Aldrin is right.

Of course, I figured if my kids can write shuttle haiku, I should give it a go, too. Love it how their 6- and 8-year-old brains can spit one out in minutes. It took me about 5 hrs to come up with ...

More than cargo ships
Shuttles carried hopes and dreams
To the starry skies

LEGOMANIACS: As you have read here, CeeJ and Bee like their LEGOS. So it's no wonder that they have been pretty keen on the art car building that's going on to our south. Our neighbor's son is heading to Burning Man and he and a bunch of friends have pooled their resources to create this ...
The picture above is of the vehicle not 100 percent done, but as you can tell, it's a whole lot of fun looking. I told them I thought it would be fun to make a LEGO man pinata to go with their party on wheels. Stay tuned for further developments.

There and Back

SCARY STUFF: The kids have been asking for weeks (months?) to go see the "Goosebumps: The Science of Fear" exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. Today, we finally did just that.

On our way into the Science Center, we saw there was no line to ride the summertime-only bicycle that's on a track high above the fountains (usually*), so we made our way over there. The kids wanted to ride too, of course, but you have to be at least 100 pounds and they're nowhere near that.

BTW, the reason for the * with "usually" above is because the fountains and reflecting pools were all drained today (boo!) and workers were there, cutting through the concrete. Looks like a huge repair project underway.The kids also paused to pose with the Space Needle on their way in.
Inside the exhibit it was pretty dark - no doubt to advance the "Goosebumps" ambiance. First up were four displays about fears of various things, like insects.

Annabelle absolutely would NOT stick her hand into these boxes, where creepy crawly things may or not be waiting.Another booth featured a seat in front of a screen. You were to sit there, some soft music plays and then suddenly, "BAM!" - something sounding like a gunshot goes off. There is a camera recording your reaction to the noise and it replays in slow-mo. Pretty funny. Here's a before picture. Sadly, I didn't get a good one of the fright shot. :(There was one cool interactive display where the kids stood in a chamber and their shadows were on a screen in front of them. There was also the shadow of some big cat on the screen. If the cat spotted you, your shadow would turn pale. You were supposed to freeze then. If you didn't your shadow turned (blood) red and he came and ate you. Nice kitty.

We also stopped at a table where there was a display involving fear and brain signals, represented by dominoes on different paths. It was fun and our domino demo worked on the first try.

We enjoyed the exhibit and it was worth visiting, but overall I'd characterize it as too heavy on "watch this video" type of displays.

LEGOMANIA: The kids spent a couple hours playing LEGOs today. Here's one of CJ's constructs. He called it a battleship.
STORM TROOPERS: Tonight we went to Seattle Center for the second time today, this time for a WNBA game - Seattle Storm v. Tulsa Shock. It was good fun. We got to see some fundamentally sound basketball, which is entertaining, of course.And the Storm games have a ton of fun built in, from Doppler the mascot to the music/crowd rallying cries they plan during the whole game.The halftime entertainment was Vicci Martinez, who was a finalist on NBC's "The Voice." She's from Tacoma and MAN can she sing!In the fourth quarter, the Storm had their traditional conga line led by Doppler. CeeJ and Bee both ran down to the court to join in.Though we'd coached them ahead of time how to find the seats afterward, they both kinda panicked - Annabelle to the point of tears. :/ I think they'd do much better next time. ...

But all in all it was a great time. They have Fremont IPA on tap, a bottomless tub of popcorn for $6 and the Storm won handily.

I SEE CJ: I got a note this morning from a writer who used a mug shot of a very young CJ for an article she wrote about newborns' vision

Of Writing and Ribbons

WRITTEN UP: This, my friends, is the face of writer's block. More specifically, it's CJ's face while experiencing writer's block. Poor guy.

This torture happened when Annabelle instructed him to write an article for The Daily MPA, a newspaper she founded day before yesterday. In the initial edition, Annabelle wrote a story with a headline of "0 Hits in 1 Punch-Out!" The story read:

CJ, hardcore gamer, beats Don Fleming in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!

"The 2nd guy to fight is Don," says reporter Annabelle. "He's actually preety hard!"

Good-bye! No more news, here's proof

She drew an arrow and it pointed toward a blank page. :)

CJ, apparently inspired by the aroma still lingering in the kitchen, finally hit upon a headline of "My Mom's New Cookies!"

Breaking the rules of news reporting, he immediately went into first person:

My Mom's cookies are really good!!! I also like them better when they are complete.

My younger sister Annabelle thought they were peanut butter cookies.

And that's it for today's news! See some more news in some days! :)

In case you're wondering "complete" means he prefers the cooked cookies to the cookie dough.

GAG ME: CJ spent a good part of the afternoon being fooled by videos on DanBoe Gagfilms.com. On one level he totally KNOWS these videos are a joke (hence the name Gagfilms.com), but they're done so well and he wants them to be true, so he gets pulled in while watching.

A couple of his favorites today - an iPhone app to pop popcorn with the phone's screen and a short video about what to do with your old VCRs.

We also spent some time having fun taking The Stupidity Test. CJ was proud to report to me that's he's 0 percent stupid. That's my boy! :)

If you want to give it a go, point your browser here: http://www.thegamehomepage.com/play/the-stupidity-test/

ZEN STORY: Today's storytime was "Zen Ghosts" by Jon J Muth. It's a trippy book, starting out with a trio of human friends and their talking panda friend named Stillwater discussing Halloween costumes. After trick or treating, the groups wind up visiting Stillwater's house where another (or not) panda tells them a story about young lovers who are separated (or not) - it's a Zen story about duality, people's spirits - that sort of thing. The kids seemed to enjoy it, and CJ spent several minutes paging through it again when we were done.

EMP ERRAND: We had to swing by the Sci Fi Museum's gift shop today to pick up an item that shall remain nameless. Despite its garish exterior, I really do love that place. We parked a few blocks away from EMP so that we could score free parking. It also gave us a chance to enjoy the sights and sounds around Seattle Center, including this water walk near the Pacific Northwest Ballet Theater. And the kids always enjoy the mazes just west of EMP. Inside EMP, we hung out for awhile in front of the multi-story wall of sound and vision. Lots of visitors were sitting around watching the screen, but CeeJ and Bee saw fit to dance.
BACK IN THE SPANDEX: Annabelle had a ballet dance camp this afternoon, which she always enjoys immensely. The theme for today was "Wooden Shoes and Ribbons Too." When she emerged from class, Annabelle had a streamer in hand. She tried using it in the car, but I put the kibosh on that quickly. When we got home, she did some spinning in the front yard, though.I've been meaning to tell you, we got a letter a couple of weeks ago letting us know Annabelle's ballet teacher is retiring. :( So at the end of this month, she'll be a ballerina without a place to dance. We'll have to see what we can do to remedy that. Stay tuned.

Tuesday Review

ONCE IN AWHILE: I google my name to find out where some of my photos have been used. Recently, I found Bee transformed (lower righthand corner) into a fairy by someone. Interesting...

TRIO: With a due date at Seattle Public Library looming, we read three books this morning. As it turns out, I'm glad we head the deadline to force us to read 'em.First up was "John Muir and Stickeen." The book is subtitled, "An Ice Adventure with a No Good Dog." We read a picture book several months back on the same topic. Both were worthy of checking out. This telling mentioned it was based on Muir's journal entries (and included exerpts in the book), and gave a better detail of his relationship with the dog (Stickeen, named after a native tribe in Alaska). It was an inspiring story about man's best friend and the Sierrea Club founder, to be sure.

Next, the kids and I read "The Apollo 13 Misson: Surviving an Explosion in Space." If that doesn't get your attention, what will? Apollo 13 was supposed to be NASA's third trip to the moon. Instead, when an explosion happened shortly after the three astronauts reached orbit, it became about their survival. They had to live in a lunar module (undersized, under appointed) for four days before moving back to the command module for a dicey trip back to Earth. Compelling reading, to be sure.

Lastly, we read "Elizabeth Leads the Way." Why have I never heard about Elizabeth Cady Stanton before today? Susan B. Anthony has her dollar (which never remotely caught on). Here's a photo of Anthony (standing) and Cady (seated) , from 1900. The (Library of Congress) caption I read says they're looking at a breakfast menu. (?) I'm guessing it's not the Denny's Grand Slam.Awkward breakfast menu photos aside, it's clear to me today that without Elizabeth Cady Stanton's efforts, we girly types might not have been able to vote as "soon" as we did. Too bad Cady Stanton (1815-1902) didn't live to see her efforts pay off. She died 18 years before women finally won the right to vote.

A Bit Up I-5

MAKE A SPLASH: We had a quiet morning around the house cleaning, with a focus being on getting the various vintage gaming consoles detangled and in an orderly fashion.

About 1:30 we decided to head out on a field trip. We were going to go to the Bug Safari here in Seattle, but the sun was peaking out, so we thought we'd check out a waterpark a friend told us about, in Everett. It's part of 197 acre Forest Park.
Above, CJ tries some karate on the water. Not sure who won.
They tried to stop the spouting, to no avail. CJ liked the umbrella of water best.

It wasn't full on sunny, but in an hour of splashing the kids never did complain about being cold.

BARNSTORMING: Everett's Forest Park has a little petting zoo feature, Animal Farm. If you want to see it, you'd better hurry. Signs all over said it's closing on Aug. 14, and based on these goats' wardrobe, they're getting rid of the livestock. Annabelle made friends with a sheep named Elvis!
We saw some chubby bunnies, and they saw us, too.
There were also ducks, a couple of calves, some chickens, and some ponies.

CLAMBERING: After the farm, we headed back up toward the water park to check out the (darn big) adjacent playground, with an impressive amount of climbing structures. CJ has a proclivity for scaling things and then crossing them on the topside. He did it with everything there, I do believe.Annabelle enjoyed an iron train ... and a spinning thingee.
MAMA MIA: After our Everett excursion, we headed a bit west and southward toward Seattle. That route took us to Mukilteo, a lovely little town on the Sound. It also happens to be home to Diamond Knot Brewery. How convenient. When we arrived at the restaurant we learned it was both happy hour and kids eat free night. Double bonus.

The kids love the place because they get to design their own pizzas there. Here's Annabelle's before - she called it Pepperoni Smile ... And here's the after. She was very surprised to see that the pepperoni smile had sucked up into a pucker! Across the street from the pizza/beer place is a lovely new community center.

Adjacent to that is a large plaza with a great view of the Sound. Just a couple weeks back, we motored by on the Sound on our whale watching excursion.

We spied a marker next to the plaza. Apparently in this spot, a whole bunch of American Indians once signed away a whole bunch of land. I'm afraid it turned out not to be a very good deal for them. :/

From there, we made our way down to the Mukilteo waterfront. I was surprised to spy a lighthouse there. There was a thin strip of a sandy beach. And as if the beach wasn't enough - there was also a great playground there!ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT?: I just discovered this photo on my camera's card from last week, when we were at Gpa's birthday. When he spied a cookbook full of supposedly Elvis' favorite recipes, CJ insisted upon reading it. He fell asleep in the process, but the next morning asked me if we could make some of the recipes on Elvis' birthday. :)