Christmas Eve Eve

SCOOT: Since today wasn't freezing or raining, I felt it important that we get out into the fresh air. So, we spent well over an hour at the neighborhood park. The kids were both itching to ride their scooters, so we trudged up the hill with them.

When we got there, a brother and sister duo a couple years older than CeeJ and Bee were there. The four fell into playing immediately. I mostly tried to be invisible (not an easy task with Kirby in tow). It was a good hour plus of physical and social play.

WTH?:  While the kids were roping 'round the park, Kirby and I found dozens of daisies blooming. It's December. Winter. In Seattle. That is just not right.

EXPLOSIVE: We received a box from Nonnie and Bops chock full 'o Xmas goodies. We tucked the presents under our tree but couldn't help ourselves and set about setting off all of the explosives. We do love the smell of gunpowder!!!

Below, Bee models the streamers that came out of the party crackers.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: This morning, we watched Soyuz 30 dock with the International Space Station flawlessly. Suddenly, the ISS's population doubled - from 3 to 6. Meanwhile, back on Earth, another Soyuz rocket (carrying communications satellites) blasted off - and failed miserably, its pieces falling back to Earth. :/ Makes me extra thankful the Soyuz carrying the astronauts succeeded. And it makes me feel extra chagrined that we have no other way to get our astronauts to orbit other than our Russian comrades aboard Soyuz spacecraft. :/ 

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: Tonight we watched with great interest NORAD's Santa countdown. Though Christmas Day is still a ways away by our clock, NORAD made it clear that St. Nick would be taking off just 50 minutes after the kids went to bed tonight. Sweet!

TWEET!: This morning as I was checking into Twitter, I saw a post from @GarlicJims offering a free pizza to the first five people who replied to a certain email address. I pounced on it (of course) and we got a free pizza. Sweet!

Jump for Joy

GREEN SEEN: In our travels, CJ spends a lot of time looking down. Because that's the case, he's often finding treasures on the ground other people miss (money, hair clips, rubber bands, jewelry, etc.) Yesterday, at the park, he found what he was sure was a baby four leaf clover.

PLAYTIME: We did math today (addition and subtraction story problems with numbers in the thousands), read some, and did some writing, but the kids' A#1 activity was attending their yoga friend's birthday party at KidzBounce. It was a bit of a haul getting there (six miles east of Issaquah), but it was worth it once we were there.

It's a nice facility, with a good mix of inflatables. The kids spent nearly two full hours jumping, climbing, bouncing and running.

BLOCKHEADS: We had fun taking the "Pixel Challenge" on Yahoo! Games' Brain Games. According to Dr. Pawan Sinha of MIT, 75 percent of his test subjects could recognize faces with only 12x14 pixels' worth of information. Interesting. Apparently humans' holistic approach to viewing is the key.

GEEK SPEAK: I played a NASA audio describing a special mission for the kids today and asked them who or what the NASA announcer was talking about. I had to play it twice before Bee finally got it.

TRACKING: We finally checked in with NORAD today. HQed in Colorado Springs, the bi-national U.S.-Canadian military organization is responsible for the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada. Important work, but I have to think they're most famous for being the preeminent Santa tracking agency.

The kids each played around in NORAD's Kids' Countdown Village, where they solved word puzzles, had virtual snowball fights, checked out Santa's sled specs and much more. Good times!

SANTA'S LITTLE DETOUR: Ever wonder how Santa makes it all his deliveries in one night? NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have your answer: Santa's Little Detour. 

After watching how fast the ISS streaked across the sky directly over our house at 5:21 this evening, I'm a believer!

Twister!

MORNING MOVIE: Yesterday evening I received an email from Pacific Science Theater announcing the grand re-opening of of a movie theater onsite. To celebrate the improvement, we were offered free tickets to a show today. Well you know us - free = yes please!

We showed up at 10:30 for the 10:45 movie. I knew where the old theater was and so that's where we reported. However, we had to walk over and around CAUTION tape to get there and we were The Only People in "line." The doors were shut and there were ZERO signs indicating anything about any movie whatsoever. It made me wonder if we were in the right place,  of course. So, I whipped out my cell phone and actually called guest services. Unfortunately, the man who fielded my call was rather rude. When I asked where the movie was showing, the smart a$$ said, "At Pacific Science Center." Well no $h*& Sherlock. I told him we were standing there, outside the old Eames Theater, freezing, and it was a ghost town with no signs or signs of life. He said we were in the right place. Super.

Fortunately, about five minutes after his "help" an usher came out and welcomed us, saying we were the very first people in the brand new theater.

We were SO happily surprised upon walking in. Last time we'd been there it was for a Lewis & Clark movie and the space, though functional, was hardly inviting. But the new and VASTLY improved PACCAR IMAX Theater is lovely. The sound and visuals were fantastic and the seats, with a mid century modern upholstery and wooden arms, were beautiful and comfortable.

Just moments after we sat down, the usher came over with free T-shirts for the kids for being early birds. Sweet!

The movie,  "Tornado Alley," was thrilling and super educational. I was happy with how much focus there was on the science of storm chasing.

When we got home, Bee promptly set about making her own tornado chasing vehicle out of LEGOs. She invested a fair amount of time on it, and had interesting things to say about her different design elements.

STATION TO STATION: After the movie, we made our way to the Center House. With blue skies overhead, we stopped along the way for a Space Needle photo opp. Can you find CeeJ and Bee mixed in with the mosaic/mural?

The draw in the Center House was the annual model train display. This year didn't disappoint.

DRAWING BOARD: Not surprisingly, we had our eyes on NASA goings on today. We watched a replay of the early morning launch of a Soyuz rocket carrying a Russian, an American (from Silverton, Ore.)  and a Ductchman, ISS bound. We checked out cool photos of the surface of asteroid Vesta compliments of . We checked out the parachute landing tests for the future Orion capsule.  

And last, but not least, the kids took a crack at drawing the Space Shuttle. A few of my space geek friends had posted a link to cartoonist Shoo Raynor's tutorial on the topic. I cautioned the kids going in that this was not going to be the typical Activitytv.tv cartooning lesson. This drawing was a lot more complicated and realistic. That said, the kids were troupers.

They watched and listened carefully and were pretty darn proud of their results. Here's CJ's rendition: 

 

and Annabelle's:

WE SEE THE LIGHT: Thanks to an automated Tweet from Twisst ISS alerts, we learned the International Space Station would be passing overhead at 4:42 p.m., rising from the southwest. We drove to the top of our hill and parked at Ella Bailey Park at 4:40 p.m. and started scanning the skies. It was dusk. We weren't there 30 seconds when a young girl started calling, "Hellooooo! Helloooo!" in our direction.

Turned out it was a friend of the kids'.

CJ called back her direction, "Hi! We'd love to play with you, but we're here to spot the International Space Station!"

Happily, that got their friend's attention. She came running over and together we scanned the skies. Problem was, just to the south of us was Seatac airport, so there were LOTS of points of light rising from our south. It got to be 4:44 and I feared we missed it when Annabelle cried out, "There it is!!!!"

Sure 'nuff, she was right. The ISS was blazing a slow, steady, bright path across the sky from southwest to northeast. It was a gloriously long flyover - several minutes. We watched it head over Magnolia, Interbay, Queen Anne, Fremont, and far, far beyond. It was great to be able to see it for ourselves, but the fact that we were at a park at the time meant everyone there overheard us and spotted it, as well.

It was neat to be able to share that the ISS has been in orbit longer than all the kids there at the park have been alive, and that just this morning, three astronauts lifted off from Russia, headed for the ISS.

How I love spreading the NASA news. :) It's amazing how much excitement a little squiggle of light can generate.

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS:  If you haven't seen the movie mentioned just preceding (a frequent 'star' on the list of worst movies ever made, starring a very young Pia Zadora, might I add), my advice to you would be to keep the course. That said, I couldn't help think of it when we watched a video (featuring real footage from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and 100 percent Pia Zadora free) from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Fortunately, JPL's "Sleigh Ride over Mars" is a million light years better!

Games People Play

TWO THE TEST: Last week, we were called by the Playtest folks at Microsoft about a partnered play test. CJ and Annabelle were happy to answer the call, so this morning, we visited the Microsoft campus and for an hour the kids did as directed.

I would love to tell you more, but I absolutely can't (as usual). We all signed non-disclosure agreements and intend to honor them. :) 

Even though the PlayTest is a rewarding experience in and of itself, Microsoft is generous with gratuities. We call came away very happy. :) You can sign up for Playtesting at www.microsoftcom/playtest.

HOT DOG: As we made our way from the shadow of the Space Needle to Redmond, we were on the bumper of the biggest bun I've ever seen. It was the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile.

I had fun watching other people doing double takes when they spotted it.

One of the things we wondered while following the Wiener was if there was more than one like it. I found our answer on Twitter tonight, via Wienermobile Tweets. Turns out there are at least five mobiles:  IWSHIWR (which is the one we saw), LTLLINK, WNR MBLE, RELSHME and YUMMY. There may be a sixth, but I can't tell if KETCHUP is a vehicle and/or just a play on words.

THE WRIGHT STUFF: When it comes to photographs of aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright, you'll see lots of photos like this - a snapshot of their very first flight, covering 120 feet in 12 seconds, at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903, at 10:35 in the morning.

As historic as the photo above is, it's the photo below that really strikes me. Titled "Crumpled," it's part of the Library of Congress' Wright Bros. collection.

I had the kids look at both photos and we speculated about how the Wright Bros. might have felt when "Crumpled" was taken and asked them to write a few sentences about it. Upon reading them, you'd think that they were sitting next to each other conversing while writing. ...

CJ wrote: "I feel bad for the Wright Brothers when I see 'Crumpled.' I think the Wright Brothers got hurt when I saw 'Crumpled.' I think the Wright Brothers where sad when I saw 'Crumpled.' "

Annabelle wrote, "When I see Crumpled I feel sad for the Wright Brothers. When I think of Crumpled I think that they felt sad. When I see crumpled I think one of them got hurt! I think that when Crumpled happened, it was loud!"

After they wrote, we talked about how oftentimes failures lead to successes. Following the Wright Bros.' triumph on Dec. 17, the Library of Congress notes "An excited Orville sent a telegram to his father from Kitty Hawk asking him to inform the press, ending his telegram 'home Christmas.' Perhaps their earlier failures paved the way to success and added sparkle to their holiday celebrations at home."

Then, we poked around "The Inventive Wright Brothers" info on the Library of Congress site, which reminds me, I don't think I've mentioned it lately, but I really love, Love, LOVE the Library of Congress' "Teaching with Primary Sources" resources. As I sit here wearing my Evergreen State College sweatshirt, without a doubt one of the most valuable things I learned at my alma mater was the value of using source documents whenever possible (as compared to a text or other book that is someone else's retelling or representation of events). Through Teaching with Primary Sources, the University of North Carolina is "Bringing the World's Largest Library to K-12 Classrooms."

We also hopped over to The Discovery Channel's pages about the Wright Brothers. There, we found computer animations of the brothers' four flights on Dec. 17, and took a 3-D tour of the Wright Flyer.

CLOWNING AROUND: This is a leftover shot from yesterday, at Pike Place Market. On the lower level, near the magic shop, there's a mural wall featuring oddities - including "a real clown shoe." CJ gave the big floppy thing a quick once over. I kept my distance.



City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks

SEATTLEITES: This morning we signed papers to refinance our home (without ever leaving home, which was sweet). And we did math, and a writing assignment. After that, it was a field trip into the heart of the Emerald City. First stop, Pike Place Market!

We just don't spend nearly enough time at the Market. It's so close to home, so colorful and SO Seattle. Today it was overrun with holiday shoppers and holiday season tourists, but we managed to make our way around the place, dodging flying Sockeye salmon.

Today, especially as we wound around the produce booths, I thought of my paternal grandma. She'd bring us down to the market, and as a kid I remember thinking, 'What a pain in the a$$ this is. Why can't we just go to the grocery store?'

But wandering around there today, I completely appreciated the sights, sounds, smells and farm-freshness of the produce at the marketplace stands. It's just heads and shoulders above a stroll through the produce section at Fred Meyer. Meanwhile, CJ and Annabelle were probably thinking, "What a pain in the a$$ this is. Why can't we just go to the grocery store?" :)

We bought a couple of little Christmas gifts and then headed for the Space Needle, and a rendezvous with one Santa Claus.

RED HOT ROCKET: Since moving to Seattle some 5 years ago, our annual Christmas tradition has been visiting Santa at the Space Needle. While Santa can be seen countless other places 'round Seattle, nowhere else will you find him in a red hot rocket sleigh, surrounded by mid-century modern decorations.

Another bonus of the Space Needle, Santa style? The free rocket-shaped sugar cookies for the kids to decorate. They covered 'em with frosting, shook some sprinkles on and enjoyed a lovely view of Lake Union while devouring them.

We stayed up on the Observation Deck for about an hour. Just before we left we were checking out Magnolia and other points west.

At one point I looked outside the glass immediately in front of us and said, "Oh, look - there's Pat Monahan," lead singer of the band Train, singer of hits like "Drops of Jupiter" and "Hey Soul Sister."  I've know for years he had ties to Seattle on his wife's side, so it wasn't a big surprise to see him there. Though we're fans and he was just *thisclose* we kept our cool and let him and his family (including a tiny new baby, just a couple of weeks old) enjoy their visit to the Space Needle without causing a scene. I did manage to snap a paparazzi shot, tho. :)

Shortly before we left, the Sound and sun were putting on a colorful show.

We stopped for a couple more photos as we left the Space Needle. In this one, Annabelle is trying to fix CJ's smile.

WEEKEND REWIND: A few weeks back I signed Annabelle up for a cooking class at a cool Fremont bookstore that sells nothing but cookbooks. The class was taught by a rather famous local confectionery blogger. I thought it would be neat-o for Bee to have a baking lesson outside of our kitchen taught by someone else other than me. She was SO excited to go!!! Yeah, well here's her face a few minutes into it ...

It wasn't the worst two hours of her young life, but let's just say that it was a tad disappointing. The projects presented (a cake pop, a cupcake in a cupcake, and S'moreos) were inherently cool, it's just that there was was a real lack of opportunity for hands on participation during the class. And I should say that for a kid who hadn't done much baking or decorating, the class might have seemed engaging enough. But I kid you not, Annabelle could have taught this class.  

Here's a photo of her (mini) cupcake in a cupcake -  "hers" in the sense that she got to shake sprinkles on top of it. Let's just say, Bee expects a bit more ownership of baking projects. ;)

I think her favorite part of the day was coloring these cupcake toppers.