Do the Pony

MY LITTLE CUPCAKES: Today we hauled several pounds of sugar down West Seattle way, to the community center where the kids take a couple of classes on Fridays. 

The My Little Pony cupcakes were a hit. As soon as he spotted them, one boy started humming the "My Little Pony" theme and the boy right behind him had on the same MLP shirt CJ has. Who knew Bronies (male MLP fans) were so well represented in the group? :)

This morning, CJ created a new bizarre Scratch animation, and Annabelle enjoyed her Bollywood class. The kids showed us their new routine at the end and we learned that they might have a public performance in a couple of weeks. Fun!

THOSE LINCOLN BOYS: On the way to West Seattle, the kids took turns reading pages aloud from the picture book "Mr. Lincoln's Boys"  by Stanton Rabin.

It was published on the anniversary of Lincoln's 200th birthday. Based on true events, it told the story of  Lincoln's youngest sons, Tad and Willie. They were creative kids who got into their fair share of mild trouble, but it sounds like their father was understanding and encouraging of their adventurous spirits.. 

It was a nice peek into the private life of Lincoln and his family, written in an engaging style with lovely illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline.

BOOKISH: On our lunch break, we hit a new-to-us library, the Southwest branch of Seattle Public Libraries. Nice space, and close to the kids' Friday classes. We'll be spending more time there, to be sure. 

The kids immediately honed in on the "baby" puzzles in the kids' section. They both enjoyed playing with one they had as preschoolers. 

While there, we picked up a stack of books, of course, including "BURIED ALIVE!" a book about the 33 Chilean miners trapped for 69 days. 

Both of the kids remembered watching footage of the miners' rescue two years ago this week. We recalled how they were rescued and how people from all over the world were watching. It was also a multi-national rescue effort, and I reminded the kids how NASA even played a role, counseling people working with the buried miners on how to survive in tight quarters with limited rations for an extended period of time. NASA also gave advice about how to re-acclimate the men once they were brought to the surface, and helped give design ideas for the capsule that was used to rescue the miners. 

TOUR A DRAGON: Today SpaceX emailed me (and a whole lot of other people, no doubt) a link to a panorama of the inside of the Dragon capsule. They said now we Earth bound folks can see what the astronauts and cosmonauts on the ISS saw when they opened the capsule last week. 

It looks so shiny and new! View it here: http://www.spacex.com/panorama/