Eight is Great

ROUND AND ROUND: Today Annabelle's 8. A nice, round number, isn't it?

To celebrate, we FINALLY went on a ride on the The Great Wheel. 

It was built in less than a year, financed by Seattle businessman Hal Griffith. At 175 feet tall, it's the largest observation wheel on the West Coast.

Our ride was in gondola #2 of 42. The wheel can hold up to 300 passengers at any time. 

It was a smooth, quiet ride. The biggest surprise for all of us was after we crested the top on the first go 'round and we suddenly found ourselves jutting 40-feet out over the end of the pier and hovering over Puget Sound. Since the gondolas are almost entirely glass, you're really right out there. Annabelle was a little disconcerted. 

We had a nice view of the stadiums and Mt. Rainier to the south.

And, of course, to the north was the iconic Space Needle. The Seattle Aquarium is in the green building in the foreground.

TASTE THE RAINBOW: The first four hours of my day were spent making rainbow colored cupcakes from scratch. Normally whipping up some cupcakes 'taint no big deal, but making each one six different layers of color took about, oh, three times as long as regular cupcakes. 

Oh well, Annabelle's birthday only comes once a year. We also spent time icing them and, in keeping with her "My Little Pony" wish, applying "cutie marks," as well as crafting a few ponies out of fondant. 

Have I mentioned I'm glad her birthday is only once a year? ;)

DIFFERENT PARTY: While the number one party on our hit parade today was Annabelle's birthday, political parties were also on our minds. 

CJ, especially, has been asking about politics and parties - especially after watching Tuesday night's debate. For instance, last night he asked if there is such a thing as a right wing Democrat. Christian and I looked at each other, pondered it and then said, "No."

Today, we watched BrainPOP's featured (free!) movie about political parties. 

I thought it did a nice job of detailing the history of the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as delineating major party positions today.

One of the many things the kids learned is that Lincoln was the first Republican president ever. 

I can't help but wonder if our Republican and Democrat forefathers came back if they'd be surprised. It seems today's versions of the parties have flipped in some respects. 

After the BrainPOP movie, CJ still had some unanswered questions, including why a donkey signifies the Democrat party and an elephant the Republican. Turns out the donkey came about in 1828, when Andrew Jackson's opponents called him a jackass. Jackson decided to embrace the mule as his mascot, and the donkey was born. 

The elephant dates back to 1874, and a political cartoon drawn by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly. A  donkey (representing the Democrats) was dressed in lion skin and scaring the animals in the forest. The elephant had the words "The Republican Vote" on it. 

FALSE ALARM: I hopped on Facebook this morning at about 10:17 and the first thing I saw was a status update from the Seattle Times letting me know at that 10:18 there would be the Biggest Earthquake Drill EVER.  ZOMG! Why did no one tell us before?!?!? "Earthquake!" I screamed at the kids. 

Once the panic and pandemonium passed, I'd say the lack of warning served us well. It was a real world experience and one they won't forget soon, likely.

And after the freak out, we had a teachable moment where we reviewed what a person should do in an earthquake - such as hunkering down in a doorway. 

EAT UP: Exciting news from the Red Planet. Curiosity has taken its first 'bites' of Martian soil!

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

In the photo above, you can see three 'bite' marks into the surface. Each of the three 'bites' are about 2 inches wide. Of the three scoops, the middle one is the very first. 

What's super cool is the scoops collected were taken on board MSL and are being analyzed by the mobile science laboratory.

Hope the foreign matter doesn't give MSL indigestion. ;)