Number 9

KING FOR A DAY: "I'm 9 now," were the first words out of CJ's mouth this morning, a couple minutes after 6 a.m.

"Yes, you are," I confirmed.

Like any other kid his age, CJ has been looking forward to today for a looong time. Like 364 days. ;-)

We go to Burger King twice a year. Today was one of those two days. The reason we go is because at some point a long time ago, I must have signed them up for the BK Kids Club and now they email me a coupon for a a free kid's meal on each of the kids' birthdays.

For the big b-day night out, we went to Another Castle - a video game store and arcade in Edmonds. There CJ (with some help from Annabelle as a vacuum wielding Marge) actually BEAT the Simpsons arcade game.

A pretty neat feat, and one that he'll remember forever, for sure. I've never been around to see the credits roll on an arcade game before.

After the arcade, we had a nice dinner at the Wing Dome. On the way home, we got held up by the Fremont Bridge, but it was a picturesque delay.

When we got home, it was time for presents! CJ had some interesting items on his birthday wish list. Like this ... a Guy Fawkes mask. That's what every 9-year-old wants, right?

And he was pleased with this Mario toy I found him - even though none of us are quite sure what it is. :-)

He also got the Best Shirt Ever from G&G - a Famicom Disk System tee! And he's already got his Amazon gift card from N&B spent (at least in his head). :) And we can't wait to assemble his 500+ piece space shuttle model from friend Sheila!

Dessert was chocolate cake decorated in a rather odd and very CJ theme. One of CJ (and Annabelle's) latest obsessions is Roblox - "a place where you can build things," he describes. It's a bit like Minecraft, but a little brighter and more social. Per their Web site,  Roblox is the "leading user-generated gaming site that makes players the architects of their own 3D worlds, drawing over one billion page views and 21 million in-game hours each month. The site is ranked #1 in the US for total engagement time within the 8-14 year old segment."

Anyway, he wanted an Outrageous (Roblox) Builders Club logo with an Epic Face on it for his cake. Um, OK. ... Here's the template I was provided (by CeeJ):

And this is what we came up with, many melted marshmallows and drops of food coloring later.

I added CJ & Annabelle's Roblox characters to the side of the cake for a little 'flair' :)

All in all it was a ...



Shrunken Heads and Shuttle Noses

image Credit: NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Carolyn Russo

JUST PASSING BY: This morning, we watched coverage of the transfer ceremony at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, where shuttle Enterprise (which never actually flew in space) was removed and in its place, Discovery (which spent 365 days in space over 39 missions) took its place.

It was quite an event - lots of astronauts on hand, great music from military bands and many a tear shed by those in attendance. Funny how much emotion a space ship can evoke.

LET'S DO LUNCH: Midday we popped down to Sodo to meet G&G for lunch. We picked them up at their hotel and headed for the waterfront (which was no easy task given all the construction in the area).

We had a nice lunch with a great view. Afterward, we walked a block to Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, a Seattle fixture since 1899.

There is no shortage of eye candy in all shapes and sizes in the store. Annabelle and I admired lovely agates.

CJ was fixated on a cowboy statue that doubled as a vending machine of souvenir coins. He was thrilled that Grandpa bought him one.

Naturally, we had to check out the mummies. Here, CJ strikes a "Sylvia" pose.

And here is what purportedly the smallest shrunken head in the world. I have to add a disclaimer that I did not see any certificate of authenticity ...

A bit after 1 p.m., we dropped G&G off at the King Street Station and hit I-5 northbound, destination Shoreline.

In LEGO class, CJ is still working on building a hospital. It's a BIG project.

Meanwhile, Annabelle's making a car wash, also a large kit that will take weeks (when there's only 45 minute blocks to work on it).

They also had a little time to play around in the library before class. There, CJ used the "Photobooth" software to create some horrifying images. Talk about a shrunken head!!!

And why the long face, CJ?

Lastly, he sent me this one, with the subject line that read "Content blocked by CISPA"

Very funny, CJ. ;)

Yoga Revisited

BONUS YOGA: This morning, on the way to Annabelle's art class and the kids' science class, we were able to stop in the U-District and squeeze in a (FREE!) yoga class!

The kids' longtime yoga teacher was offering a (free!) class at the Lululemon University Village as a spring break special this a.m. Sweet! 

Though we all love Love LOVE CJ's theater class, it has come at the expense of attending yoga with the most wonderful yoga teacher ever, Nicole Koleshis.

We've known Nicole for four years now, since CJ was in kindergarten. Watching their yoga class today reminded me why I drove the kids all the way cross town for a yoga class. 

I think yoga is especially helpful for CJ. It helps him focus and center. Hopefully we'll find a way in the very near future to integrate both the yoga and the acting.

As an aside, on our way out the the University District, we got a big steamy gawk at the goings on at Husky Stadium. It was wild to see the entire south side of the bleachers torn down.

That said, it was also a RELIEF to see that structure gone. We sat there during the Oregon v. Huskies game this year, and it was awful. Good riddance!

CIRCUS, CIRCUS: Annabelle's art class was especially enjoyable today. The kids all crafted carnival/festival/circus fair scenes. I love that the materials involved were so readily available/recyclable like a small piece of drywall, foil, string, tape, glue and such.

It was big fun for her to make and equally fun for us to look at.

AFTERNOON: The kids' science class was wonderful as usual. Most of the hour was spent learning about differences between butterflies and moths. Look at their antennae for a clues - the moths' antennae are typically fuzzy, while the butterflies are more smooth and club like.

For an early dinner, we met G&G at the Pyramid Alehouse - right across from Safeco Field on a game night. It was so So SO weird and wrong being in Sodo on a game night and not going to the game.

Here we are, in front of Safeco, the kids in Mariners gear, NOT going to the game. XD

FINALISTS: Via a Seattle Pinball Museum Facebook post this evening, we learned that the documentary that CJ and Annabelle wound up having roles in has made it to the finals for the 2012 International Documentary Challenge. How cool is that?!

You can view the film festival's announcement here: http://www.docchallenge.org/News/2012-finalists-announced.html   The film they're in is by team Horchata. The Really Big Winners will be announced May 1 in Toronto. Team Horchata, we're pulling for you - Pinball Forever!!!

Day of Discovery

Image Credit: NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Harold Dorwin

ONE MORE TIME AROUND: Our day started glued to CNN and NASA TV watching shuttle Discovery take one final fight. Piggybacked atop a specially outfitted Boeing 747, Discovery was moved from Kennedy Space Center and flown to Dulles International Airport in Washington DC. Its final wheel stop will the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

Discovery is the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet. During its service, it completed 39 missions, spent exactly one year in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles.

In this NASA photo, Discovery bids adieu to Kennedy Space Center for a final time. It's pictured flying over the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building (which I got to tour during the Mars Science Laboratory Tweetup last November).

Photo credit: (NASA/Glenn Benson)

It was fun following the move on Twitter. Tweeters from all up and down the Eastern seaboard were posting photos of the mission. NASA, of course, posted images, too. The amazing photo at the top of the page shows Discovery soaring over the U.S. Capitol building. If you click on the photo to see the large version and and look closely, you'll notice workers standing on the scaffolding around the capitol's top. Man, what a view they had!

Here, in photo from NASA's Flickr stream, the 747 is coming in for a landing at Dulles.

Image credit: NASA

EARTH MOVERS: Many physical changes have been taking place on 'campus' the last few days. All of last week we had an excavator on site. In all, he dug up and hauled out 110 yards of earth from our parcel. Curious, considering the bid we were given said there were only 24 yards to remove. That's right, somehow our dirt multiplied by over 300 percent! Sure it did ... I explained to the kids that the bid was a very 'good' example of BAD MATH. And who gets to pay for that bad math? Well, that would be us. Super not awesome.

Today, the concrete contractor came and set forms for the foundation footings. Tomorrow, we should have a concrete truck here. That ought to be interesting. Right now things mostly just look like a big muddy mess and it's pretty hard to envision the end result. Oh, and the noise. Have I mentioned the noise?

Good times.

FLY TIME REVISITED: I directed the kids to each write a report about their iFLY experience of yesterday. First, we brainstormed what types of information might be included in such a report. CJ suggested the fact that they got certificates, and info about the tunnel itself. Annabelle suggested the flight school (hand signals and such), gear they had to wear and what flying felt like.With those thoughts in mind, they set about writing their reports.

Here's Annabelle's take:

My experience at iFLY was very fun and exciting. You get to fly into the air in a wind tunnel. You fly in the huge tube with fans on both sides (top and bottom). The tunnel reuses the air while it blows.

You have to go to a school class about a 10 minutes long. you learn hand signals like stretch legs (shaped like a counter-clockwise Y), bend legs (the last one except bended fingers), chin up (press pointer finger against chin, or put it in the air), and relax (stretch out thumb & pinkie).

We finally got gear after out class and here it what they gave us: a helmet, a suit, a pair of goggles, and a pair earplugs, to block out the loud sound of the wind tunnel.

Then we finally got to fly! it felt really fun and you were like, "SO MUCH WIND! AHHHH!" and you get lifted up. One time I accidentally did a back fly. A back fly was when you flew on your back! I felt proud. And I bet mom & dad did too. There were other types of flying too. Belly fly (aka basic fly), back fly (above), sit fly (flying in a sitting position), and head down (you fly head down, I bet it's fun).

After flying, we got our flight certificate. It shows how well you did while flying that day. We walked out ready for next time we were going to fly at iFLY!

CJ wrote the following:

iFLY is a place where you can do a simulation of skydiving. Flying in iFLY can make you nervous, or it can can be exciting. Flying is easily the most important part of iFLY, as without it, it would be misleading.

Hand signals are also a very important part, because you wouldn't know what to do without those signals. There are four of them, the first one telling you to bend your legs, the second one telling you to straighten your legs, the third telling you to put your chin up, and the fourth telling you to relax.

The certificate is actually the most important part, because you could not graduate without it. The certificate contains six boxes to check, but I'm going to let you figure out what they are.

There are four pieces of equipment that you have to wear, first being the flight suit, second being earplugs, third being goggles, and fourth being the helmet. When flying, make sure that you do not take these off for any reason.

In the flight tunnel, there are lots of equipment, One being the air from the bottom, then there are the windows, and much much more. Without these equipment, the iFLY air tunnel would be almost useless.

For some reason, CJ's made me LOL. He has an interesting writing style. Reminds me a bit of his big brother Kennedy around the same age.

SHAKE YOUR GROOVE THING: Annabelle has been asking for a "Just Dance 3" game for the Wii for weeks, and last week I guess it became old enough that there was a significant price break ($20 less than it used to be when first introduced). So, we ordered it (along with Just Dance 2). Today we tried them out for a good 45 minutes sold. It's fun and good exercise and the kids like the fact they can compete against each other while doing it.

CJ was going for broke, especially during "Hey Ya." He was definitely shaking it like a Polaroid picture (if you know the song and its lyrics, that will make sense). 

DEAREST DIARY: CJ is in the process of re-reading all of his "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books (often with Annabelle reading over his shoulder).

Today, he asked me when the next book in the series might come out. I told him I didn't know and suggested he check the series' Web site. He did so and while he didn't discover any new books in the offing, by following a link to the official "Diary of ... " movie site, he learned that there will be a new "Diary of ..." movie - specifically "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" - coming out on August 3. The kids were pleased with this development.

NIMBLE FINGERS: Today, CJ asked about typing tutor-type games. I told him we could find one, no problem. I remembered the BBC had a typing tutor, and after a quick Web search I found their Dance Mat Typing, "an introduction to touch typing for children aged 7 - 11 years." The game/tool features four levels, each divided into three stages. Typists begin at Level 1 and build up your skills gradually through to Level 4.

The first lesson started off in the home row (no surprise!). Annabelle informed me she found this awkward and said it slowed her typing down. I explained "home row" theory to the kids and encouraged them to use it.  

Annabelle played up to Stage 11 in Level 4. CJ had had enough learning by Level 2 of Stage 4. 

Annabelle said she took an assessment as part of one of her exercises and it told her she types 28 words per minute with 97-98 percent accuracy. CJ did not report in with stats.  

Playing Catch Up

FINALLY OPEN: Just FYI, this post is combining my tardy one from Friday (I'm blaming the Mariners) and today (obviously). Above, CJ and Annabelle have their game faces on Friday night.

In a way, Friday marked the Mariners' third opening day this season. They officially opened their season in Japan on March 28, where they split a pair of games against the Oakland Athletics.

Then they, along with dozens of other teams, played on the stateside official opening day, Friday, April 6, down in Oakland, where they won.

Friday, April 13, was the home opener at Safeco. A rather inauspicious date, to be sure. For weeks now the kids have been asking if they could make a "Jason" mask (from the horror flick "Friday the 13th," a movie neither one of them has seen) for the Mariners' game.  I said sure, and of course we had to make a sign to go with. A Mariners game tradition is a sign asking for "rally fries" (free fries) for the best sign. So, we decorated a mask and made a sign.

I think CJ wore the mask for a total of 2 minutes at the game, and held the sign for 30 seconds. Needless to say, he wasns't spotted in the crowd of 46,000, and no rally fries came our way. That's OK, it was still fun. Here CJ is out by the lovely fireplace in the concession area at centerfield.

Though the Mariners lost the game, it was still fun to be back at the ball field. The weather was about as lovely as you could hope for an April evening. And we got to see former Mariners outfielder Mike Cameron throw out the first pitch, with Ichiro catching.

One of the highlights of the night for sure was getting to see the ISS fly over. Baseball and the space station!? It doesn't get much better than that!

The space station is right over the arch of the roof, between the red warning lights. I put a bit of a halo around it to make it more visible.

FINISHED: The kids completed their Singapore 3A math books on Friday. They did their daily assignment and when they saw they only had one more assignment to go they begged to double up and get it done. Of course I said 'Yes!'

When they finished the final assignment, CJ noticed there was a blank page at the end of the book (clearly labeled BLANK). He asked me if they could do a bonus problem there. I said "Sure!" of course. So I wrote a story problem on each of their blank pages. In CJ's book I write, 'CJ played Minecraft for 1 day and 8 hours. Annabelle played Minecraft 3 hours longer than CJ. How many hours did Annabelle play Minecraft?"

He correctly computed 35 hours in no time.

In Annabelle's book I wrote, "There were 12 Top Pot Doughnuts in a box. CJ ate 3 more than Annabelle, who had two. Kirby ate all the leftovers. How many did Kirby eat?"

Annabelle correctly computed the dog ate 5 doughnuts and added a picture labeled "happy Kirby" to boot.

Today, we started the 3B books. The first exercise was a review of using mental math to add two digit numbers.

NASA TV: I turned NASA TV on first thing this morning, knowing that space orbiter Discovery is about to make its final journey - a piggyback ride from Kennedy Space Center to the Smithsonian, its final resting place.

Not surprisingly, NASA TV showed a montage of Discovery missions this morning (including its first, the historic 'return to flight' after the Challenger disaster, and John Glenn's return to spaceflight). We learned more about how the piggyback ride atop a specially outfitted Boeing jet is achieved.

After the Discovery special, an hour long show about the sun came on. Though we'd had other things scheduled for the time slot Annabelle was rapt and pleaded to watch the show. Of course I said yes. It was super educational - an hour well spent, to be sure.

CJ found it so inspirational, he said, 'This makes me want to play 'Angry Birds Space!' LOL.

HELLO FROM HUNGARY: Over the weekend I received an email from someone in Hungary who is publishing some kind of book (no idea the topic or audience). Whatever it is, apparently this photo of Annabelle (which I have parked on Morguefile.com) is going to be in it.  Interesting.

FLOATING ON AIR: This afternoon we headed town to Tukwila and iFLY. It's what CJ said he wanted to do for his birthday. I think about one half second into the wind tunnel he was regretting his decision a wee bit. Instead of doing the Superman spread in the air, he was basically bear hugging the instructor. :0

That's how most of his first one minute 'flight' went. Fortunately, the instructor was super encouraging and CJ rallied for his second go round, pictured here ...

Annabelle made full use of her two trips in the tunnel. She soared high, well over the instructor's head.