Rasar State Park - Fun in the Outdoors

How does a weekend camping trip turn into 27 loads of laundry?  Actually, I'm only up to four, fun I haven't started on clothes yet.  Since it's our last (planned) trip of the year I wash all the sleeping bags, pillows, bags and any other cloth we use before storing it away for the season.  I also rotate out all our emergency food stash to make sure it's all unexpired and fresh for next year.

Now, back to the actual camping trip...we had a wonderful time.  There is a burn ban going on because of the drought, so of course it rained all weekend.  The days were beautiful, but the nights were rainy with a touch of thunder and lightning tossed in for good measure.  We did some hiking, some geocaching, a bit of wading in the glacial cold water, some science lessons and even watched a movie.

This particular park ran their version of the Junior Ranger program.  Kendra learned what her spirit animal and clan were (Woodpecker and Frog) based on her birthday.  The kids then made decoder rings to use to decode clues hidden around the park to some interesting sights.  If they found, and deciphered, enough clues, they got a special prize.  Kendra chose a 3-D horse puzzle.  They also learned how to use a compass, and made one using a needle.  All in all, very cool stuff.

At the end of the day, the camp hosts hooked up a projector to a VHS machine (those are still in use?) and did an outdoor showing of Beauty and the Beast.  Turns out it was an interactive experience - when it rained on screen it rained on us!

I am now looking forward to sleeping in my dry, soft, non-deflating bed.  After another load of laundry.

My Babies are Growing Up

On Monday, I completed the task that every parent longs for and dreads at the same time - registering their first child for kindergarten.   Here we have the added complication of being able to choose what school our kid goes to, or go with the neighborhood assignment school.  Since so many of our friends go to a school other than our assignment school, I opted to take a chance on enrolling her in a "choice" school.  All my paperwork is in, but now we wait. 

In April we should get a letter telling us where we are going, or if we are waitlisted.  Waitlist will be agony for me.  I'm a planner, and I hate the idea of not knowing something that feels so important to me.  In the meantime, Dan and I took a tour of the school we are hoping to get into - and LOVED it, and have a tour of our neighborhood school tomorrow morning.

Our friend watched the kids while we went on the tour, so in the afternoon I repaid the favor (and because the kids were having so much fun they didn't want to go home) by taking everyone for cupcakes and a trip to the zoo.  We had a ball.  There are four new baby lion cubs that just went on display, so we headed there first.  We were the last group that got to see them before they were going in for the night.  It was perfect timing!  Of course, the cubs were at the opposite end of the zoo from where I parked, that we spent 3 hours walking back to the car - and seeing every animal along the way.  I had a bunch of cold and tired kids by the time we got home. 

I'm off to deliver food from the food bank now. 

It's Octopus Week

At the Seattle Aquarium, anyway.  The kids and I headed there today to learn about octopi and the various creatures that share our PacNW home with us.  There are an amazing amount of them - most of them too tiny to see, and many on the slimy side.

We saw several varieties of octopi, fish, sea stars, seals, otters, anemones and birds, and learned a bit about their habitat and food.  Being raised in the Midwest, I know very little about the marine life that shares our coast.  I have bought several books on Puget Sound as well as some Mac Field Identification cards in the hopes of fixing that. 

In the meantime, I'll just keep dragging the kids to museums with me.  It's good exercise - for the mind and body (I spent far too much time chasing Darian around.  That boy can MOVE!)

Date Night

Our Valentine's Day gift from Kai was a night of babysitting, so last night Dan and I headed out for a date night.  We started at the Chihuly Museum at the base of the Space Needle.  It was beautiful!  I loved looking at all the colors and shapes of the glass - and was thrilled the kids weren't there.  That would have been nerve wracking. 

Because we went in the evening, we were given a coupon for a free appetizer from the Collections Cafe that is attached to the Museum, so we headed there for dinner.  Crispy Beecher Cheese Curds, and a fantastic lamb ragout was perfect.  We walked back to the car and stopped at the newest P-Patch garden, which is on top of a parking garage.  It was pretty neat to see.  Half the top level of the garage is dedicated to gardening.  I was suitably impressed at the ingenious way of coming up with green space in a very urban area.

Our last stop was a small bar that had several kinds of Amaro.  I became enamored with the liquor on our last trip to St. Louis.  I'm now on a quest to find the one I like the best.  So far, it's the St. Louis one - only I don't know the name of it! 

It was a wonderful date night and I can't wait to do it again!!  Thanks so much Kai!