Summer is full of lots of field trips - so it seems that's what most of my posts are lately :)
This is the ferry from Fauntleroy (West Seattle) to SouthWorth (across the Pudget Sound), it sometimes has a stop on Vashon Island. Something about taking a ferry is magical (maybe because I don't commute on one). Sunset sort of amps up the magic. Here are some shots from our trip.
Bremerton is a surprisingly fun stop. We were out camping on the Olympic Peninsula this weekend and decided to take a ferry home from Bremerton. We were having so much fun near the ferry terminal that we switched to the next ferry to give us another hour and a half to explore.
The
Harborside Fountain Park (bottom center and left center) is filled with giant, spouting fountains and very fun to walk around and explore. Lots of kids there were in full swim mode a very refreshingly wet.
Along the boardwalk we happened upon a Sunday Farmer's market. E protested (aka a bit of a tantrum) about how boring it was and how he hated markets - this is just at first glance. After moping through he cheered a bit with a balloon sword.
There is lots of Aquatic and Navy art to check out and I'd still be there taking pictures if I tried to capture it all.
We enjoyed watching the ships of all kinds, including giant Navy Destroyers, Aircraft Carriers, ferries and Aircraft Carriers. There is a historic Naval Destroyer called the
U.S.S. Turner Joy that has been turned into a museum, but we didn't have time for that (note there is an entrance fee).
Our favourite thing was the (free)
Puget Sound Navy Museum in fact we literally had to run out the door and down the dock to catch our ferry and so didn't see everything...
Isn't there something amazingly summery about swimming in a lake? Maybe it's the Rocky Mountain Canada girl in me. If you were going to swim in a lake where I grew up it better be smokin' hot on shore, or you would be in danger of hypothermia!
Luckily the lakes around here are refreshingly cool and Lake Washington itself has some great family beaches. This is a favourite in Bellevue,
Clyde Beach. Great grassy hill, fun "pirate" playground, a dock, roped off swimming area for the little ones and even a lifeguard!!!
Clyde Beach Park
Address: 2-92nd Avenue NE
Contact: Picnic Reservations: 425-452-6914
Hours: Dawn to dusk
Beach Lifeguard Schedule
Amenities: Swimming, lifeguard on duty late June through Labor Day. Rediscover Clyde Beach Park- this expanded beach park features an enchanting boathouse that will evoke memories from the past. Restrooms, picnic and a play area. 2.23 acres.
Directions: From I-405, take the NE 8th Street exit going west. Turn left onto 92nd Avenue NE. Park is at the end of the street.(The only downside is parking spots are limited)
If there is anything I have learned this summer is don't count on summer weather to be all lovely and sunny. I can't really explain the terrible weather and I'm sure you guys have heat waves will think I'm a big whiner. I realized our normal summer "Mom I'm Bored" Jar is just not helpful. We need two, one with indoor options and one with outdoor options.
Something that has kept us busy for several hours is what we call puzzle gallery - where you put together every puzzle you can find in the house and a few you borrow from the neighbours (thanks!). The boys wanted to go around the neighbourhood selling tickets to their "art show" but somehow I convinced them to be "not- for-profit." The show did get rave reviews by critics who saw it (Dad) and heard about it (thank you relatives). Plus it was very educational, learning planets, the states and which superheros make up "the Avengers."
Check out something I saw on the beach during low tide-
Sometimes called a pile worm or
clam worm. Don't let that cute face fool you he can deliver a nasty bite with those jaws, yes it is as scary as it looks. Luckily we know better than to handle any worms on the beach. This guy is about as long as my hand.
Here is a great article on these worms by Sue Pike (at least the East Coast relative). :)
In the Pacific Northwest the low tide will be here all weekend - be sure to head down to the beach if you can....The Seattle Times has a great interactive site for tide times here. You can select your beach and they cover beaches all over the Northwest, even south to the Oregon coast.
Here are the Seattle low tide times (it's great to get there an hour before as the tide goes out you can explore more, it is trickier as the tide comes back in!)
Fri 29 Low 10:32 AM -1.9
Sat 30 Low 11:13 AM -2.1
Sun 31 Low 11:55 AM -2.0
Mon 1 Low 12:37 PM -1.5
Plastic shopping bags make great parachutes and our stuffies were feeling adventurous. We launched down the stairs and tried many different "jumpers". A fun rainy day activity but remember playing with plastic bags can be dangerous for little ones and requires supervision.
1. There are few sandy beaches in Washington, but over the long weekend we went to
Ocean Shores and the sand stretched as far are you could see.
2. Since it was low tide and not much life on the beach, we headed to the rocky jetty to find some creatures. Here are a couple of
chitons (believed to go back 400 million years), feasting on rock algea.
3. Hanging Sea Anemones (closed waiting for the tide to come back in)-
bits of rock and shell attached, contain stinging cells (nematocysts), green due to zooxanthelae4. Sand ripples left by the retreating tide.
5.
Barnacles and
Mussels6. Luke and Easton
7. The brown blob is tar spot algae -
very flat patches on rocks, common to rocks in high-tide zone ( Ralfsia pacifica) 8.
Gooseneck Barnacles -
clusters of white claws, compete with mussels for space, filter feeders, higher up on large rocks (Pollicipes polymerus) 9. Giant Hermit Crab with Connor
Note - While at the beach it is so important to be respectful of the creatures that live there and their habitat. Here is a great list of
guidelines from the Washington State University Beach Watchers:
- Please leave all living organisms in their native habitat, where you find them on the beach.
- Walk with care to avoid injuring plants and seaweed. Plants and seaweed prevent erosion, provide habitat and hiding places for intertidal organisms. They also provide food for many animals and insects.
- Step on bare spots as much as possible, walking slowly and at a safe pace.
- Overturn rocks with care, if doing so. When finished looking, return them gently to their original position to avoid crushing anything that lives underneath.
- Kneel quietly by tidepools, taking care not to walk in them or put your hands into them.
- Fill any holes you may create if digging for clams. Piles of sand left on the beach can smother other organisms.
- Leave creatures attached to rocks, rather than removing them for study, since removal may kill them. Since it is natural for them to be attached, more can be learned about them by observing where and how they choose to live.
- Enjoy anemones without prodding them. Anemones will often squirt water if poked, but sadly this can kill them because they need that water for survival until the next tide covers them.
English Lyrics:
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free! From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
French lyrics:
Ô Canada!
Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
For more info on Canada's National Anthem and to hear the song, check out the Canadian Heritage site. You can get a copy of the sheet music there. If you want to see what Canadians are doing today check out La Fete du Canada Day - by the way, that's where you'll find Prince William and Kate celebrating too! |
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In between summer busy-ness lots of active, outdoor adventures, swimming, running, bike-riding every kid (and their mother) needs some downtime. When I saw
this fun idea at Bookhoucrafts I thought it would be worth a try. It turned out to be worth a couple of hours of fun constructing the mazes and then playing each others. Even after I took these photos the boys kept making more mazes. We had everything on hand too which is a huge bonus. I found some little, round pearl beads that we used for the ball in the maze and we found that a double layer of wax sticks helped the bead not to jump the "wall" Some of the mazes were fun with several balls. I'd highly recommend this.
C was so excited! "You can put whatever you want on it!!"
The boys loved it so much we tried again last night. Uncle travis was quoted many times and apparently C and E payed much more attention to the instructions than I did,
"Mom that's not how Uncle Travis said to roll it."
"Mom leave more room at the top without rice."
"Mom you need more vinegar on your hands."
C enjoyed the making process, but tentatively tried his first bite. After that he loved it!
Overall a big success and fun to make something so hands on. We'll keep perfecting our technique and still have a lot to learn. Thanks Travis!
Happy Father's Day to my sweet husband who did a lot of running with bikes all afternoon and to my own Dad who ran a lot beside me! Lots of love to you both.
Taken at the Venetian in Las Vegas today. (more on our trip soon).
I am thankful for those who sacrificed for our freedoms.
While not quite toothless, 4 teeth seems to be a crazy amount to have pulled at once. Like a shark he was growing an extra row of teeth behind his baby ones, so the front ones had to go. I was beside the dentist chair trying not to flinch with each yank. C did amazing super tough and brave and honestly quite excited to finally lose some teeth. From my perspective there was a lot of blood and that didn't seem to faze him. Driving home he mumbled that he needed new gauze and I looked back to see him looking like a vampire finishing a feeding frenzy with blood running out both sides of his mouth, down his chin. Don't fear the picture of the week is much less gruesome and he has the cutest lisp now, I just think he is adorable - even in vampire form.
A strange little creature we found recently climbing our glass door
(on the outside, I'm happy to report) :
Here are some details on this guy if you want to check out more with your kids, including my go-to spots to find out about strange bugs....I found out only the male turns into a moth, the female stays in her little case until her suitor comes calling then she lays her eggs inside her case before dying.
I found a
video (with music and effects added - thanks YouTube) if you want to see something like it in action, they are interesting to watch move.
I first checked out a favourite resource - Whatisthatbug.com and I think it looks like a
case-bearing moth larva - anyone else?
I also turn to bugguide.net in these times to get the scoop and I'm pretty sure it is a kind of
mini-bagworm. There are some pretty cool varieties that my boys wished we could find around here, but I'm not so sad about it. I like my bugs few and far away.
Sometimes you have to remember the simpliest things bring hours of entertainment... you don't need much, just a few colours of dough/clay and a small idea or two.
Even grown-ups need to be reminded it can be tough to be a kid. This table is just outside the IMAX at Pacific Science Center. It was made this giant size for a reason - so adults can experience what it is like for a child to be seated at a grown-up table. It was pretty hilarious. I thought it looked like Luke, Travis and Amber all shrunk!
I've been meaning to post this science experiment we tried growing sugar crystals for a while now. It's really easy. My kids thought it was tasty (although I wouldn't eat something that's been sitting on the counter for a few days they thought it was irresistible). You probably have everything you need already. The best thing for a science experiment is that it is only a few hours days before you start to see results.
Voila! The end results (after 2 days)
There are some good instructions
here, and
here and I just found a fun science blog
here with the same experiment, she has a download to print with instructions!
Some tips:
1. Dissolve as much sugar as you can in boiling water - ours would have worked better if we had added the sugar to the boiling water in the pan, until saturated and clear, instead of pouring boiling water into the sugar. After you have a dissolved mixture in your pan, then pour into a warm glass jar (warm because if cold the glass may break, just run the jar under hot water for a minute).
2. Use cotton or wool string - crystals will not form on some fibers. Also if you plan to eat/try eating the crystals use a weight (like a button) that is non-toxic (instead of a paper clip for example).
3. Put a light, airy cloth over the experiment to keep out dust, making the end result more edible.
One of the community centers had an Urban Nature fair on Saturday, I'll write more details about it tomorrow. Today, I'm playing
Photo of the Week 5. This is top one is my favourite: it looks like C barely notices the gigantic bug on the back of his neck, he is so busy checking out the boxes of bugs.
Here E is posing with his, "Can you believe this enormous cockroach?" expression.
I do like technical part of this photo best, with the focus on the big stick bug. I'm so happy I got to be the photographer and I didn't have to touch anything.
Speaking of happy, C LOVED this bug crawling up his neck, into his ear and then his hair (it was probably trying to hide from all the kids handling it and thought C's hair perfect camouflage). Just looking at this picture gives me the creeps.
Since I'm feeling grossed out writing this post, I thought I'd push it over the edge. This shot is especially for my Aunt Lorna, who should just be glad she hasn't met one of these huge spiders before.
A little birthday present for the boys' friend who loves dragons, E and C helped with the design. The best part is I've seen the little boy at school twice wearing it! (Iron-on applique and red stitching). E is modeling for me.
This time for spring, we sugared the cookies with coloured sugar before baking, yum and they come out already decorated! Yes, boys are weird, black is the perfect colour for spring?? I guess if you like mud. Thank goodness for my cute neighbour G to help me balance things out with some pastel colours!
I'm joining in my
cool cousin's link up (hopefully weekly on Sundays). Here is my photos for this week...
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I bet they loved it, that is so fun. I can't believe they eat black olives though. What is today's lunch going to be?
Fun idea!
Those turned out Awesome! I also can't believe they eat black olives.