Whirl Wind Tour of Seattle

Yes, we are back in Seattle!  Traveling with a different family has allowed us to visit some of our favourites, but also take in some of those sights that we have not done in a while.  This was a go, go, go visit of Seattle as we managed to not only exhaust our kids, but also us as well.  We started the trip at Science World, where membership has its privileges as we were able to bypass the commoners line up, exploring the many displays and hands on activities built for kids.  One of the kids in our group loves animals, insects . . . lets be honest anything that has a heart beat and can crawl on the ground.  One of the highlights of our visit was the feeding of the boa constrictor, which only eats twice a month.  The kids spent about an hour in the butterfly exhibit, while Emma and I made houses with enlarged pattern blocks . . . lets just say that Emma was very particular about how I could help her out . . . lets just say that whatever I did was not what she wanted.

I was very surprised and pleased to see Emma holding this creepy crawly thing.

Our next stop was hopping on the tram and travelling to Pike Place.  "What stop are we getting off at?"  "This is it". "What, that's it?"  Lets just say that the kids were a little shocked as to how short the tram ride was . . . so was I.  The kids got a kick out of watching the Fish Throwing store . . . they really know how to draw a crowd and stir up business for themselves . . . I must admit that it looks like a fun place to work.  If I ever give up teaching, you will know where to find me . . . chucking fish at my coworkers!  I think I would have a few grievances filed against me if I did this now.

The Space Noodle, which was named by one of our friends and has stuck with our kids.  Josh wanted it to look like he was holding the Space Noodle up with his hand.

Day two we decided to hit my favourite spot on our Seattle tour, which is Sky High Sports.  When we arrived, there was a special on for a second hour for an extra $3!  (Well, this is a no brainer I thought to myself . . . this decision would come back to haunt us).  We decided to buck up and pay for the extra hour because we felt that if the kids only stay for an extra 10 minutes we got our moneys worth . . . well, TWO HOURS later our passes finally ran out and we were forced to leave . . . lets just say that I was counting down the minutes from about minute 10 of the first hour as my legs were already feeling it.
Next stop, the Rainforest Cafe and then off to the Childrens' Museum in Everett.

Josh has taken an interest in taking pictures.  I especially like this close up of one of the fishes he found in the fish tank at the Rainforest Cafe.

In one of the rooms at the Childrens' Museum they had some blocks out for the "KIDS" to build with . . . so like any parent, I decided to partake in the challenge of building some towers.  At first, I tried to create an unique tower, but then I noticed Pat was building for height . . . now I am not competitive at all so I decided to take up this challenge and started to build up and up and up.  When I couldn't reach any higher as I was on my tippy toes (okay, I know you are thinking it so, insert your short jokes here), I decided to grab the bench sitting close by.  By this point Pat's tower collapsed, so I was already crowned King of the Tower building contest, but I carried on anyways because if I always give up when others fail, I would never be challenged ;) .  It got to the point where I could no longer reach standing on my tippy toes on the bench so I had to enlist the help of my 6" 4' travelling partner to put the last floor on.

Josh and his friend enjoyed trying to knock the towers down with the wooden blocks.  

Of course Josh got into the building of the towers.

Emma really enjoyed the veterinarian clinic and the pizza shop.

Being Chased By The Tide

It has been quite some time since we have taken our family to Jericho Beach and I have forgotten how beautiful it is and how much fun it is.  We decided to meet Ji-Chan, Ba-Chan and our cousins for a day of sun, water and togetherness.  The day could not have gone better as the sun was shining and the kids were having a blast skim boarding, looking for sea creatures, and playing in the sand . . . all under the watchful eyes of their Ji-chan and Ba-chan.

The girls looking for some crabs to put into their buckets.

I think all of the boys skateboarding in the streets has helped them with their skim boarding.  Throughout the morning we were continually chased by the tide as we would set up our camp so that the kids could skim board . . . only to have to move our stuff to a new location as the water rolled in.  Although we had to move several times, the constant packing up was worth it as the kids found some great pools of water.

Jamie pick up your head!!!

This was the only way we could get them to stop and take a break.

A great day at the beach being kids.

Emma thought her new legs were hilarious!

UBC Endowment Lands

At the beginning of the summer we decided to make a list of all of the things that we wanted to accomplish this summer.  Everyone in the family gave three suggestions and we have been crossing them off as the summer has quickly moved along.  One of the suggestions was to go trail riding through UBC Endowment Lands as a family.  The boys have become quite good at navigating the trails and taking on the challenges of the hills.  I do help Jamie up some of the steeper hills as he only has one gear, which makes it a little more demanding on him.  Lets check one more thing off of our summer to do list!

Even Emma needed to be rehydrated at every stop on this ride.  She enjoyed riding through the "Jungle" as she put it.

A pretty good day of riding as we only had one bail out on a sharp down hill turn.  A pretty big bruise as a reminder of this fall.  

The Great Wolf Lodge

This year, Papa and Grammy treated us to a weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge as our family Christmas present.  We always enjoy our time here, but the boys were very excited to have their cousins and grammy and papa there this time to share in the experience.  This made our time there a little more relaxing with so many hands on deck to help us out and entertain the kids.  At one point, I was sitting in the lobby while Emma and Michelle were in the Cub Room and Josh and Jamie were running around the hotel solving their Magic Quest . . . yes, I was feeling a little guilty sitting there . . . for just a brief moment.

Emma was very interested and motivated to colour these pictures found in the hotel lobby.  Mich and I were amazed by her patience and care that she took to ensure that she coloured in the lines.  No matter how hard we tried, Emma would only colour her pictures using one colour.  Do they sell crayons in one colour by the box?

About an hour and half later and this is my pictured coloured . . . not bad with the limited colours that I had.  Little Emma would not let me leave, "No daddy, there is still white".  Nobody took my call for help seriously, I was being held hostage by a three year old.  This is what I loved about this trip and summer . . . not having to be anywhere or feel that I have to do something . . . I could sit on the ground and colour with my daughter for as long as she wanted to.  Lets just say that I needed to see a massage therapist and a chiropractor to loosen up my back and knees after this marathon colouring session.

The boys have been wanting to do the Magic Quest for few years now so the they decided to use their birthday money from grammy and papa to buy the wands so that they could slay the dragon.  Josh chose Grand Master for his Magi name and Jamie was the Blue Dragon Slayer.  The boys must have climbed up and down those stairs a hundred times.  All that I know is that, I only went for a fraction of the time and my legs were done.

Thanks Grammy and Papa for a splash splash'n of a time!!!!

Whitecaps vs The Galaxy

Happy Birthday Jamie!  Well, it is not really Jamie's birthday since his birthday is really in May, but we did get a chance to experience one of his birthday presents.  Jamie received Whitecaps tickets, which he has been looking forward to for quite some time now.  So Josh, Jamie and I headed out to the big game between the Vancouver Whitecaps versus the star studded LA Galaxy (Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, and David Beckham).  When we arrived, the two teams came out for their warm up and much to our surprise LA was warming up right in front of us.  The boys got a kick (excuse the pun) out of seeing the likes of Donovan, Keane and Beckham warming up right in front of them.  The game was an exciting game as the Whitecaps took the lead 2 to 0, but in the second half the Galaxy took over and began their come back to tie the game 2 to 2.  Although the boys wanted the Whitecaps to win, they enjoyed seeing all four goals being scored at our end of the field.

Great Tickets!

Yes, I did buy Josh a new Whitecaps Jersey . . . Michelle calls me a sucker . . . I call it supporting the local team!

Yes, ladies we were this close to Becks . . . kind of average if I don't say so myself!!!  Come on . . . if we simply add a few pounds on him, shrink him to 5'3", buzz cut his hair and dye it black with flecks of gray, minus a few tattoos . . . you have got a splitting image of me!!!!   I know, I know, Michelle is VERY lucky to have me.  Boy I'm HOT!!

Happy Birthday Jamie!!!!

Cultus Lake

Packing the truck for five is no easy task with the five sleeping bags, two queen size air mattresses, five pillows, five chairs, clothes for all of us, and all of the necessary kitchen supplies, camping garb, and toys to entertain not only the adults, but also the kids.  Like any trip there are always the last minute things that are forgotten in the initial pack like toothbrushes, life jackets . . . well you get the picture.  This year, HOWEVER, we were actually packing the truck for NINE!!!  Well . . . give me a second to explain, the family that we have been camping with for the past two years are only in their sophomore year and therefore, they don't have this camping thing down to a fine art form like us.  Lets just say that they are like our Padawan's or apprentices when it comes to camping as they have yet to be given their certificate of completion and therefore would still be a risk to themselves trying to survive in a Provincial Campground on their own . . . yes even a Provincial Campground!  If it wasn't for us, their idea of cooking would consist of ordering pizza and making daily trips to Starbucks to quench their thirst . . . this as all of you know is not camping, but merely a mirage of camping that would be passed onto their children . . .  and for all of us campers, we just can't let that happen . . .  lets just say that before we left, we received several phone calls from our Padawans asking if we could bring four extra pillows and matches . . .  sleeping on the ground for a couple of nights is bad enough, but without pillows!?  And who needs matches?  Campfire, s'mores, lighting the stove . . . not that important.  If it wasn't for us they would have had a cold night, stiff necks in the morning, and cold raw marshmallows on a stick.  What can I say, we Hikeats bring with us warmth, comfort, and good eats wherever we go!

Emma loved pumping each other up!

Captain Canada was helping Josh take some different pictures from unique angles.

The kids loved sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and throwing things into it . . . it is a good thing we had matches.

Sitt'n around the fire sharing their John stories with one another.  The main characters were John and The Pits!  Every story ended off with some sort of bodily sound.  We may have to do some explaining next year when the kids begin their creative writing unit in school.

This year we decided to let the kids stay up late and enjoy the evening together, rather than trying to get them to fall asleep in the tents by themselves at their usual bedtime.  Bed time this year went much easier than last year.  

I found this little car floaty amongst the stuff that my mom handed over to me as she has been slowly clearing out my stuff from her house.  I can remember floating in this car when I was about their age.  It certainly seemed a lot bigger to me when I first pulled it out.

Emma enjoyed being pulled around by her big brothers.

Emma managed to entertain herself in the lake by herself.

The boys didn't catch anything, but they enjoyed casting their lines and reeling it in.

Better luck next time, Jamie!

Going on nature hikes throwing rocks in the streams and of course playing ManTracker.  The kids also enjoyed geocaching and looking for their prizes.

Another fun time camping with our Padawans as we have rediscovered Cultus Lake as a place to camp with our families.  If this was a season of Survivor, I would feel pretty safe as my skills chopping wood and starting fires (with a little help from the "Magic Sauce") would keep me in the game . . . sorry Emma, but you are still the weakest link.  If you would like to read another perspective of our camping trip this year check out http://www.schwartzchronicles.com/.

Oval Camp

We generally don't put our kids into Summer Camps because we often don't want to be tied to a schedule and have to stay home, but we were given the opportunity to put Josh and Jamie into a free oval camp . . . did someone say free?  Free, now someone is speakin' my language.  Lets just say that the boys had a blast at this multi-sport camp with their leaders Punky and Ryan.  Hockey, soccer, basketball, badminton, ping pong, gymnastics equipment, and their favourite activity the Rock Wall.

Look out Steve Nash, here I come!

I don't think the boys stopped running for the whole three hours!  The boys were wiped at the end of each day.

"The best . . . when I was rock climbing, Ryan kept saying keep going up, you are almost there"  Did you like that?  "Yup, because it is the way that I liked it . . . I would of stopped earlier, but I kept going".  "I was proud of myself because I tried things that I never did before.  I never thought that I could go that high"

"I have never gone rock climbing before at the oval so I was nervous because the walls looked so high as I looked up.  The first few times, I didn't climb to the top because when I looked down it looked so high.  On my third try, I wanted to stop, but I kept going because Ryan was telling me to keep going and that I could do it.  When I reached the top . . . I felt really good because I have never climbed to the top."  When one of the kids wanted to go on the hard ones, I wanted to go as well because I wanted to try something different"

The boys learned a lot about themselves this week . . . as they took new risks and challenged themselves to newer 'heights'!  Thanks Lisa for being too busy scheduling your own family fun and giving our kids the chance to attend this camp.                                             schwartzchronicles.com