Staying busy

I thought I had blogged more recently than I have, so I guess I have some catching up to do.  We have been pretty busy the last few weeks with science week, a visiting Flat Stanley, working on the yard, and exploring our new surroundings.

Science week started with an egg drop at the boys' school.  The students who wanted to participate made a devise for holding a raw egg as it was dropped from a 70 foot tall firetruck ladder.  Joel chose not to participate, but Evan did.  He worked on a design, tested it, re-designed, etc, etc.  His final design worked from the second story of our home, but not at the school unfortunately.  It was a fun event and I am already looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next year.

The next night we went to the science fair assembly at school.  All of the projects were on displays, and students who had signed up were able to present their projects.  Both of the boys did projects, and Evan presented his.  He practiced a lot and did a good job of speaking loudly and talking about the project.  Way to go, Evan!

That Friday after school we took Flat Stanley into Seattle and West Seattle for some sightseeing.  We started off with getting some free Friday afternoon sodas from Jones Soda Co.  I have been wanting to do that since we moved here and finally made it when they were open!  We had fun trying lots of flavors. 

After that, we went to the waterfront area and visited Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe.  We were supposed to go there over Spring Break, but that was the day Joel got sick.  The boys were a little "freaked out" (to quote Joel) in there.  It has even been renamed "the freaky place" by Joel.  They saw mummies, shrunken heads, stuffed animals (including a 2-headed lamb) - to name a few things.  This place is a store and a museum of sorts.  It was the first time we had been, and I don't anticipate the boys asking to go back any time soon.

Then it was time to walk around Pike Place Market.  We saw lots of fun sights there, and even enjoyed a Texas-sized donut.  It was big enough for the whole family!  Of course, we visited the gross gum wall, too.  I thought the kids getting Flat Stanley back would be very interested in that.

After Steve got off work he joined us in the market and we took off for West Seattle and Alki Beach.  Our first stop was Spud's for dinner.  It was very yummy and we all enjoyed eating at "the oldest fast food restaurant in Seattle"!  After we ate, we walked across the street to the "beach".  Joel pointed out that it wasn't a real beach since it didn't have sand. 

The next day was Saturday, and it was time to head out for the Tulip Festival!  We went to a farm (with vegetables and animals), a tulip farm, and Padilla Bay for a bike ride.  It was a long day, but a lot of fun.

This week was a bit of a recovery week.  Evan and I did head out to a Mariners game last night.  It was our first game at Safeco field and we had a blast!  We went with a group from their school, so he was able to hang out with some friends, and I was able to talk to the moms.  And the Mariners won! 

In our "spare time" we have been working on the yard, too.  It's really been more Steve, but I have decided that I like working in the yard more here than I did in Texas.  I would assume it is because it is cooler here.  And the ground is easier to work with, too.  The yard is looking pretty good now and we have some beautiful flowers blooming.  We both have visions for what we would like the yard to look like in a few years.  Hopefully we can have fun together working to achieve that.