May 7 - someone that inspires you

 

Day 7 - My Dad

He is adventurous. 

He is spontaneous. 

He is willing to try something new. 

He is willing to take me along too.

I took some time to reflect on someone that inspires me. There are so many.. I spent the entire day with my Dad today. Just him and me. I can't remember the last time that happened. There is always a kid, family member or friend around.

My wonderful husband said he would pick up Mr N from Kindergarten and take him to work with him so that my Dad and I could go into Seattle and explore.

The weather could NOT have been any better. The sun arrived. We got the 70 degrees!! Blue skies and a little haze. Perfect!

We arrived in downtown talking about things we have always wanted to do in Seattle and "Ride the Ducks" came up. We both said, "Let's Go!". We pulled into the parking lot and one duck was ready to go. We bought our tickets and off we went. This tour is a kick in the pants. Our comedic tour guide, Squidd Roe, had the best laugh, the corniest jokes and great stories about buildings and history of Seattle. He has a soundtrack to play and silly hats depending on where we were on the tour. I learned some new facts about my new city.

We followed up our tour with a walk through Seattle Center. Seattle Center is undergoing a major renovation for the 50th year since the World's Fair. The newest addition "Chihuly's Garden and Glass" looks like it will be amazing. It opens May 21st and we were able to see a little of the glass work through the fence. 

We walked down Broad Street to the Seattle Art Museum's FREE Olympic Sculpture Park. This is a great place to stroll and eat a picnic lunch. The views are amazing! We followed the path through the Sculpture Park to the Waterfront. A long walk south led us to our lunch destination "The Crab Pot". We shared a Seafeast for 2 with mussels, clams, shrimp, potatoes and corn with a crabbed stuffed mushroom appetizer. Most delicious!!

After lunch we strolled over to the Antique Market and then up the stairs to Pikes Place Market. We've done this place a few times and walked up Pike Street to turn down to Westlake Center. Outside Westlake Center is a public square. All the trees were painted blue! We went into Westlake and up to the third floor to take the Monorail back to Seattle Center. It was time to head home, pick up my kids and off to coach my U8 soccer team.

What a day with my inspiration. I'm glad you inspire me to a better relationship, a better life and a better parent.

Ride the Ducks

out on the water in the duck

Chihuly Garden of Glass

My Dad

Olympic Sculpture Park (facing east)

"The Cove" at the Crab Pot

Blue Trees in Westlake Park

sledding

We got a few days of snow this year. The first few times allowed enough snow to fall, look pretty and melt. The last time gave us enough snow to go sledding on our hill.

Our first sledding day was at a rock quarry outside of Granite Falls, WA. I was trying to get to a snow park, but the road was so icy and covered with snow that we didn't make it. We turned around and stopped at the rock quarry where we saw a lot of other people sledding. The walk up the hill was nice, but the actual sledding was more for teens and adults. We're talking a 60 degree slope down the hill. My older 2 barely made it up the hill. They came down so fast that neither wanted to do it again. We hiked back down the road and played in the snow with my Dad, Brother , his wife and their 2 year old triplets.


Two days later, we tried heading out to the snow park again. This time the road was clear. We made it to the end of the road and walked down the slippery closed road that has a nice hill to slide down. This snow park is actually a closed road. There were a lot of teenagers coming down the hill (2 at a time). They would get going so fast. We kids hiked up the hill several times and came flying down. We had to jump into the left lane to pull them off their sleds (occasionally) because the older kids would double up (meaning twice the speed) and catch up to ours. There were a few accidents, but nothing major. The snow was so deep that our 2 year old lost his boots a few times. When the snowboarders arrived (with their sharp edges) we decided to leave. Great place (Deer Creek Rd outside of Granite Falls, WA), but their are no bathrooms (a bit of a problem for the girls).

Our last and longest day sledding was just outside our house. Our hill is steep enough to get some good runs in and short enough for the kids to hike up quickly. We taught them how to roll off their sleds if they got too close to the cars parked on the side. When our hill gets snow and ice, it's impossible to drive out. The poor DHL man drove down the hill to turn around and never got back out. My kids sled until it was dark out and were cold to the bone. Great winter!!!

Nutcracker March

Hi,
My most recent outing with my 4 kids was to downtown Seattle. To avoid the panic of them going in every direction in the crowds, we arrived at 830am. Parking was easy (Pacific Place is clean, well-lit and easy to get to). We bundled up (it was 29 degrees) and starting hunting for the Nutcrackers.

The Nutcrackers are 60 7 foot tall Nutcrackers decorated by various local artists. They are sold at an auction, but the are on view for the public. Most of them on are the city streets surrounding downtown Seattle. When we came up the escalator at Pacific Place, we found our first Nutcracker. There ended up being about 10 of them within the mall. We went from floor to floor to see them. The kids were so excited that they would run as soon as they saw one.

We headed outdoors and started walking around the blocks to find more We ended up finding about 30 total. There are maps that can be downloaded, but it was more fun to explore. We stopped at Specialty's Cookies for yummy chocolate cookies and hot chocolate (mochas for the adults). In all we walked for 2 hours without any complaints. We ended our morning with a carousel ride at Westlake Center. The timing was perfect. There were no lines or crowds. But the shoppers were starting to fill the streets and it was time to go home.

It was a great day!! With little cost.