A week or so ago we were lucky to get to participate in a sunrise kayaking trip. And while hauling our half asleep selves down the hill at 6:00 am on a Sunday was a bit of a challenge, the sunrise did not disappoint.
After a quick tutorial on maneuvering and paddling we were off. S and I in one kayak, with my mom and K in another.
It was such a wonderful morning to be out on the water; it was calm as could be. We even got to watch the beavers swimming in the cove. There wasn't enough light to get a decent picture, but it was pretty amazing to silently float along as they swam around us.
Did I mention the sunset? It was beautiful...
I may not have gotten good photos of the beavers, but my friend, Mary, managed to catch them...
This past weekend ended up being rather hectic after my dad was in a bike accident. He's just fine now, but when he was dizzy and nauseous after hitting his head, we were quite concerned.
A trip to the ER, three staples, and a night in the hospital later, the neurologist was confident he was just suffering from a nasty concussion. A few days of rest and he should be as good as new.
A few days ago my daughter decided to look for four leaf clovers in our front yard.
After finding her first one, she ran in the house, excited to show us her find. But, of course, one clover wasn't enough, so she popped back outside to keep looking.
By the end of her search, she'd found a total of five, four leaf clovers. All five of them are currently tucked away in my Grandma's giant dictionary until we can get a frame for them. Looking back, I think we should have gone down to Doud's that day to get a lottery ticket.
Slugs are fairly common on Mackinac Island. Big slimy leopard slugs that can be up to six or seven inches long.
I often see them trying to cross the road on damp mornings during the summer months. (The squished ones are really gross.)
I found this one crossing my yard on his/her (slugs are both - they're hermaphrodites) way to have a snack in my garden. I relocated it to the back of the empty lot across the street where it can nibble on the greens to its heart's content. I'd rather it not munch on my flowers.
As you can tell from their faces, Seattle's Gum Wall was not on of my kids' favorite stops. I was OK at first. All that gum was kind of amazing - it was everywhere, on everything. And this actually isn't all the gum. Apparently, in 2015, they removed over 2,000 pounds of the stuff from the walls of the alley.
As we walked we saw simple gobs of gum smashed into the bricks, little sculptures made from gum, and even gum used to post little messages on the wall. Other really creative people used multiple pieces to spell out words.
I was just fine as I wandered around thinking, "I wonder how much all that gum weighs?" and "I bet the acidity of the gum isn't good for those bricks," until S and I posed for this picture:
As I opened my mouth and got close, I instantly regretted it. Even at over a foot from the wall, the air was so saturated with the sickeningly sweet smell of gum, I could actually taste it. Ugh! It was so gross! Luckily we were already on out way down the alley and out to fresher air.
We loved the Seattle Aquarium. Partially because we're just geeky people, but also because the sea otters completely stole our hearts. They were just about the most adorable things I've ever seen. Don't believe me? Check out their live Otter-Cams here.
Another wonderful exhibit at the aquarium was Life on the Edge: Sea Life in Puget Sound Tide Pools. Both S and K spent a lot of time there. Since the sea anemones in the sound are not poisonous like their warm-water relatives, we could touch them. K loved how sticky their tentacles felt.
S loved touching the sea stars and the spiky sea urchins.
Both kids also had a great time posing with each and every statue we found within the aquarium. (Don't worry, there were no real germ-infested kisses.)
I know it seems expensive to visit places such as the Seattle Aquarium, but if you go to Seattle with kids just bite the bullet and go. The aquarium may be on the small side, but we loved it and found the it well worth the entrance cost.
The Island's fireworks this year this year were really good. They started out a little on the slow side but built up into a wonderful finale. Well, three finales actually. The technicians kept psyching us out, but when the horns sounded after the third one, we knew they were over. It was a great way to end a fun-filled day.
We were a little surprised to be treated to sun on our first day in Seattle. Ying Ying and Miguel thought it was a prefect day to check out the view from Kerry Park.
It was a lovely little scenic overlook with an amazing view of Seattle, as well as art to appreciate. Which, of course, meant the kids had to climb all over it.
Plus, down below, the kids discovered a wonderful little playground. And who can resist new playground equipment? Certainly not my family - we had to try every single thing! It was great fun.
Michigan's Lower Peninsula (beneath the Mackinac Bridge) isn't the only place you can find trolls; did you know Seattle has one too? He's known as the Fremont Troll, he lives under the Aurora Bridge, and he's big.
Big enough to grab a Volkswagen Bug from the road.
Both of the kids loved exploring his domain. Luckily he was very amiable and quite happy to let the kids climb all over him.
Ying Ying, Allen and I, were happy to just spend some time together. It was so nice spending the day with her!
Way back in 2000, we were lucky enough to host an exchange student from China. We fell in love with her and have kept in touch all these years.
She and her husband are living in Seattle these days, and we were lucky
enough to get an invitation to spend a week with them right after school
got out.
Seattle was such a neat city, but visiting with Y was the best part of the trip!
Yesterday I saw a sign for Kid's Fishing Day, and I realized, I'd never posted about the last time we went. It's only been threeyears, right? Kind of the story of my life lately...
The kids thoroughly enjoyed Kid's Fishing Day over in St. Ignace. We often visit Castle Rock Ponds, but we'd never made it over for this event. Kid's Fishing Day is actually part of Free Fishing Weekend - put on by the State of Michigan. During those two weekends (one in June and one in February) adults can fish without a license (kids under 17 never need licenses in Michigan.)
The kids loved the free hot dogs, the giant catch and release trout, and the unending prizes. Both kids were thrilled with what they won - S took home a new fishing pole and a tackle box and K won a sweatshirt. K won at the last possible prize - you could see the worry of not winning melt away as the announcer called her name. This year they both won gift certificates from businesses in St. Ignace.
Big thank yous to Gustafson's Smoked Fish, BC Pizza and Bentley's for supporting this event. S & K were thrilled with the prizes and gift certificates you donated!
S was much more interested in the other non-fish critters in the pond. Instead of showing you yet another photo of the frogs he's caught, I'll share this little guy:
S was so proud of that tiny little turtle! (It's shell was about the size of a silver dollar.) Of all the things S has caught over the years, this was the hardest one for him to let go...
Kid's Fishing Day, this year, is Saturday, June 10th.
I can't remember when I first read Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, but over the years I've read it four or five times. If you're not familiar with the story, it revolves around a woman living in a not too distant future. A future in which the US has been replaced by a Christian theocracy which forces the few remaining fertile women to bear children for the ruling class. It's challenging for the main character to embrace this new life because she remembers the life she use to have with her husband and daughter before the regime change. Plus, her new life kinds of sucks...
Thursday I stopped at the library so I could read it again and I found the original checkout record in the front of the book.
The Island's copy was first checked out in May of 1986 (the year the American edition was first published) and had only been checked out 18 times until I picked it up last week. The last time it was checked out was in May of 1995 - 22 years ago. I suppose I should be thankful the library decided to hold onto it.
I thought it was time to reread The Handmaid's Tale since we started watching the Hulu series based on the book:
I must admit, the series is good, and quite well done. Without giving anything away, I feel it stays true to the voice Margaret Atwood gave her main character (in the book, we never learn her real name.) And while Hulu did make changes, I think they work. If you have access to the show, I highly recommend it. Though, given the nature of the subject matter, you'll want to watch it after the kids have gone to bed...
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A week or so ago we were lucky to get to participate in a sunrise kayaking trip. And while hauling our half asleep selves down the hill at 6:00 am on a Sunday was a bit of a challenge, the sunrise did not disappoint.
