Mount St. Helens

The model that shows what happened.

Making the seismograph move.

At Johnston Ridge Observatory

Mount St. Helens

Tuesday we drove down to see Mount St. Helens. I have been in the area twice but it has always been cloudy and I have never been able to see the mountain. We drove all the way up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, which is the highest, closest point that is easy to drive to. You are about five miles from the mountain across from the side that blew off. It was amazing to see how everything was changed after the eruption. And beautiful in a way. The drive up and back were very pretty as well.

Gabby was much more interested in how it all works than I ever thought. She and Gram watched the movie and she said she understood it a little more. But she wants to know why and how the lava is in the ground. Anyone have any good answers? We bought a book and are going to read up on how volcanoes work.

National Watermelon Day

August 3rd was National Watermelon Day. We got a watermelon and took it to the park with our picnic supper to celebrate.

A Day in Seattle

Fish throwing at Pike Place

Cheetos on the harbor cruise

Seattle from the water

Riding the horses

Gram and Gabby up on the Space Needle

We spent today in Seattle. We started out at Pike Place Market. Gram wanted to see the flying fish. Then we walked over to the piers and took a harbor cruise. After the boat ride we ate lunch at The Crab Pot. Gabby the eagle eye spotted the carousel so the kids took a ride. From there shopped a little and then took the Monorail up to Seattle Center. We rode up to the top of the Space Needle and looked around. When we came down the kids rode the Dumbo type ride and then we rode the monorail back. Sam slept the first time we rode the monorail. Second time, he didn't want to get off. We made our way back to the care and came home after a fun day in Seattle.

Beaver Games

Gabby and Sam thought the beaver was hilarious playing with them. Of course I never captured the belly laughs coming from Sam half the time. He didn't do it when the video was rolling. But they were up-close and personal with the beaver.

Northwest Trek

Bighorn sheep.

Games with a beaver.

Helping baby brother.

Friday we went to Northwest Trek, an animal park featuring animals from the Northwest only. Part of it is walk-thru and part of it you ride a tram. We got some good upclose looks at caribou, bison, bighorn, and deer. It was finally cooler and was nice to be outside!

Bike Riding, Part Three

Gabby is getting the hang of her bike now. She's turning and we even ventured out of the alley today and went around the block. She's doing great! She made this video for Daddy.

Fire Truck!

So I have this amazing friend who had a baby about a week and a half ago with an eighteen-month-old and a just turning three-year-old in her house. And of course her husband is deployed. So what does she decide to do? Have a birthday party for her three-year-old. She arranged to have the fire truck come since he is big into firemen. This was the day after the blackout (the power came on 10 minutes before the party started). The truck was about an hour late because of the blackout but when they arrived, they were super nice and took ALL the kids on a ride around the block. The birthday boy got to ride in the front while the rest of the kids strapped into the back. The kids loved the ride!