What You Ought To Do

Okay, this may come across at bossy or controlling, but please let me take a minute of your time and tell you what you ought to do. We Perkins have officially been residents of the Evergreen State for one year this month. We love it here and have made it our personal mission to explore every square inch of Washington. Well, at least the square inches that run along this side of the mountains. We love it all, from the rustic quaintness of Hobart to the absolute zaniness of Fremont (hello? Have you guys all visited the Lenin statue?). Every once in awhile we come across things that are really, really cool though. And, much like the gospel, when we find these pearls our first desire is to share them with you, our friends. Which brings me to my topic at hand...Archie McPhee.

Archie McPhee is pretty much the coolest store ever. Actually, it's two stores right next to each other. That's right. Archie McPhee has so much awesome junk that one mere building couldn't contain it all. What, you may ask, do they sell? Pretty much everything. They've got dashboard ninjas, yodeling pickles, dueling nuns, a Van Gogh action figure complete with interchangeable heads (one with two ears, one with a single ear and a bandage), and gummy mustaches (see below). I simply don't have the skill necessary to describe in words how incredible this place is. Instead, I will quote their website:
"Archie McPhee has been supplying gifts and toys to Seattle for over 25 years. Located in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, it's a one stop shop for party supplies, crafts, costumes, miniatures and the weirdest collection of toys and candy that you've ever seen.

Widely considered to be a Mecca for connoisseurs of the strange and one of Seattle's top ten weird destinations, it is truly an attraction without a parallel. Not only that, with over 10,000 items and prices as low as 1 cent, no one leaves empty handed."

Okay, now on to my next topic. Weather day with the Mariners. I saw it on the news while I was at the gym (post treadmill accident) and it's meant to be a fun field trip for school aged kids, but it's open to any group. It's June 4th (which is a Wednesday). The tickets are $11 and they include a little weather lesson for the kids with Channel 4's weather man, a ticket to the game that day, and a meal voucher for a hot dog, chips and soda. It sounds really fun and I'm trying to get a group to go. If we all buy our tickets together as a group, they will get us seats next to each other. I realize it's a school day, but it's educational, and every kid deserves to play hooky once in awhile (in my opinion, anyway!). Kids 3 and under are free, but they won't get a seat of their own or a meal voucher without a ticket. Adults are $11 too. Email or comment me if you'd like to go. It'll be fun!

So, then, here's what you ought to do. You ought to run out to Archie McPhee this weekend and stock up on really cool toys. Then you ought to email me and sign up to go to Weather Day with your kids. Ready? Go!