Halloween #3

Hey--thanks to all you bloggers who posted about your field trips to Thomasson Farms. What a fun place! Me and the kids trekked out there this afternoon to (finally) pick up those prized Halloween pumpkins. It's pretty late in the season, so the gourds were a little picked over, but (on the bright side) we had the place to ourselves. Since we were all alone, I climbed into the corn box and played with the kids (shhh!!!). Also, we ended up with some pretty sexy pumpkins. I guess it was a successful trip!

Halloween Part Deux

The kids and I had so much fun at Woodland Park's Pumpkin Prowl, that we decided to hit up the Pacific Science Center's Halloween Bash the next day. We have a membership there (making it free for us) and Chad was still out of town, so we decided to just go for it. The Pacific Science Center put on a pretty good shindig. It was more craft heavy than candy heavy, which was nice considering the amount of loot we gathered at the zoo the night before. They had tons of booths set up everywhere with things for the kids to make. Mikey and Natty walked away with masks, animal noses, kazoos and home made slime. Of course, there was some candy. It just wouldn't be a Halloween party without it. But, it was minimal. They also had shows every half hour or so, and a costume parade for the kids. We only caught the magic show, but it was awesome. Mikey's favorite part was when the scientist shot a teddy bear out of an air pressure cannon. I have to admit that it was my favorite part too.

Anyways, so we hit up the PSC for a couple hours, then ran off to the airport to pick Chad up (yeah!). Then we went straight from the airport to our next Halloween destination: Full Tilt. Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "What? Full Tilt? The punk rock ice cream shop? What does that have to do with Halloween?" It just so happens that Full Tilt was also having a Halloween bash. A band called The Not It's played a free show in the shop. The Not It's are a Seattle based band that play rock and roll for the kiddies. They are akin to the bands you see on Nogin, only much cooler. They sang songs about bath time and kindergarten and playing airplane. The best part was that there were a bunch of toddlers there totally rocking out--banging their heads and pogo-ing and the whole bit. So cool. Oh, and there were "prizes" for kids dressed in costumes. So the dancing kids were dressed up like fairies and butterflies and storm troopers. So fun.

From Full Tilt, we made a bee-line for the stake center for the ward's trunk-or-treat party. It was a very nice social, but I was a wee bit tired by this point in the day. We collected our candy and then rushed home to put the little monsters to bed. This has been such a fun Halloween. I am so impressed by all the activities Seattle has to offer for families. Next year and I think we should gather up a group of families and go together!!!

A Few Side notes:
1. If you like the Not It's and are interested in other kid music that I think is awesome, you should check out Kimya Dawson's cd "Alphabutt." It is hillarious!
2. I just discovered that Full Tilt has a birthday package. For $75 you get to submit a recipe for your own ice cream flavor (which they make for you), ice cream for 10 and a pint of your homemade creation to take home with you.

Pumpkin Prowl

Me and the kids headed out to the "Pumpkin Prowl" at the Woodland Park Zoo tonight. Chad was busy, and I was in the mood to do something festive, and this fit the bill. Oh my heavens! It was so, so fun! They had all kinds of trick-or-treat booths set up for the kids. And they were handing out some good stuff. I'm talking Top Pot donuts, coupons for free cupcakes at Cupcake Royale, beanie babies (not the small ones, either. Real ones), boxes of granola, Cliff Bars and all the regular candy. They also had live shows every half hour or so and a chick walking around on super tall stilts. The "Zoomazium" became the "Boomazium." It was decorated extremely well and I would've loved to taken more pictures in there, but Natty quickly informed me that it was a "bad room" and she wanted to go. Anyways, if you are free tomorrow night (which you're probably not because it's our ward's trunk-or-treat), it's from 5-8pm and you can buy discounted tickets at Bartell's.
P.S. In case you can't tell, Natty is a "scary kitty cat" and Mikey is a zombie (he insisted on saying "trick-or-brains" instead of "trick-or-treat" at all the booths because, "mom, zombies eat brains. That is their treat.")

Tag--You're It!!!

My beautiful sister, Courtney, tagged me. The magic number this time is eight.

8 Favorite TV shows:
1. The Office
2. Lost
3. Heroes
4. Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
5. Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
6. Psych
7. Monk
8. The Soup

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. XXX Rootbeer
2. Saigon Rose
3. Humbows from Meesum Pastry
4. Beth's
5. Full Tilt
6. Tutti Frutti
7. The Confectional
8. Blue C Sushi
(okay, so half of those are just bakeries, but whatever. They're dessert restaurants)

8 Things I did Yesterday:
1. Wished I didn't have a dog
2. Taught a history class
3. Visited three parks in one hour
4. Ate a hot fudge sundae and an apple pie at McDonald's
5. Listen to my husband teach thousands of people in Australia via the internet
6. Looked up Chad's new book on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/After-Effects-Illusionist-Complete-Guide/dp/0240811453/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224709065&sr=8-3
7. Played with my camera
8. Watched Mikey swim all by himself (proud mommy moment!)

8 Things I love about Fall:
1. The vibrant colors
2 . The crisp, frosty mornings
3. The excuse to make all manner of delicious apple or pumpkin filled baked goods
4. Halloween
5. Thanksgiving
6. Rain
7. School starting up again
8. Getting to wear scarves and mittens and beanies and sweaters and...

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Chad's work slowing down
2. Halloween
3. Thanksgiving
4. Christmas
5. Snow
6. Holiday music
7. Visits from my parents and Chad's parents
8. Natty's first dance recital

8 Things on my Wish List
1. A house on property full of trees and water
2. A real tree this Christmas
3. A half dozen more babies to call my own. Well, maybe half of a half dozen...
4. For the new LA Fitness to let me join without paying those darn start up fees
5. To find the bottom of my dirty clothes basket
6. More rain
7. That the electric company would decide to move the humongous iron giant they planted right in front of my window
8. For my dog to stop being annoying

8 People I Tag:
1. Seriously? Eight? Ummm...how 'bout I tag anyone who feels like doing the survey...

I Think I Need A Nap

Man. Some days are just such a whirl wind. It's great, but it feels like there is no time to breathe. This morning I got up early, fed the kids breakfast and put dinner in the crockpot. Then the dog got sick, so I steamed the carpets in the front room. Then I got ready, got the kids ready, packed lunches and got in the car so that I could get Mikey to school by 9:00 am. From 9-11:00, I prepped for my history class (I teach a class at Russell Ridge with 14 kindergarten through third graders. Most are boys. It's a lot of energy!). I taught my class from 11-12, ate lunch, rushed Mikey off to his last class, then sat in the library and played a board game with Natty. At 1:30 I packed up my car with my kids and three of their friends for our weekly play date. All six of us went to the park. It was so much fun! Within an hour we had visited three different parks in our neighborhood (each has it's own "cool" equipment). I helped a slew of children across the monkey bars, played a Knight (who saved the mermaid, in case you were wondering what a knight at the park does), fixed a boo boo and caught several children as they jumped from the jungle gym. At five o'clock our friends went home and I fed the family dinner. The dog got sick again. This time both the dog and the floor required some serious cleaning. At 6:15, we left for swimming lessons. Chad was doing a live speech for some convention in Australia (via teleconference) from 7-8pm. Since he needed it to be quiet, we went to McDonald's after swim lessons for dessert. Natty told a man in McDonald's that, "it is very, very bad food at Hamburger Meal (her name for any fast food restaurant serving burgers), but we can eat it when mommy needs us to be quiet." Great. That declaration is sure to win me Mother of the Year, right? Finally, at 8:15 I tucked the children into their snug little beds and sat down for what felt like the first time since 7 am this morning. Don't get me wrong. I loved today. Every busy second of it. I had so much fun with my kids and their friends. I wouldn't want to do anything else. But, I think I need a nap...

Brick Con 2008

A few weekends ago we took Mikey to "Brickcon" (the annual Lego convention) at the Seattle Center. It was so much fun. There were some very impressive Lego creations. Seriously, thousands and thousands of pieces in some of the sculptures. It was amazing. The crowd was super cool too. I love people who get into stuff and are passionate about what they like. They even had an area roped off for the kids where they could sit down with a bucket of Legos and create their own piece to display.

I'm not sure that everyone attending Brickcon had the full support of their families though. While I was perusing the entries, I overheard the following conversation:

Lego enthusiast #1: "Hey man--this your display?"
Lego enthusiast #2: "Yeah"
Lego enthusiast #1: "How much it cost to gather up all these pieces"
Lego enthusiast #2: "Ummm....I don't know. If I kept track of how much I spent on this stuff, I probably wouldn't have a wife."

I don't know why that conversation amused me as much as it did. But, it did. I thought it was hilarious. And very honest. And, probably, accurate.

A Few of My Favorite Things...

Chad and I have done a lot of adventuring in the 18 months we've lived up here in the glorious northwest. In the process, we've discovered some really, really awesome places. And now I'm going to share them with you!

Saigon Rose.
I love this restaurant! It is in the same shopping center as Shari's and 24 hour fitness. Chad and I eat there at least twice a month and we always get the same order: beef brisket pho (pronounced like you're asking a question), spicy chicken wings, and crab rangoon. Oh my goodness. Just the thought of our regular order sends my salivary glands into overdrive. For those who haven't experienced the magic of pho, it is like the Vietnamese version of chicken noodle soup. Warm and savory, perfect on a cold, rainy northwest day. The spicy chicken wings are incredible. They are coated in this super flavorful but not too spicy goo. I literally have dreams about these wings. And the crab rangoon comes with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce that I could drink by the gallon. The service is great here too. They are always super kind and accommodating.

Catfish Corner.
This is a little restaurant on 104th in Kent. I saw an article in the Kent magazine about it opening awhile back. Chad served his mission in Louisiana and has a special place in his heart for real southern food, so we had to check it out. We got there a quarter to noon. To our dismay, the restaurant didn't open for another 15 minutes and people were already lining up outside the door. It's just that good! The service was incredibly fast and it took all of ten minutes to get to the front of the line, order and get our food. Their specialty is southern fried catfish. It's not like the greasy beer battered stuff that you get at most fish and chip places. This fish is bathed in a delicious corn meal batter and cooked to perfection. They serve it up with their homemade tarter sauce, which they sell by the tub. It's probably not good for you, but it is oh so tasty.

Full Tilt.
Here's their description on myspace: "Full Tilt Ice Cream. 9629 16th ave sw, the heart of White Center. 206-767-4811 The main focus is going to be ice cream (of course) and pinball. We 8 pinball machines and some vintage arcades. The ice cream is hand made. Twelve different flavors with six changing daily. In addition to that we got popsicles. The ingredients are local and organic when available. We always have a vegan selection as well as an array of vegan baked goods. Also we are looking to support local artists by having monthly art openings as well as bands on a semi regular basis. Our planed opening date is June 20th. Read our press! Seattle PI; West Seattle Blog; White Center News; NW Source; Seattle Conscious Choice; Seattle PI #2;"

This place is seriously so cool. The icecream is so unbelievably good!!! Oh my freaking heck. So good. And they make the waffle cones right in front of you when you order. And they are CHEAP! Our whole family got single scoop waffle cones (also a "single scoop" is really two scoops) for under $10. And the pinball machines are super fun. A bunch of them are only 25 cents to play. They even have little step stools all over the place so that the little guys can reach the buttons. A super fun place for your family home evening outings.

XXX Rootbeer.
I know it sounds a little naughty, but the "xxx" refers to the homemade brew (rootbeer). It's a 50's diner with the tastiest sandwiches and homemade rootbeer you're ever likely to find. Sure, it' terrible for you, but most good food is, right? They have vintage car shows there all the time too. Just be careful to type in the right web address or you're likely to come up with more than hamburgers.

Boehm's Chocolates.
This is right across the street from XXX Rootbeer. We usually hit up both in the same trip. It's a chocolate store started by some dude who literally skied across the Alps to escape Hitler. Someone told him that Issaquah looked the most like his hometown, so he built himself a chalet with a view of Mt. Rainier and started making chocolates. During the summer you can take a tour of his chalet, which I highly recommend. The guy's story is cool enough on its own to make me totally love the store, but the chocolate is also really, really good. It puts that See's junk to shame. My favorite is the "mt. rainier." It's like a cordial cherry on crack. So good.

Rat City Rollergirls.
Okay, so let me preface this by saying I have never actually been to a roller derby bout. But, I have watched a bunch on tv (tnt, or one of those kinds of channels, had a series where they followed a Texas team around for a season) and it is so rad. Seriously, chicks with super cute names (Anya Heels, Carmen Getsome, Darth Skater, Crash Gordon, etc.) beating each other up mercilessly whilst on old school four wheel skates? That is so fun. And, I've been told that at the real bouts, live bands play at half time. So it's a sporting event and a concert at the same time. Tami, I think you should start a LDS league...

As I'm writing this I keep thinking of more and more cool places that I'd love to share with you all! The Seattle area just has so many fun places and delicious restaurants and quirky hangouts. How could you not love living here? Alas, I am sure you are all terribly tired of this post already. The rest will have to wait for another time. Now I challenge you. What are your favorite NW haunts? Give me a new place to visit next date night!