Downtown to Defiance

In the immortal opening page of The Cat in the Hat:

The sun did not shine.

It was too wet to play.

So we sat in the house

 All that cold, cold, wet day.

As I've stated in a previous blog post, in the Pacific Northwest, simply plan to do everything in the rain.  That's precisely what we did this Sunday for Tacoma's Downtown to Defiance event commemorating the opening of the last section of waterfront which now allows pedestrians to travel unabated from Thea Foss waterway in downtown Tacoma, all the way to Point Defiance Park Marina.  Tacoma planned a party to commemorate the event, and I imagine, due to the weather forecast, not as many people as expected showed for the event.    It wasn't nearly as desolate as our start line photo seems to allude; we were 40 minutes late for the start.  

We knew from the weather reports it was going to rain.  The only question was; how much?  With our best biking rain apparel, and the temps in the mid 50's, we didn't get hypothermic, but we certainly got our share of soaked.  We fed and bundled the kids, handed them lost of toys, were accompanied by our Canadian neighbor, and headed into the outdoors for some fun.  

The bike trailer we purchased 2 weeks ago did quite well.  More water got into the carriage and pooled in the foot well than we expected, but the kids took it in stride.  We did learn not to bring books next time.

Although I pulled the trailer from our house to the start line, and from the finish back to the house, Sarah enjoyed pulling the kid chariot along the relatively flat shoreline segment of our journey.  She and the kids had enormous fun.  

There were several pit stops along the route with activities for both adults and kids.  Above, we take a photo op at the first stop, Thea's Park where Thea waterway meets Commencement Bay.  

Grace takes some time to make a flag for the bike - see it in many of the photos above and below.  Oh, and we had snacks constantly - on the go, at every stop, and everywhere in between.  

At the second stop I caught a fish "THIS BIG!"  You could actually walk around inside that fish.  It was fun.  Then we saw a train.  Kids love trains.  

Getting the kids in and out of the trailer is a bit of a chore.  After the 3rd reload, we decided not to stop again until the finish line, until we saw some pirates.  

Sarha and Jessie enjoy a photo op with the pirates.  The kids enjoy more snacks and free beads.  

What was our reward for getting soaked and biking 15 miles through Tacoma's neighborhoods and waterfront?  Popsicles!  The delicious treats from Hill Top Pop Shop can't be bought in a store, you have to find them at farmer's markets and local events.  The kids didn't care it was 55 degrees out, they loved their popsicles, shivering lips and all.  

Karate Kid

No, Grace isn't practicing karate, she's dancing.  The story of folk hero "Danielson" is well know to the children of Generation X.  The tale of his trials and tribulations are whispered in taverns, alleys, and living rooms by those with a lot of hard work ahead of them, when they would much rather just sit on their buts and be lazy.  This is our version of that tale.  

Step 1: Get your but kicked by Cobra Kai

In this metaphor, the Pacific Northwest weather is Cobra Kai and it had kicked the crap out of our back deck and front porch.  The weather had "shown no mercy" and practically "swept the leg" of our outdoor wood living areas.  Now, to find a short Japanese immigrant who will help us... in this metaphor, Sarah and I are both Mr Miyagi AND Danielson.  Lesser minds might have issues with this type of metaphorical morphing, but we do not.  

Step 2: Sand the floor.

Yes, we had the aid of mechanical advantage, but we still sanded for roughly a combined 25 man hours.  

Step 3: Paint the House

Step 4: PAINT THE FENCE!

Now is about the time where you clap your hands one time, rub palms quickly, and then heal someone with magic Eastern Medicine body rubbing.  We are white collar people; we are not use to working this much!

Step 5: BONZAI

After 4 days of work, Cobra Kai showed up for the tournament.  It was a long, hard battle but in the end the new deck/fence stain answered with a royal flying crane kick to the face of Cobra Kai.  I've never seen water bead like that on our deck before.  Danielson wins the tournament!

Puyallup Fair 2013

So it's that time of year again! One of our favorite events, the  Washington State Fair in Puyallup has started and we attended, as we do every year, on Military Monday. Free admission, which saves a lot for our family of four! The kids had fun at the petting zoo and seeing all the draft horses. Sam is at a fun age this year as he really gets excited about the animals. We met up with some friends of ours, the Caldwell family, whose two boys are Sam and Grace's age.

 

Note the sign on the fence stating, "do not climb." Sam can't help himself as he views the donkeys.

Sam and his buddy Peter (24 hours apart in age) checking out the baby chickens

The Fair is also full of food you shouldn't eat, but we all do way too much of that when we go! It's also chock full of fun rides, however, Sam was only tall enough to ride the train, and that was only after I gave the ride workers some gruff because he was just millimeters below the height requirement and I thought it was ridiculous. Scott will say it was not one of my better "Christian" moments :) Poor kid, he was not too happy watching Grace have all the fun. Although she barely made the cut off too. Scott and I grow little munchkins apparently.

The Fair isn't complete without Krusty Pups (corn dogs)

Mom LOVES carmel apples, and now Grace does too!

Sam is also a fan. Picking off the carmel and candy!

CHOO, CHOO!

Josiah and Grace going out for a drive at dusk!

Speed demon

Another fun day at The Fair. Grace enjoying all the lights on the rides as the sun goes down.

Until next year.....

On the Go

Real time reporting from the streets of Tacoma. We have borrowed bike trailers for some time, finally biting the bullet and buying our own two days ago. Sam and I take the new chariot for an evening ride after dinner. What fun.

Sam's sock monkey face

Touch a Truck

Happy birthday to me! My mother in a law and I spent the morning taking the kids on an adventure, this time without dad while it's his turn to work. Pierce County puts on a free "Touch a Truck" event each year where kids can climb all over, push buttons, and honk horns of dozens of different vehicles. There were firetrucks, tractors of all shapes and sizes, dump trucks, garbage trucks, large lawnmowers, and even a Zamboni ice resurfacer. We had a lot of fun. I kept thinking about how much my nephew Jack would have loved it!

 

The Pierce County Sheriffs Dept brought their animal control vehicle and it wasn't long before the kids had each other in the cages.

 

This is a hydroplane boat made especially for kids. We were told kids start riding these as young as 8 years old. Grace and Sam have a few years yet but thoroughly enjoyed pretending otherwise. It was a great event and can't wait to go again next year...with daddy.