Kid's Fest in Burien

The city of Burien  (Burien is about 15 minutes north of us) had a kid's festival two Saturday's ago.  My old friend Sabrina was spending the day with us, so Mom decided that we should go.... 

 There were lots of booths

 I really liked this robot (made by teenagers)-you could give/receive a box from it.

 There was also this T-rex that almost got me!!

Sabrina made a long jump!

We tried twirling plastic plates on sticks...

We both broke boards at a Tai Kwon Doe place.  Sabrina does karate and I do hapkido.

The parks department was taking a survey from children about what kind of park they would want to play in.  Sabrina and I both picked the Urban Park.  It looked like it would be the most fun.

Later that same day, we went to a bamboo nursery.  My folks are thinking of planting some in the front yard.

The Flying Circus-Tukwilla

I was invited to a friend's birthday party at the Flying Circus in Tukwilla.  This place is amazing!  It has everything that an active kid, even teenager could want!  I had so much fun!  have a look.

Tons of foam blocks to jump into!!!!

Boffing with Ethan!  (I let him win because it was his birthday!)

American Ninja type courses!  I was too short to do these....

I tried part of one.

Lots of places to jump...

I jumped up on this ledge by using the trampoline below....

This place is a TON of fun.  I recommend it to almost anyone...They also have dodge ball and a climbing wall too!!!!

Longmire-Mt. Rainier National Park

Although my parents and I spent the night at the historic lodge, Paradise Inn, we all woke up very early.  Like 4:45 am early.  The birds in the eves were making a lot of noise.  The rooms at the inn, were small, but comfortable.  We all got up.  

 The plan was to eat a large breakfast, but the dining room did not open until 7:00 am.

We packed up our things and sat down in the main area.  It is a grand room flanked by two massive, stone fireplaces.  

 Fortunately, there was coffee by 5:30 am!  For my parents.  After breakfast,  we stopped by Narada Falls on our way down to Longmire.

 It was really cold!  The viewpoint was in the shade. mixed with the mist of the falls!

 Mt. Rainier Park has a second historical Inn at the base of the mountain called Longmire.  From Longmire, it is easy to get onto the Wonderland Trail.  We decided to take park of a hike through old growth forests up to a view point.

 The trail started through a wet land.  It was magical.

This trail was not paved.  The forest was Douglas Fir, Spruce and another...

The trees at the base of our walk were hundreds of feet tall.

As we walked higher, my parents and I noticed that the trees were growing out of the rocks.  It took us an hour and 45 minutes to get to the top to the view point.

We looked down at Longmire!   

I was happy to make it.

The walk back down was faster, but my legs were definitely hurting.  The great thing about this trail was that it was much less busy than the trails up at Paradise.

After this hike, we drove home.  It was nice to have experienced Mt. Rainier National Park in the morning. 

A Visit to Paradise

 On July 11th, my parents and I drove out to Mt. Rainier National Park.  The Park is only 2 hrs from our home.  We have visited this park several times over my life, but this is the first time that we have spent the night!

We drove up to Paradise on the south side of the mountain.  We had a quick lunch and then walked the paved trails up the mountain.

There was a lot of snow on the trails.  All of our shoes got really wet.

My parents and I passed a lot of mountain climbers coming down from summiting the top.  The air was thin, but it was the perfect day.

We saw alpine chipmunks and two marmots!  Not to mention, Mt. St. Helen's and Mt. Adams.

It was definitely easier coming down to the visitor center.  After our hike, we checked into the the Historic Paradise Inn.  We had dinner in the dining room and enjoyed the quietness that the evening brought, since most of the day hikers had left.

Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle) with Andy

My 5th Grade Class did some work with Woodland Park Zoo staff earlier this year.  We studied wetlands and amphibians and how important they are for the planet's health.  I gained a real appreciation for amphibians and reptiles.  My 5th grade class had to work on projects and present them to zoo staff.  As a reward, each student got a pass for 4 people to go to the zoo.  I used mine yesterday.  I took my parents and Andy.

 Mom had to buy a parking pass.  Andy and I tried climbing this tree.

 When we got in, we went to the aviaries.  This bird wanted us to feed it!

 Andy and I liked the penguins.  This is their exhibit.  

 The grizzly bears were out and they were hot.

 Andy bought some bird feed sticks and we fed the birds.  We had a lot of fun.

 We took this funny picture before we saw the Komodo Dragon.

 We walked the whole zoo.  It was a good day, but we were tired when we left!