The Smell of History

Today was a day of aromas. Some good, some not so good. We started off the day at the Seattle Underground Tour. I've always been fascinated by the idea of underground cities because first of all, it seems crazy to me that you could build a city on top of another one. In addition to that, it seems to me that it would take some serious amnesia to totally forget about the first city. And how in the world could you build a new city on top of an old one anyway? The whole thing just seems insane. So I've been looking forward to this tour.

It was really interesting to learn a bit of the history of Seattle and see that there were some really good reasons why the current city ended up being built on top of the old one. The original city had some problems (in addition to the fact that the entire business district burned down) and raising the level of the streets solved more than one dilemma. We also learned just how they accomplished the whole thing. They built gigantic retaining walls around each block and brought in enormous amounts of fill dirt from the surrounding hills which they thought were too high anyway. The dirt filled the street area and raised the level of the streets to the height of the second stories of the buildings. Then they created a multitude of brick arches to support new sidewalks which were at the level of the raised street and suspended over the old ones. As business owners rebuilt their buildings after the big fire, they were advised to build doors on the second floors as well as the first so that they would be at the right level when the street level was raised. Over time and generations, the old city was simply forgotten.

We got to walk through a number of those old tunnels that were left when the new sidewalks were build. We saw windows that looked out on what had once been the outside. We saw rooms in first floors of buildings that had been completely abandoned. We saw stairways leading to nowhere. We saw old furniture and walked through an abandoned bank vault. We saw a variety of debris left down there and we smelled the smell of old age, decrepit buildings and damp rot. It was indeed quite fascinating and a bit on the aromatic side.

The wooden walkways were built by the guys running the underground tour. They also added the lights. Everything else is just as they found it. As you can see, debris was left all around as the underground locations were abandoned.

There was furniture left as well. This sofa was in what had once been a saloon. The large windows looking out on the original street were still there. Some of them even still have glass in them. We also saw beds, chairs, even a toilet.

This is a photo of old Seattle, pre-fire and pre-street raising. The sidewalk we were walking on is shown on the left hand side of the photo. After all the wooden buildings burned, the new ones were built in the same locations.

As the archways and new sidewalks were built over the old ones, glass skylights were installed so that the sidewalks underneath (which were still in use) would have some light. It was a detail I noticed up above, not knowing why the pretty purple glass was embedded in the sidewalk. It was pretty neat to see it from below as well.

I'm so proud of the photographer who snapped the picture with Kev's face covered by my mom's head. Way to go. :-(

Our next stop was Pike Place Market. (Apparently the locals get bent out of shape when we, the uncouth tourists, call it Pike's Place. It it Pike Place.) We had planned to eat lunch at Pike Place Chowder, one of the more famous eateries, but looked at the enormously long line and decided we had better things to do with our time. We ate at another nearby eatery and wandered through the market. We saw a bit of fish throwing and stopped for some fresh doughnuts at Daily Dozen, another iconic Pike Place location. We were all thrilled by the selection of fresh produce and splurged a bit on some fresh fruit and berries. It was fun to wander the stalls and see the sights. We were inundated with many appealing aromas, everything from fresh baked bread and pastries to the clean earthy smell of newly picked vegetables. And I was pleasantly surprised by how not fishy the fish markets smelled. There was no stink of old fish that is common in so many meat markets. With fish as fresh as this, the odor was a very light fishy smell, not at all unappealing or overwhelming.

A trip to the park to get out some wiggles was in order after keeping tight hold of Matthew and Malia in all the crowds of downtown Seattle and Pike Place. They have been troopers about all the tight quarters and limited play time and since we plan to chuck everyone back in the car tomorrow to see the rainforest and the coast, we figured they needed time to run of some excess energy. If only I had as much energy as they do. :-)

Computers, Airplanes and More Airplanes

After spending all day yesterday in the car, by not-as-young-as-it-once-was body was screaming at me for attention. Malia and the boys were totally excited and ready to play tourist, so it was decided that they would go to The Living Computer Museum (which didn’t interest me all that much) and then bring Malia back to the townhouse and go on the Boeing factory tour (which would have been interesting but which has a minimum height requirement that Malia does not meet). I did some much needed yoga in the a.m. and then Malia and I went to the grocery store with Grandma, ate lunch and read a book…well, Grandma and I read a book and Malia ran around like a maniac because she was pretty stir crazy from being trapped in the car for an entire day.

Due to my non-attendance at the day’s activities, Daniel and Nathan have willingly shared their thoughts on the day. First up, Nathan-because he had a catchy title. :-)

The boys in front of the Boeing factory

Inside the Flight Heritage Center

Just how big is 96 acres? HUGE!

On the second day of the trip, we went to this place that was filled with older computers, down the the first typewriter and apple device. We could walk through the history and development of the technology in this one museum, and it was very cool! Some of the computer we could actually mess with, type on, and things like that, which made this even cooler!!!

Then, after that we went a Boeing production facility tour. It was unfathomably huge, and was extremely interesting. The tour guide said that the facility was 96 acres big, and the relation of that is that they could put all of the Disney California resort in the facility and have 12 acres left over for parking. Insane, Right? Aside from that, we got to see lots of planes in various states of completion. It was cool!

Last thing of the day was we went to a flight history collection, which was a collection of warplanes that were all flight worthy. In fact, the info desk said that they have flight shows!!! We saw lots of cool planes, and it was a walk through history, which was very very cool!

And now Daniel shares his insights.

Day one of Seattle was really fun and right up my alley. Mom and Malia didn't come, as they didn't care or weren't large enough, respectively. One of Dad's Seattle coworkers told him about the living computer museum, where they have antique and old computers doing their original tasks. It was a fun leap through history of computing. I thought that finding out what the machines were that my grandparents worked on for a living. I also saw what the history of memory was. A huge 3-feet disc could hold about as much as a tiny thumb drive. That was really cool to see the history of computing.
We then went to the Boeing Factory tour. We were taken through their massive factory, which is so big that Disneyland California could fit inside of the factory and still have about 12 acres of parking. WE went and saw where the 747 were built. It takes a ton of manpower to build a 747. The place where we went had a perfect view of the floor. You know that green color that we all see when airplanes are under construction? That is a protective coating that is removed for painting, instead of the color of the materials it is made of. After seeing the 747 production line, we went and say the 777 and 787 hangers. Basically the same deal, but with different aircraft. One thing I thought that was interesting was the fact that all of the major parts of the 787 aren't produced in Washington. They are built else ware and then sent to the Factory for final assembly. They are taken there by a modified 747 that has a bloated fuselage that is used to carry the parts. Final assembly is the only thing that happens in Washington for the 787. The tour was 90 minutes and the only boring part was walking there.
While we were at Boeing, we heard about a flight heritage center, where there is a display of WWII and later war birds that were airworthy. I thought that it was cool to see all the airplanes that I have heard so much about and seen in flight worthy condition. Some of the planes wouldn't ever fly due to their rarity in restored condition, including a variant of German plan that one was saw there was the last surviving craft. That was cool. All of the planes that we saw had oil absorbent stuff underneath the engines, which proved that all that was needed was some gasoline and a pilot and they could fly. We then went home.
(Pardon my short sentences and lack of detail. I am sitting next to Nathan and can hear him clacking away at the keyboard and I am done sitting and typing up stuff. Gosh Darned Online Gym!!!!)

(Let me give you some insight to Daniel’s last comments. Daniel has been taking an online P.E. class this summer so that he will have enough room in his schedule to take two band classes. Contrary to what you would expect, almost the entire class has been doing online research and writing essays. There has actually been very little physical activity. In fact, outside of marching band, Daniel has spent the majority of his time sitting in front of the computer doing homework.)

The boys had a fun day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow-fewer airplanes, but an underground, forgotten city!

I Had a Pair of Hello Kitty Panties in My Pocket All Day

4:27 a.m. We pull out of the driveway. Malia is wide awake and feeling chatty. It's dark and too early. I didn't get to sleep as soon as I wanted because I kept remembering things I needed to do.

6:25 a.m. Three of my children leave the state for the first time as we enter Idaho. Nathan cheers. He's been looking forward to being able to say he's been somewhere. Daniel has been to Colorado (although he doesn't remember it) and is unmoved.

12:14 p.m. Mountain Time We're 25 miles from the border of Idaho and Nathan asks if we'll cross over into Ohio. Laughter ensues. In his defense, there is a crazy song linking Idaho with Ohio.

12:33 p.m. Mountain Time-11:33 a.m. Pacific Time We travel back in time as we cross over into Oregon.

12:56 p.m. Mountain Time-11:56 a.m. Pacific Time We pass a road sign stating that we have passed into the Pacific time zone and discover that the line is not on the state border as we thought.

1:09 p.m. The kids discover that they can add the clumsy ninja to pictures taken with the iPad. 

1:25 p.m. We stop for lunch and enjoy the wildlife in a park in Baker City. We see butterflies and lots of squirrels.

1:57 p.m. We drive past the 45th parallel and find ourselves exactly halfway between the North Pole and the equator. We’re clearly starting to get a bit road weary and look on any small oddity as having entertainment value.

4:08 p.m. We cross into Washington. Malia cheers. "We're finally in Washington!"

5:25 p.m. Matthew hits slap happy.

6:35 p.m. Malia asks why Papa Barney never had any kids. When I remind her that he is my dad and list off all my siblings as being his kids as well, her eyes get really big. That's one tired girl.

7:49 p.m. Malia: (big sigh)
Kevin: What's wrong girlie?
Malia: Jolly's just so excited...

8:10 p.m. We're 30 miles out from Seattle and Malia is done.

8:24 p.m. We drive past the Seattle temple.

8:27 p.m. We can see the water in the sound. Malia asks, "Where are the Sharks?"

??? We no longer know the time nor care. We arrive and tumble out of the car like so many clowns at the circus.

Total Miles: 883

Time Driving Time (stops not included): 14 hours

Things we learned:

-Malia literally cannot pee in a dirty bathroom. I'm not a fan either, but she really struggles. In the most unsavory of today's potty stops, it took her about 20 minutes to actually get it done. It was an interesting experience.

-The maximum fine for littering in Oregon is $6250. In Washington, it just says "it will hurt." For real. On the signs posted by the roads. Either way, keep that candy wrapper off the ground!

-Making it through Snoqualmie Pass with just 10 minutes to spare before the pass was closed for at least an hour for blasting was a great blessing. Another hour in the car would have had all of us completely crazed.

-Finger Twister is a big hit. All hail Pinterest.

-Eating our three daily meals in three different states is a little bit insane.

-Needing to pick up some groceries after a 14 hour drive allows auto correct to wreak havoc.

-Our kids were great road trippers. No blood spilt and no tears shed in the car. I'm so proud.

As for the panties, Malia still wears a pull-up at night. I think she is actually ready to go without, but we'll jump that hurdle after vacation. Anyway, we left in the wee dark hours and thought she would go back to sleep (which she did not), so we left her in her pull-up. I tucked her clean panties in my pocket so we could find them easily when we needed them. Since she didn't sleep during the first leg of our drive, we opted to keep her in the pull-up for the second leg. After that, we just forgot and when we arrived in Seattle I discovered the panties were still in my pocket.

And one more thing-why are pants and panties called a "pair" anyway? It's just one piece, not like socks that have two. Unless it's because they are intended to cover two legs...or two cheeks. Forgive me, I think that's the sleep deprivation and the road trip haze talking...

My Country, 'Tis of Thee

With so much of the world in turmoil, I'm feeling grateful that I live in this country. Yes, we have our problems too and I see troubling things ahead, but I'm still grateful.

This was a typical 4th of July for us. Daniel marched in a parade.

We had some patriotic food. Rocket dogs...

...and some frozen strawberry lemonade, which I just now realized is missing the scattering of blueberries on top to actually make it patriotic colors. The Mentos-meets-Diet-Coke-like-reaction that occurred when Kev put everything in the blender was a bit of a distraction. It was funny though. 🙂

We enjoyed some sparklers and set off some fireworks.

So excited.

 

Batting for poppers.

 

Glee.

 

I have no idea what Nathan is doing. He's a pretty crazy kid.

 

Fun with fire.

 

My favorite pic of the night.

The kiddos. Malia is afraid of sparklers (she remembers getting a slight burn from one two years ago).

Happy 4th all y'all.

A Return to Nathanisms

We are going on vacation soon and this evening we were discussing seating arrangements for the drive. As we made some decisions and the conversation wound down, Nathan said, "The whole time we're in Seattle, will we want to wear pants?" Kev and I completely lost it. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Yes, I know exactly what he meant (long pants as opposed to shorts) and that he was probably planning to actually say something about shorts, but he paused...and it was hilarious. Funniest thing I've heard in weeks. :-)

Patriotism Using Pipe Cleaners

My kids have really come to look forward to our yearly tradition of making a t-shirt for the 4th of July. This year's selection used pipe cleaner to stamp fireworks on the shirts. They were simple and easy to make and the kids loved how they turned out!

BFF

For almost the past year, Malia’s best friend has been Raylee. They have been in preschool together and although they weren’t in the same primary class last year, they were this year. When Malia discovered that fact, there was a fist pump and a “Yes!” involved. These two girls have gotten along amazingly well. Their personalities are very similar, they like the same things and they just love being together. I’ve only had to intervene in a moment of disagreement once in the past year and that one was just to suggest maybe they could take turns. Other than that, they have worked everything out on their own and have had surprisingly few moments of conflict. As far as a couple of 4-5 year olds go, that is pretty much a mini miracle. Raylee has even taught Malia some of the finer points of being a princess. Malia can be pretty rough and tumble (having three older brothers will do that) and Raylee has helped balance that out. I couldn’t have asked for a better first girlfriend for Malia.

Raylee and her family have been living down the street, with one of her sets of grandparents. Her dad was finishing up his last year of medical school and they didn’t know where he would be assigned for his residency so they didn’t want to buy a home or anything like that only to be there less than a year. Because of that, we’ve known all along that they would be moving, we just didn’t know where. When they were given their assignment a few months ago, I started prepping Malia for the fact that Raylee would be moving. I figured if she knew what was coming and had an idea of what it really meant, it might be easier on her. By the time Raylee left last week, Malia had a pretty good idea what moving meant.

Raylee moved last Saturday. They were able to spend a good chunk of the last couple of days together and due to our in-advance discussions, Malia has handled it really well. She’s only asked when Raylee would be living down the street from us again once. I was just about Malia’s age when my parents moved to their current home and I met a group of girls, some of whom became besties and one of whom I still keep in touch with. (This is a shout out to Lisa-my life long bestie!) Luckily for us, Raylee has only moved to Provo and her grandparents still live just down the street so while I’m old enough to know things definitely won’t be the same, at least Malia will be able to see her from time to time.

Raylee drew a picture for Malia by way of a parting gift. Raylee is on the right dressed as Rapunzel who is currently her favorite princess. Malia is on the left as Snow White which is what Malia wants to be for Halloween this year. I thought it was a sweet way of letting Malia know that the friendship goes both ways.

In moments of loneliness or boredom, Malia will sigh and say, “I wish Raylee was here.” You know what? I wish Raylee was here too.

Family Resemblance

My mom recently found a box full of photos of my dad and his family. Most of the pictures were of my dad when he was a kid and as I flipped through them, I discovered that my boys definitely resemble my dad. It isn't really apparent now, but there were several photos taken when my dad was a teen that made me realize that my boys are most assuredly a part of this family. Check it out:

 l-r: My dad-age 15, Daniel-age 15, My dad-age 13, Nathan-age 13

Those pics were taken when my dad was just the ages that Daniel and Nathan are currently. Daniel doesn't look much like my dad in his face (my brother, Adam, however is another story) but the way he stands, his posture, the shape of his body are very similar. As for Nathan, his resemblance is all in the face. It's not as noticeable in the picture we took specifically for this card, but if you could see Nathan in the second just before his smile is full, he looks even more like the picture of my dad (minus the glasses and the fact that my dad's face is thinner-one of the results of doing the hard physical labor required of a farm boy).

So I guess these kids really do belong to us. However, they would have no idea what to do if I dropped then at a farm and told them to get to work. City boys vs. country boy. I think the lives my boys lead are very different than the one my dad had growing up, but I also think they would have to look pretty hard to find a better role model.