Space Needle

About a month ago Matthew discovered that when you go to the library you can actually pick out books and take them home.

Lately we have been reading Adelaide, the Flying Kankaroo.
At about the midway point of the book Adelaide ends up on the observation deck of the Eifffel Tower. Matthew has been walking around talking about "Adelaide on the observation deck" so we decided to take him to a real observation deck so he can really understand the concept.
Enter the Space Needle.
After standing in line for almost an hour, we finally made it to said observation deck.
He was really excited about the telescopes even though he hasn't quite figured out how they work.
It was a really warm, humid day with a light cloud cover so we could still see the mountains in the distance and it only rained on us a tiny bit.
Looking down at all the trucks and cranes and diggers.
One last picture before we head down to find some food, specifically some french fries.

On the way back to the car we stopped momentarily at the bamboo forest art installation. Daddy demonstrated how they wiggle at the top when you shake them at the bottom.
Then Matthew got to give it a go.

There it is. We'll come back another day.

VCR

Over the past few months there have been several occasions when I have found Matthew standing in front of the VCR (yes we still have one as it is a VCR/DVD combo) saying "I put it in there". I have never been able to get him to tell me what exactly he put in there and couldn't see anything upon pushing open the flap.

Well today, when Aaron tried to watch THOR, the DVD side of the combo wouldn't work. Considering the history of conversations with M, I decided to get a flashlight and investigate:

Hopefully now that there isn't a CELL PHONE inside, it will work!!

My Grocery List

So today I had to go to the store to get:

Bacon

Basil

Bagels

Bulgar

Its not often your shopping list is a list of B words. Matthew's contribution (after some discussion) was B begins with Bus! as another city bus drove by.

Cool Like David Bowie

This morning when Aaron and I were outside looking at the running stroller, I noticed that his pupils were different sizes. Knowing the potential for serious brain issues with pupils like this, we quickly rearranged our day and got in to see our optometrist. Turns out his oculomotor nerve (the one that controls his pupil) has been damaged either by an old trauma that has finally degenerated the nerve to this point or by an infection of the nerve by the herpes virus. It is not serious or vision threatening but it is permanent so from now on he is going to look like this. Weird I know, but I reassured him that despite his deformity, I would still love him.

Last Day of Summer

On Monday it was super hot so Matthew and I went down to Kennydale Beach to escape from the heat. It was the most crowded I have ever seen it but am glad we went since it has been downright cool and cloudy ever since.

New Bathroom Flooring

Today we finally got the floor in our bathroom fixed, the new dual flush toilet installed and new linoleum put down. It has been two years since we have been able to use the toilet in this, our main bathroom. To say the least, we are excited!!!

Next phase will be a new cabinet and probably a new mirror and light fixture and then I'll have to figure out what to do about the baseboards. Funny how updating one thing just leads to more projects.

Harvest Time

Tub Overflow

Last week when it was really hot and we had all the fans in the house running, I put Matthew in the tub and could just barely hear his murmurings over the background noise. That was until I heard a collassal KA-SPLOSH. I thought, there is no way he had enough water in the tub to make that noise. Man, was I wrong.

He had managed to get both the hot and cold water on (so the temp was just right) and he FILLED the tub. He was having a great time in there. Luckily I got in there before the water actually started to flow over the edge.

What you see here is actually the second video. I not sure how but I erased the first one and started this one, which is why you get a view of the toilet and cabinet for a few seconds.

9/11

Colleen's post about 9/11 has prompted me to add a little note on my own blog. To this point I have done my best to ignore the anniversary because the thought of all those families losing the ones they love is just too sad for me to contemplate. I still cannot and will not put myself through watching any of the memorial programs but here I can leave some of my memories of that day and the months that followed.

On that terrible morning ten years ago, I was home from work. Called in "sick" probably. I remember being told that a plane crashed into the world trade center in New York but was truthfully completely oblivious to what that building was and why it was so tragic. By the time I crawled out of bed, the second tower had been hit and shortly there after they collapsed. The office closed for the day, just in case.

In the weeks to come, I was surrounded by the immense outpouring of American pride and constant cries of "why us?". As a foreigner, I was very distanced from that opinion and could easily understand why. It was not until several weeks after the event as I was listening to some of the statistics about how many people died and how that it finally hit home that this was a truly catastrophic attack.

I do remember very clearly the situation at the airport the Christmas immediately following the attacks. Lines were incredibly long (longer than I have ever seen since) and security was incredibly tight. There were armed guards stationed on walkways above all of the security lines and checkpoints which was a little unnerving and again something I have never seen since. I also remember that a lot of the people in line were scared to get on their flights for fear that there would be hijackers. My response was: I'm headed to Regina Saskatchewan. If there is a terrorist on my flight, he is on the wrong flight! I am not worried.

And as I'm sure you all know by now, there was no hijacker on my plane!!

Videos of the Pool

For the second year in a row Nana and Papa got Matthew and I passes to the pool for his birthday. These videos are for them (although the rest of you are welcome to enjoy them too)

Matthew learned to do this by watching the other kids a the pool. Jenn as a former swim instructor you can appreciate how excited I was about this!!

A Different Kind of Beach

Today was a gloriously, sunny, hot Saturday and since there are likely few of these left, Matthew and I took off for Federal Way to check out Dash Point State Park. As you can see we weren't the only ones.

Most of the summer Matthew has been hanging out at beaches on lakes or at the pool. This beach was right on Puget Sound so it was a little different from what he was used to. We got there about five minutes before the tide started to come back in so the water was pretty far out.

Getting ready to splash the waves.

As you will see in the video below, M was a little apprehensive about he seaweed at first.

We found a live clam? hanging out in the shallow water.

M demonstrating his favorite beach toy, the watering can.

He was using this big stick as a fishing rod and managed to catch what was simultaneously a big shark, a monster fish, a dragon fish and a piece of seaweed.

He didn't make it back to the freeway. If you click on this to enlarge it you can see the drop of drool on his chin and the little spots of sand dried on his cheek.