Quirkle

This past summer we camped at French Creek with First Pres.   Our camping neighbor buddies brought a game called Quirkle that the kids fell in love with.  When we moved the Gambles bought us our own copy of Quirkle and the kids were thrilled.  The great part is because it is shapes and colors as well as strategy we can all play easily.  I got an email last Friday about the "hottest Christmas gifts for 2014" and Quirkle was on it!!!  We are ahead of the game!

Rainy Day Turnaround

In the mornings the past two days it has been very rainy.  It's cold and damp and not fun.  And then by noon this is how it looks... and we open the windows and it's hot.

Little Howe

A block away is a cute little playground called Little Howe Park.  It's on Howe Street.  Our neighbor is great friends with both kids and we spent lots of time spinning on an old school merry go round.  Fun Times. 

Zoo Day 092414

Once a month the kids have an early dismissal and so I opted to head to the zoo and let the kids each take a friend.  It was a tad bit chaotic but I don't think they noticed...

(mind you... the zoo is 10 minutes away)

We arrived and right away there was an offering to make Elephant Poo Paper!  The kids had the chance to take elephant poo that had been sanitized and mix it with recycled zoo maps to make a new paper.  It was a very cool activity.

After that we walked around the zoo and enjoyed.

We came to my favorite animal, the orangutan and they were almost trained to interact.  When we came close they pointed to my purse and begged me to open it and kept pointing for more.  When Noah pulled out money they did a little dance!  It was wild and I've never seen anything like it!!!

Queen Anne

These are some pictures from Queen Anne.  It's called Queen Anne Hill because it sits high above everything and the streets are hilly!  But the views are awesome!

And a recent article about local schools.  Good stuff!

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/morning_call/2014/09/best-seattle-neighborhood-for-schools-redfin-says.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+industry_21+%28Industry+Residential+Real+Estate%29

The Ferris wheel

Friday night we decided to walk down to the ferris wheel and eat dinner on the water.   We ate right underneath the wheel with a view of the bay and it was beautiful!!!!  We waited right until dusk to go on the wheel and it was great!

It was only built in 2012 and it's the highest ferris wheel on the west coast.  You have a sweeping view of the bay, the mountains and the city all at the same time.

It is actually gondolas that you go around in and not open compartments so you are free from weather worries.  The sunset in the background was wonderful!

Just some pics on the walk back home!

Our view

Mt. Rainier is at least an hour's drive from the city, maybe closer to two.  At 14,000 ft. it is one of the highest mountains in the US.  Actually, it is number 17, but 12 of the first 13 are in Alaska.  The greatest part is that it is kind of like a beacon for Seattle.  On a clear day it looks like it's right next door and sits back almost as a painted backdrop to the city.  It is really mesmerizing!  Friday evening it was super clear as we were walking around downtown.  It's so pretty!