the music man

At this point, it looks like Sam is training to become the next One Man Band in Mary Poppins. Dick van Dyke would be proud. Sam is obsessed with musical instruments right now, and imagines that all types of everyday objects are actually instruments. He pretends that drinking straws are flutes, and the handles on Gram's exercise bike are either flutes or trombones.

Lately, Sam has been perfecting a rendition of "Hey Diddle Diddle" (as played on his red Alphabet Pal caterpillar, see picture and video). You can kinda sorta pick out the words to the nursery rhyme, as he sings along in the clip below. (And, just so you know, he keeps running to the fridge in order to point to a "Hey Diddle Diddle" picture that he colored.) He's obviously interested in the combination of musical and visual experiences, like his daddy and uncle.



We recently purchased a plastic trumpet and recorder for Sam, which was partially necessitated by Sam's realization that his yellow toy kaleidoscope didn't have a handle like real trumpets. In this clip (sorry it's turned sideways), I'm playing the kaleidoscope trumpet behind the camera, while Sam plays the "real" trumpet.


Here's a picture of the Pied Piper on his recorder:


Luckily for Sam, he has a daddy who is more than willing to jam with him. They've had countless jam sessions since their first one last year. Sam hounds J to play the guitar or the double bass (which he also calls "Big Cello") just about every night. And here's the latest picture of their musical collaboration:

Like father, like son.

marylin's dress goes to auction

If diamonds are your best friend, if you are preferred by gentlemen, or if you are a gold-digger, then you might be interested to know that Marylin Monroe's infamous dress is going to auction:


The dress is anticipated to reach $150,000-$200,000. Honestly, I think that price might be a little low. This dress is so iconic, I wouldn't be surprised if it reaches higher prices at the auction block.

Along with this dress, the auction includes other fun memorabilia from Hollywood, including Margaret Hamilton's witch hat from The Wizard of Oz and Johnny Depp's pirate jacket from Pirates of the Caribbean. Personally, I think I'd like to buy Julie Andrew's carpet bag from Mary Poppins. You never know when you're might need a hatstand, and having that bag would be handy, right?

You can read more about the auction here. And if you are a LOST fan, you might be interested in seeing the auction preview of the LOST memorabilia that is for sale. I would totally bid on Charlie's "Driveshaft" ring.

muno's family goes to London

One of Sam's favorite TV shows is "Yo Gabba Gabba."As an adult, I think this show is pretty entertaining too (I think the special episode with Jack Black is hilarious - you can see a clip here.)

For those of you who watch "Yo Gabba Gabba," you'll notice a striking similarity between the character Muno (shown left) and the new Olympic mascots for London 2010 (shown right). Don't you think that these new mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville, could be extensions of Muno's family? You can read an article about the new mascots and see a video of them here.

What do you think of these new mascots? Do you like that they are pinpointed towards children, or do you think the whole thing is a little strange? I think there are some advantages to getting kids interested and excited about the Olympic events in terms of athletics, but I'm sure this choice was probably spurred by commercial/marketing purposes. I can already imagine kids screaming to have their own Mandeville doll.

frustrations

Last night I didn't sleep well; I couldn't stop thinking about some things that frustrate and peeve me. They aren't really worth mentioning (they are mostly generalized ideas and aren't related to specific people), but I thought I'd jot down some of the thoughts that ran through my head:

- I wish that there were more hours in the day.
- Right now I don't have a desire to change things that frustrate me. Is that bad?
- Why hasn't anything happened yet?
- Are these frustrations not really a problem, but I'm perceiving them as a problem?

I'm sure that people can relate. How do you deal with frustrations?

remembering other hikes

After writing my previous post, I realized that I haven't kept good tabs on the other hikes that we have already done in the area. Here are the ones that I can remember from last year:

• Mirror Lake: This is a gorgeous, gorgeous lake (see photo above). There were a lot of bugs leading up to the lake, but it was still worth it. The sad thing is, I don't think that we'll attempt to do this hike again, at least for a long time. The road conditions leading up to the trail were awful, it took us over an hour to drive just a few miles. Plus, we drove over a huge screw on the way home and got a flat tire. The only thing that redeemed the driving problems was the gorgeous lake. Length of hike: 2 miles total.

• Franklin Falls: This is a very short and easy hike, but it's really neat because you can walk up to the base of the falls (see our photo here). We're excited to go back and try the natural rock slides at nearby Denny Creek. Length of hike: 2 miles total.

• Bat Caves/Talus Rocks (Tiger Mountain State Forest): This is an especially fun hike because the trail is in a loop - you can see different areas on the way up and down. The caves are especially fun (see one of our pictures here). Length of hike: 3 miles total, although you can also see Lake Tradition and extend the hike to about 5 miles total.

• Twin Falls (North Bend): This is another great family hike, but be forewarned: this is a very popular trail in the summer. There are a couple of steep areas, but the hike is more than manageable. The falls are pretty (see our picture here). Length of hike: 3 miles total.

• Rattlesnake Ledge (and Rattlesnake Lake): I haven't hiked this trail with Sam and J, but from what I remember, this hike would be fine for families with small children. There is a fun view of the lake from the top of the ridge (see photo here). Length of hike: 4 miles total.

• Discovery Park: These trails are great because there is so much diversity in the vegetation and views. You can be in a forest, a beach (see our photo), and a large meadow all within the same trip. There is a sewage treatment plant in one area, which makes the trail rather stinky and unpleasant, but it's tolerable. Make sure that you follow the signs in the area, too. J and I picked the wrong trail and wandered around for awhile, trying to find the beach. There are lots of trails in this area, and we are excited to go back. Length of trails: 4 miles total.

• Cedar Butte: To be honest, we actually didn't finish this hike. We attempted this hike with three children under the age of three, and their different schedules and needs (i.e. hunger) caused us to turn back early. The hike was alright - although I didn't feel like it afforded for many spectacular views. The first part of the hike is level along a dirt road, which isn't too exciting. However, I do remember that this trail reminded me somewhat of hikes in Utah, which was a nostalgic and fun. Length of hike: 3 miles total.

• Lake Hills Greenbelt Trail: This is a fun, short trail that we took one evening. The trail connects Phantom Lake (see photo) and Larson Lake (see photo). You're not completely "in the wilderness" when you follow these trails (you cross some streets and see buildings), but it's a nice walk on level ground. Length of trail: 2 miles.

• Weowna Park Trail: There are some pretty views of a deep ravine in this park. I also remember a lot of tall, beautiful trees. Length of trail: 2.5 miles.

These are all of the hikes that I can remember right now. I think this list will be more helpful for me than anyone else; it will help me easily remember all of the hikes we have completed (and which ones we still want to do!). Now that Sam is a little older, I'm excited to try longer hikes this summer.

coal creek waterfall

Today we segued back into the world of hiking, with an easy hike to Coal Creek Waterfall (see the fall between J and Sam's heads?). When walking up the trail, J and I joked about how we could tell we had "winter bodies." Sam is a lot heavier in his backpack carrier than last summer, though, and that also slowed us down (at least, that's our excuse).

This was a pretty hike, and we're excited to explore other trails in the area. I'm interested in seeing the sunken holes where the early coal miners used to work. I would just recommend that people print out a trail map or pick one up at the trailhead. You can find more trail information and a map here, on website for the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park.

Aside from the beautiful surroundings, these were my two favorite things about our hike: 1) J walking down the trail mimicking moves from the Ministry of Silly Walks and 2) teaching Sam how to use a walking stick. He didn't quite get the hang of it, but he was a cute little hiker and explorer:

today is a very sad day...

Over the past few months I have created a "Mom Journal." Whenever I remember an anecdote about my mom or little things that she used to do, I try to write it down. I hope that in the future I can share this journal with my younger siblings, so they can have a better idea of what mom was like.

I think that sometimes I'll share my Mom stories here.

My sister just reminded me of something that my mom would always do. On the day before the birthday of anyone in our family, Mom would sing to the almost-birthday person this short phrase (in a monotone, hollow sound that came off as a mixture of Gregorian chant + dirge): "Todaaaaay is a very saaad daaaay...It's the laaaast daaaay you'll be (insert age number)."

Often, Mom would just sing the beginning of the phrase ("Todaaaaay is a very saaad daaaay..."), since we all knew how the song was supposed to end. J has picked up on this Mom tradition, which I think is great.

Today was my "very sad day." Tonight went out to a restaurant, so we could all be sad together.