Ethan in Backstroke

Negotiating with Ryan

Ryan is following big brother into becoming a Lego nut so it was no surprise when he started picking out what he wanted for Christmas from a Lego catalogue.

Ryan: Hey, Dad, I want this and this and this and... (you get the idea)

Me: What will Santa say if I ask him if you've been naughty or nice?

Ryan: Yes.

Me: No, have you been naughty or nice?

Ryan: Yes.

Me: Your choices are "naughty" or "nice." Do you understand what I'm saying?

Ryan: Naughty?

Me: So if you've been naughty, what do you think you will get from Santa?

Ryan: No, I want you and Mom to buy the Legos for me!

Cuban Sandwiches in Seattle

One of our best food finds this year during our trip to Seattle was Paseo Caribbean Restaurant in the Fremont District. It's been around since the mid 90s so we've probably driven by the place (which is easy to do).

Be prepared to stand in line to get your eats at Paseo and don't forget to bring cash. They don't take credit cards. Also, don't plan on eating in. They might have enough seats for perhaps 8 people, maybe less.

We went for sandwiches because it was lunch time, but it seems that they serve just about everything on the menu in a sandwich or as a plate. The sandwiches that we got were the Cuban Roast (made with super tender pork shoulder meat - came highly recommended by Chuck's mom), Smokin' Thighs (chicken thighs marinated with the skin on - great flavors!), Fish of the Day (which turned out to be catfish - never had catfish so good!), and Grilled Pork (had to try their original sandwich). We also got an order of rice and beans. Everything was terrific!

They are closed on Sundays and Mondays. They have a second location in the Ballard District. The original location in the Fremont District is at about 43rd Street on Fremont Avenue.

Are You Ready to be a Traffic Engineer?

Check out this game from the University of Minnesota to see if you have what it takes to be a traffic engineer. Of course, in most cities the timing of signals is controlled by a computerized system.

Ygnacio Wood Seahorses - 2009

Where's Naomi and Ethan in the photo below. The team photo was taken before Ryan was on the team so he is not in the photo.



The coaches naturally had to cool off after their hard work in lining up 130 or so swimmers for the photo session.

Ethan Hits His Mark

Ethan has found a comfort zone with karate. Things do get more difficult as one moves up, but Ethan just this past weekend passed the belt test to make it to the purple/blue belt level in the Dragons Program at Bay Mountain Martial Arts here in Concord. We have been very happy with the programs at Bay Mountain. The instructors are terrific with kids and although cramped, the place has a family atmosphere.

Here's Ethan with Sensei Alex at his recent belt test. These tests are fairly involved affairs that could take well over two hours to complete depending on the number of kids testing.

Ryan Promoted to Swim Team

Ryan was okay with making the swim team next year, but with the 6 and under boys often unable to have enough kids at meets to field a relay team there was a need for more team members. So Ryan made the team and took part in his first meet last week. The requirement to make the team in mid-season is to be able swim the full 25-yard length of the pool unassisted. Swimming against boys who have been swimming all season, he won his first race. At this point, he can only swim free style, but swimming this season means that he will have a leg up on next year.

The Juggler's Assistant - Twice!

One able-bodied juggler's assistant wanted. No experience necessary. Any takers?

Juggler: Here, can you hold my glasses? [hands his 1980s style sun glasses to Ethan]

Ethan: [turning to me] What do I do with these?

Me: Just hold them, I guess, until he asks for them back.

The juggler starts his ball juggling routine and finishes with a four-ball flourish.

Juggler: Who has my glasses?

Ethan: I do!

Juggler: Come on out here and put them on me.



Juggler: I need another volunteer.

Ryan: Pick me! Pick me!

Juggler: [points to Ryan] You kid. Come on out here!

Juggler: What's your name?

Ryan says something that most of us can't hear. Apparently the juggler dude didn't hear too well either...even though he was right next to Ryan.

Juggler: What's that? Frank? Okay, everyone please give a hand to Frank!

Ryan stands quietly with a somewhat sheepish look on his face. Thought cloud here. [Ryan: He's messed up my name.]

Juggler: Does he understand English? [looking in the general direction of our family]

Dorothy: Yes, he does and his name is Ryan!

Woman in Audience: That sounds better. Who names their kid Frank these days?

Kismet On the Road

We finally made it to Seattle on the 4th day after spending three days in Oregon, most of it on the coast. Our overnight stops in Oregon included Medford, Coos Bay and Newport. Each year, Medford seems to be the first stop no matter what time we leave our home. Call it kismet.

One year I think we finally left the house around dinner time. I'm not sure why we bothered to leave, but we did. This year we managed to finally shove off right after lunch. At least we wouldn't have to stop to eat.

On first glance our scavenger hunt checklist looked daunting. Town mascot? Our first thought was Grants Pass, Oregon because of all of the painted bears that they had on display a couple year ago. Surely, the bear must be their town mascot. Little did we know.

Traveler from our team assisting a street performer? We are adventuresome, but volunteering for a street act is usually not in our repertoire. Ryan to the rescue! Actually, both Ryan and Ethan got into the act.

Statue or art made entirely of edible food? Having not checked this one off by the time we arrived in Seattle, we resorted to home made art made of food. Yuki baked up a cake shaped like the U.S. flag for the 4th of July. It was a grand effort, but we still felt maybe it was too much cake and not enough art especially when we tried to hold up the cake pan to take a picture and the flag part of the cake slid down the pole part to half mast. We were saved later when we came across art made of food while on a visit to Pike Place Market. Kismet again.

So the road trip rolled on. We ping ponged around. Learned that the Lake View Cemetery is where many of the founders of the city of Seattle are buried. This is also where Bruce and Brandon Lee are buried.