We've only been travelling 4 nights? The days are blending together already.
Wednesday and Thursday have been whirlwinds! Lots of pics today. Hope they all download ok.

We had a full Wednesday that started out at the Alaska Museum of History. First we posed for a wacky picture in front of a mural on the wall. Inside, the lady was extremely nice and taught us a bit more about the Rock Cycle and volcanoes. We saw some awesome rocks that glow! We saw skeletons of prehistoric dinosaurs and did a demonstration showing how lava pushes the tectonic plates we'd been learning about around. The lady kept using the phrase "lava always wins", so I'm waiting for an opportune time to use that phrase should the kids start to argue with me - It'll be interesting to see who remembers if I say "I am Lava, and I always win" :) :)

Anyway, after a good hearty lunch at Red Robin that consisted of some burgers larger than the kids' mouths, we headed to the Valley of the Moon rocketship playground to let off some energy and then went to the Anchorage airport to head to Seattle. Luckily for us as we were unloading the rental vans, one of the kids realized we didn't have a suitcase! So after a brief open mouth stare and a loud what??? I called the hotel and they put the suitcase in the shuttle to bring it over. So we started toward Continental, and Naturally the car rental return was not at the terminal we needed to be at and the shuttle bus seemed to take forever as the minutes ticked away. But since I am now typing from Seattle, and you may notice some airplane pictures, well it all worked out.

We got to our hotel pretty late (doggone one way streets), grabbed a snack and hit the sack (Thank you TDX for covering the cost of the rooms for us, the rooms are beautiful with way comfy beds). The kids were pretty excited to be way up on the ninth floor.

This morning we woke up bright and early to grab a good breakfast downstairs and get on the road so we could make it to school on time. Yes, School. We met up with Mrs. Peterson's class at James Monroe Elementary School. We had a brief introduction with her students and the kids hit it off right away. We then boarded their school bus and headed to the Wildlife Sanctuary for a hike through the wetlands. There were plenty of plants, birds, trees gnawed on by beavers, lady bugs (yes, that was new for a few of our kids), a big old bullfrog, and a great time interacting with Mrs. Peterson's students. Afterschool Mrs. Peterson took us to the nearby mall and walked around with us as the kids shopped. For the most part they were all very responsible about looking for sales and deciding wether they really needed the items they found.

A very nice (but expensive- the class bought everyone a souvenir) visit to the Space Needle later, and we headed back to shower up, write in journals, and get some much needed rest.

Tomorrow we head to the Pacific Science center and the Seattle Center area. From the Space Needle, we saw some rollercoaster/ waterpark rides and the monorail that the kids are interested in going on.

Quote of the Day: "Mrs. Kushin, is my toothbrush still good if it went through that x-ray machine at the airport?"