Laminated bookmark gift for "Grandpa"

My father's birthday is in a few days. Of all the people close to me that I have ever known, I have to say my father is the most challenging of all to shop for. He has everything (materially), or so it seems, that he could ever want. Only until I had a baby — his grandchild — did I feel that I hit the nail on the head in my gift-giving. He just loves his grandson so much, that anything I come up with involving him will make my dad pretty happy on his big day. This year I was lucky to stumble upon a pretty cool craft idea from Pink and Green Mama's blog which features making bookmarks of your child "just hanging around". Since my dad is one of the most avid readers I think I have ever known, this present couldn't be more ideal. I went out and purchased a Scotch Thermal Laminator for home use for only $27 and it worked perfectly! Here is what I came up with

I had lots of fun and they were so easy to make. I kept one for myself, of course, which hopefully means I don't ever have to use such lame placeholders again such as a pen, another book, a hair clip, or my pair of reading glasses — which always, by the way, ends up in me losing my place anyway. Now all I need to do is to find that rare gem of a book that my dad hasn't read yet and pop the bookmark in and voila, gift completed! Wish me luck on that last part!

Our trip to Seattle

Waiting for the train to come...

Bode and I went on a big adventure last week. My best friend from childhood, Sara, was turning 40, and having a party to celebrate. She and her family live in Seattle, so I decided that this would be a great opportunity for Bode to go on his first train ride, and also, for me, avoid the drudgery of driving 10 hours round trip. This train route, particularly from Portland to Seattle is known for its breath-taking scenery, so I was really looking forward to it. It had probably been 5 years or so that I last ventured up there this way. A friend Gerry had a 2 for 1 voucher so it made this mode of transportation affordable as well. Bode and I woke up brutally early on a Saturday morning to catch the 5:30 train out of Eugene. When the conductor came around to collect the tickets, Bode eagerly told him "This is my first train ride". Later on I laughed out loud when I was reading (yet again) the train book we had brought along. This time I was paying close enough attention to realize that the little boy in the book said these exact same words when the conductor came along. I wonder how long Bode anticipated saying this! As we pulled into the Portland station, an announcement came over the speaker saying that there was a mudslide that had just happened north of us, and that if they were able to find buses to shuttle us up to Seattle we would be transferred, otherwise it might take hours for them to clear it up.



Pulling into Portland...

This is where the travel took a turn for the worse. We were loaded up onto a second-rate bus that had cramped leg space and no pockets in the seatbacks. They handed us snacks with no receptacles to put our trash, AND the bus driver (yes the bus driver) needed to be given directions from one of the passengers on how to get out of Portland, and how to get into the station in Seattle. At one point my son had to use the potty, so we went back and I was hoping he could tough it out. Instantaneously he started gagging and throwing up when he smelled the chemically smell in the bathroom. I cleaned it up best I could, and we went back to our seats - a failed mission with Bode never being able to actually use the toilet. 20 minutes later he says he is going to throw up and voila! All over me! Thank God I had my jacket covering my lap. The people around me were able to pass me a plastic bag and some napkins to clean up best I could. Bode slept the rest of the time. I was sooo happy to finally reach the station in Seattle. Sara, her husband John, and family welcomed with the understanding of the ordeal we just went through. The first thing we did when we got to Sara's house was take a bath (and load the clothes in the washer!)
Things of course could really only get better from this point on, and so they did. That night was my friend Sara's big birthday bash. They rented out the upstairs of a bar named Tavern Law. Guests could only enter by calling upstairs and saying a secret code word, and then the safe-like bar on the heavy door would unlock and they'd then be able to enter and ascend the curving staircase to the "speakeasy". Upstairs the decor was set in the 20's style theme. Old black and white risque pictures of women hung on the walls, and old time jazzy music that reflected the age played through the speakers. It featured a full bar along with curious colorful concoctions in glass bottles lined on the shelves. The bartenders were masterful at creating the most tantalizing cocktails.





Me and Sara decked out in our Flapper dresses.




Sara and John playing their 20's style characters & dressed to the nines.

The next day, Sara and I thought it would be fun to take Ginger (Sara's daughter) and Bode to the local zoo. Bode and Ginger had a great time looking at the animals and getting to know each other. They enjoyed riding in the wagon we rented, as well as trying to push and pull it.



The gorillas were very animated, especially the 3 year old, who was putting on a show for us, doing somersaults and chewing on his toes...



The kids watching the beautiful jaguar pace around its cage.



And of course the "chitlins" as we were calling them, enjoyed the merry-go-round.

That evening, I got an automated call from Amtrak saying that my train back to Eugene in the morning had been cancelled because the mudslide from Saturday still hadn't been cleared. After a long time on the phone I finally had a reservation for Tuesday. Despite the inconvenience I was excited to return on the "Coast Starlight" an upgrade from my original train home with no extra cost. (This is a double decker fancy train, with a lounge car and a dining car).


Monday Bode and I walked about 4 miles round trip in the rain (by choice!) from my friends' house to the water tower in Volunteer Park. When we got there, I was so surprised how quickly Bode climbed the stairs. Later when describing that we had gone to the water tower he said "Yeah, but there was actually no water, and there were lots and lots of steps!" I just have to love a 3 year old's perspective on the world - of course that makes sense. Guess I failed to mention to him that the water was in the big tank in the center!


The beautiful brick water tower featured in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill



The many stairs of the Water Tower. Despite my prediction, I didn't have to carry Bode up even a little bit of the way... He climbed/crawled up those stairs like it was nobody's business!



Finally at the top...



It was a cloudy day...Sometimes the view is spectacular with all the surrounding mountains in view...Although it was still nice to see the space needle down below and the skyline of the city. I wasn't able to capture it on my camera.

That night we celebrated my friend and daughter's birthday with Cake number #3 of our vacation, and yes I indulged in them all and they were all equally delicious!
The next morning we got to the station and I checked in, mentioning how glad I was that the mudslide was cleared...the man behind the desk expressed the same sentiment, and then went on to tell me that there was another one that happened the night before, and that we had to travel on bus to Portland!!! I thought what a cruel joke! But unfortunately not a joke. This time we fared better...the bus was actually pretty luxurious and only a quarter of the people filled it. The train from Portland to Eugene was amazing - Bode just wanted to explore the whole time! We pulled into Eugene safe and sound, and ready for bed.
An interesting note - when I got home a couple of days later I heard a segment on NPR about how outdated the structural engineering is around the Amtrak train tracks in the Northwest...and this is the reason for all the mudslides impeding train travel. In fact, the structural engineering that is still in use dates all the way back to the 1890s! Amtrak has tried to get funding fix this "minor problem" two times but has missed out on both occasions. Despite the obstacles, all in all our trip was fabulous, however next time, I'd book my tickets in the summer!

The kids, being silly for the camera.