Saturday we didn't have a thing on the agenda. After sleeping in until 9am, I dragged myself out of bed and was treated to a delicious breakfast. My DH is the best! He made eggs with cheese, toast, and canadian bacon. AND a special hot cocoa just for me--it was so rich and thick. He said it included egg nog and half-n-half. I felt the fat settling on my hips :)
Then we decided to go for a walk. At first, I thought just DH and I would walk up the parkway. But, no, he had other ideas. So we wrangled up all the kids and loaded into the van. It wasn't raining but the skies were grey. The kids were all curious where we were headed.
We just went down the road to the fabulous Snoqualmie Falls. The falls were raging! Completely pouring over the edge. The kids commented that there are usually two streams of water coming over the ledge. The water levels were some of the highest I have seen since we have lived here. It was so amazing--the mist practically soaked us through! I wished I had had my camera but at the same time was glad I didn't because of all the moisture.
Then we headed down to the railroad station in town. We walked along the tracks, visited the big log, walked around the depot, and looked at the train cars. I pointed out the the caboose was built the same year Grandma Kathy was born. It seems older than that, the kids commented.
We crossed the road and the kids thought we were headed to Koko Beans, a little coffee shop. But DH wanted to keep walking. We checked out the building on the corner currently for lease. The beauty shop moved across the road by the river. I asked DH what kind of business he thought should go in there. He said something to cater to the tourists, since it is right across from the train depot. Sandwich shop, bakery items, little gift trinkets, etc. I mulled that over as we continued down the sidewalk past the other shops. A few of the businesses downtown have gone out of business recently. I know it must be hard in a small town. I'm not sure what could survive down there. He said maybe we should start something . . . maybe. But I'm not ready for that kind of investment, of money or time.
We turned back onto another street so we were off the main thoroughfare, away from all of the traffic. The city recently renovated this street. It looks nice. We continued on, walking the entire length of the town. The kids were having a good time, poking mud with sticks, kicking the mole holes, and just being silly in general. Eventually we made it to Herfy Burgers. The kids were a little worn out by now. As we approached the counter, the guy behind it said, "uh, just so you know, we are out of propane. We can't cook anything right now." Anything? No burgers, no fries, no hot dogs--oh, he said he could microwave those. He mentioned it would be about 5 minutes before the propane arrived. There were already 5 other customers waiting for orders. We inquired about milkshakes, trying to think of something to appease the kids. "Well, I only have chocolate syrup right now," was his reply. Hmmm . . . guess we'll go somewhere else. Mind you, Herfy's is not next door to any other eating establishment. It is a few blocks down at the end of town.
So we gathered the troops, headed back up the road. To help pass the time, I played Simon Says with the kids as we walked along the road. They really enjoyed that. Even Merek got into it. He loves when I say "ready, set, go" and he'll run up to wherever the others are. We made it to Got Rice and went in for a lunch of Chinese food. The kids always get a kick out of reading the placemats with the year of the animals. "What are you? What are you?" they always check with each other. I am an Ox. Krish is a Sheep. We aren't compatible. DH is a Boar and I think he is supposes to stay away from Oxen. Bird and Miranda aren't supposed to get along either but I can't remember what their signs are. Merek is a Rat. Lina . . . can't remember that either (but with all of the new astrological signs does all of this really make a difference?). Anyway it is a fun activity to do while we wait for the food--which at Got Rice doesn't usually take long. It is our Chinese food place of choice here in the valley.
As we left the restaurant, it began to rain, just a little. We stayed on the back street. Played Simon Says again to make it go a little faster for the kids. When we got back to the depot, the kids performed an impromptu concert for us in the gazebo. LOVED it! They are so funny, singing and dancing. Sometimes they make up songs. Sometimes they recite movie lines (among their current favs is I Love Lucy). As they giggled and sang, I snuggled up to DH and said, "We made them. How cool it that?" :)
It began to rain a little harder and we still had a block to go to get to the van, so we said it was time to go. Back past the big log, the rose garden, and across the tracks. What a fun three hour adventure we had, in our little town, when we had nothing else planned for the day. This is one of the things I love the most about DH--he likes to just go and see what happens.
*sigh*
I love him.
When we got home, the kids went outside--in the rain--to build fairy houses. I laid down on the love seat with Merek for a nap. He surprised me by falling asleep pretty quickly. We napped for about two hours. No one knew we were there--they thought I had taken him upstairs for a nap. But they were still quiet for the most part.
After the nap, DH and I took Merek to the grocery store and bought some food for dinner and today. We also rented Social Network from RedBox. DH made yummy tacos for dinner. The kids played school (the girls set up a schedule and "teach" their brothers. It is amazing!). I got ambitious and started making invitations for Lina's still-to-be-scheduled birthday party. Pulled out my old Sizzix and some dies, found some old papers. Loving how they are turning out! (And I found a pennant die--HELLO banners!) After all kids were in bed, we turned on the movie and enjoyed some popcorn.
It was a good day for having nothing on the schedule.
