4th and 8th grade!

The 2024 Washington State Fair's best freebies and deals, in my story for Seattle's Child.

Two lucky kids got a sneak peek inside the Seattle Aquarium's new Ocean Pavilion with me yesterday. The expansion opens to the public today, and we are so excited for this huge waterfront upgrade.

Here's a link to my story for Seattle's Child.

At The Museum of Flight, we saw a real NASA astronaut! Actually, two: Tom Jones was speaking, and Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger was sitting two seats behind me. What an amazing opportunity. We are so lucky to have the Museum of Flight here. Someday I want to go work for NASA.

Some things we learned:

• The space shuttle re-enters the atmosphere at a speed of mach 25, or 25 times the speed of sound
• The spacesuit controls are printed backwards, because astronauts can't look down, they're wearing a helmet, so they use a mirror on their wrist to look at their controls.
• Cancer cells in space grow in 3-D, not flat on a petri dish, so scientists can test cancer medications better
• The shuttle crew has a commander and a pilot, because none of the astronauts wanted to be called the co-pilot.

Field trip to IslandWood on Bainbridge. The 5th graders at Paul's school go on a camping trip here every year, so we went to get a sneak peak. Turns out it’s not a campsite, it's a super swanky RESORT.

IslandWood is open to the public one day a month. The rest of the time it's hosting 4th and 5th graders learning about nature with UW grad students, retreats and weddings.

Check out the new inclusive playground at Hidden Creek Park West in Hillsboro. The park, less than a year old, is made for adventure and imaginative play.

The star of the park is an enormous monkey named “Oro the Giant,” sprawled out on the turf with a butterfly in its hand. Kids can climb inside and on top of the monkey via rock-climbing grips, ropes, and ladders. There’s even a slide coming out the back.

Other features in this fully fenced park include a merry-go-round set flush with the ground, a sand and water play area, and an obstacle course. The restroom even has a universal changing table. Bravo, Hillsboro.

The Tillamook Creamery is the ultimate cheesy beacon of welcoming. Take a free self-guided tour. From viewing windows above the factory floor, you can learn about the cheese-making process and watch chunks of cheese zip along on conveyor belts. Pick up a free sample at the end of the tour.

The Tillamook Forest Center is on the way to Tillamook, so there’s no extra driving involved. It’s on OR-6, between mile markers 22 and 23, and absolutely worth a stop. There’s a snazzy visitor center with a short film about the forest, kid-friendly displays, and a fire lookout you can climb. There is also a suspension bridge, a creek and trails to explore. Admission is free.

OMSI's Tyrannosaurus special exhibit closes on September 8! Fun and interactive. We loved trying to cause mass extinction with a meteor, testing our bite force against T-Rex's (guess who won? by a lot?) and touching fossilized dinosaur poo.

Great Wolf! The Grand Mound lodge stayed open during construction (which began April 2023) but I didn't want to go until the renovation was complete. Worth the wait. No one slept and everyone had a blast.

A few black-and-whites from Cannon Beach, where it was so hazy we couldn't see Haystack Rock a few feet away. Loved the cool weather (it was 97 in Portland!) and relaxing downtime.

I love visiting the coast, but I don't love paying a premium for it. Here's my beach vacation hack, in Seattle's Child.