All us girls are taking skiing lessons but Joe decided to choose
snowboarding. It seemed appropriate that our first experience of
skiing in the Northwest included rain and drizzle. The rain scared
away many people so the mountain was relatively empty.
For the next seven Sundays we will be heading up to Snoqualmie Summit
for ski lessons. Dahlia really enjoyed her class and was begging to
stay and ski longer. I’m not sure about Monti. Her teacher would say
things like “I have a surprise” and Monti would say, “Are we going to
build a snow fort?” or another time she asked, “Are we going to make a
tent?” I think she may have been hoping for a little more than skiing.
Our friends opened a new coffee shop in Issaquah named Grimaldi’s. On
Saturday they had a grand opening party which included musicians,
magicians, and lots of IVE kids. I think we definitely have a new
place to hang out.
The Shamu show was so crowded we sat near the front in the “Soak
Zone”. We were right in the sun so we were very hot and miserable. We
were all praying to get soaked. Unfortunately we all stayed pretty dry.
She was too scared for most of the rides but this was the perfect activity for Dahlia. I think the key to her enjoyment is to be in total control.
Monti and Joe went on the water ride while Dahlia and I waited on the
bridge. Dahlia added quarters to a machine that set off water geysers placed which if timed right soaked the people inside the boat. She practiced her moves several times before Joe and Monti came down. When they finally turned our corner Dahlia made sure they got wet.
The dolphin show rocked over the Shamu “Believe” show. The “Believe” show
was filled with lots of cheesy mock heartfelt moments in this video without many
tricks at all. The dolphin show combined truly cool trainer/dolphin
bits and a “Cirque Du Soleil” like trapeze/diving act.
It cost $7 per person to feed the dolphins. Touching the dead fish was
a deal breaker for Dahlia so she passed. Monti would pet the dolphin
under the chin and then drop a fish in it’s mouth.
Outside the Carriage Museum we fell in love with Eli the one-eyed horse. He was both gentle and spunky. At times he would just run around his fenced in area like a wild horse but then stop near Dahlia so she could give him some loving attention.
