Hot, humid, and swarming with tropical butterflies of all colors and sizes, the Pacific Science Center Tropical Butterfly House is a touch of the tropics right here in Seattle – and a great way to spend the afternoon with your favorite kid, or kid at heart.
Gem was so taken with the idea that a butterfly might land on her that she stood completely still for what felt like F O R E V E R (and probably even longer for her) waiting for one to come and say hi. The rules were very strict: NO TOUCH! However, if a butterfly lands on you, well that’s their choice. It took a while, and Gem managed to keep from reaching out and touching them, and finally one crawled right up on her finger. She was elated.
The butterflies would often land right on the floor, so it was important to watch your step carefully. Occasionally one of the butterflies would be sitting on the floor injured. Stepped on? Perhaps. Or it could have been injured elsewhere, and then just landed on the floor to catch it’s breath. Gem was looking for a butterfly under this caution sign, with no idea a blue morpho was fluttering around right next to her.
I kept thinking that the Pacific Science Center would be a great place to take her when she gets older – but I was missing out. It’s really appropriate for all ages – and even has a toddler explore area for the littlest ones.
The Seattle Iranian Festival is an annual event for my family. My husband got his Master’s degree in Persian literature, and through his studies we were introduced to the local Persian community.
Each year we reconnect with old friends, and savor the amazing food.
Art, colors, texture, music, beauty everywhere…
Each year Gem is made to feel like a princess, as our friends tell her they remember when she was just tiny.
But you needn’t be connected to the local Iranian community to enjoy the Seattle Iranian Festival. Free, welcoming, open to all, this event will open your eyes to a beautiful culture that is not well understood in our country. Â It comes around every year. Give it a try next June.
We slipped into summer quietly: a lovely day, followed by a lovely sunset.
Since the solstice, our weather has been all over the place. Right now we are enjoying a thunder and lightning storm, this following a hot, blue-skied afternoon.
I’m always on the lookout for free and awesome things to do with my family, especially things that are appropriate for the little one. The Burien Wild Strawberry Festival was the perfect way to spend Fathers’ Day Weekend. A small town festival with all the typical carnival rides and games, and entrance was free.
The festival was in the downtown common area, with a view of Mt. Rainier,
and we could even watch the activity at SeaTac Airport from the top of the Ferris wheel.
There were plenty of activities for the kids. Some we had to pay for, like the rides,
but many more were free. A bouncy house, several different kids art stations and play stations, and the Firefighters let my little one sit in the driver’s seat of their ladder truck, and taught her all about dialing 9-1-1.
There were plenty of cultural events, including a Chinese dragon winding it’s way through the crowd,
and later found resting.
And when the sun got just too hot, we went underground to watch the breakdancing competition in the parking structure.
I love, love, love little festivals and fairs, and this is one of the better ones I’ve been to. We’ll be back next year.
I had heard there were sea lions around Seattle, but in the 21 years that I’ve lived here, this was the first time I saw them – during a harbor cruise around Elliott Bay.
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