History Is The Best

History Day really is my favorite day of the week! Syndi found this really cool museum in Seattle. We went to the Klondike Gold Rush Museum after reading about the gold rush in our history class. The children also panned for gold in their history class, and at Fort Langley, so they knew how frustrating and time consuming it could be. We left home at 8:00am (really a feat for myself) and arrived at the museum at 10:00am.

We started the tour with a great guide who introduced us and told us that the Klondike museum is actually an international park, it is located in Seattle, Canada and Alaska! After the introductory film our tour guide disappeared. We had each of the children choose a person from the Klondike Gold Rush and read about their experiences throughout the museum, that was my favorite.

Savannah's character was a black woman who was pregnant and gave birth on her way to the gold mining camps, she also traveled with her 2 other children.

Aaron's character was Mr. Nordstrom who struck it rich and came back to Seattle and used some of his wealth to start a business.

I do not remember all the other characters but it was very interesting. The children also weighed themselves and calculated their worth if they were worth their weight in Gold. Taylor was worth $181,673,966.72

Each of the older children completed a scavenger hunt to find relevant information located throughout the museum. My younger boys got a passport book and found rubbings and stamps to 'cancel' their pages.

After the museum, we ate a quick lunch and headed to Seattle Fire Station #5! Jason (Jake and Savannah's dad) arranged for us to have a tour of the station and the Fire Boat!

The unwritten rule is that you do not show up at a fire station without some goodies for the firemen. On our way to Seattle we stopped and Jess bought some Krispy Kreme Donuts for the firemen. We enjoyed some for ourselves as well.

Everyone loved sitting in the trucks and touching the equipment. The highlight was getting to tour the new fire boat! Syndi stayed on dry ground with Ruby. The tide was way out so the ramp getting to the boat was very steep and slippery.

Mr. Mike the firefighter was very engaging and answered ALL the questions. Erik asks relevant and thoughtful questions. Half way through the tour he said to me, "I am really trying to come up with a question that he doesn't know the answer to."

I love how he thinks.

At the end of the tour Erik asked one of the firemen for a dollar, and the fireman gave it to him! Erik was so excited and exclaimed, "I was going to say, April Fools! but he really gave it to me"

The children (and adults) had a fabulous day! We got to see first hand many things that we had been reading and learning about. On the way home we stopped at Goodwill and then headed across the street to one of the BEST BBQ restaurants ever, Sticky Fingers and enjoyed a delicious dinner! As I was pulling out of the parking spot, Aaron Yelled, "Where is Jake?" Jake was the last to use the restroom and did not tell anyone where he was going! The other patrons in the restaurant laughed.

My van does not have tinted windows and several times throughout the day we noticed people staring, open-mouthed at the number of people packed inside my van.

I feel so fortunate and blessed to have such amazing friends to share these experiences with. I love that there was not fighting or bickering among the children, we all enjoy each others children, and we easily agree on activities. I appreciate that there is not a competition rather, encouraging each other and lifting each other up. I have an amazing life.