Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em 5k

Todays Meaningless Monday post is about the upcoming 5k around Seattle’s Green Lake called the Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em Valentines Day Dash 5k (super long title for a fun run). I did this race last year as a fun run and surprisingly I had fun. All my other 5k’s I was serious, wanted to get a good time and all that. But this race  I ran with my mom and we talked, laughed, pointed at people in their costumes (I know so rude) and hammed it up for the photographer during the race.

It was awesome to see people dressed up in costumes, some really creative ones, some just decked out in fun clothes. We saw people running in cardboard hearts that fit over the top half of their body including their heads and then we were outraged when they passed us. I mean how can they run faster than us in that bulky costume?

After the race we scored on some good freebies, hung out for a bit and then headed home to shower. A fun run might be meaningless to some, you pay $30 to run around  Green Lake on a saturday. You can do that any day of the week (including race day) for free. But it was really fun.  I’m looking forward to it this year and dare I say I might wear something festive? Gasp!

It’s not to late to sign up. Click here for the details. Don’t worry about your time, this is a fun run/walk so relax and enjoy yourself! Word to the wise, arrive early to find parking!

Free Friday at KidsQuest Children’s Museum

The first Friday evening of every month is free at Kids Quest Children’s Museum in Factoria (Bellevue) from 5-8pm. This children’s Museum is located inside the Factoria Mall and is  great way to spend a cold friday night.

The museum features a Backyard Exhibit, a Garage area with a Fire truck, free play construction zone, a life-sized litebrite! And of course a waterways section complete with water chimes and drums. There are other exhibits of course and I’d say is mainly for younger kids. We went a few years ago and it was fun. Clean but crowded.

This museum is small (much smaller than Everett Children’s Museum) but it’s fun to get out and explore new exhibits. And the cost, well you can’t beat free! Plus there’s a Red Robin inside the mall so we head over there for dinner afterwards.

The Last 5 Years of Real Estate in Seattle

The Seattle Times did a nice summary of what the Seattle Real Estate Market has done in the last 5 years last week. When looking at these facts remember to look at the big picture, the value of real estate is constantly changing. We saw a big spike in value in 2007 and people are still comparing their property value to that year.

I do believe things are starting to turn around and get back to normal, whatever that is!

Check out this summary of facts from the Seattle Times.

Everett Imagine Children’s Museum

This weekend I took my boys to the Everett Imagine Children’s Museum. One gripe I have to get out-of-the-way, why do adults have to pay? Do you think I enjoy playing “bank” when I can do that in real life? Ok, I feel better!

The museum provides a safe environment for kids to play on an airplane, cafe, pet center, waterworks station, train set, all sorts of things. The glow in the dark room was pretty cool!

Downstairs there is a construction room and this time they had large foam blocks to build towers and things. This is where I saw the most kids stay in one area for any length of time and the kids worked together to build tall towers and then crash them down. It was really cool.

The other cool part is on weather appropriate days the rooftop playground is open. There is a fun play set, some music creating toys and the best part, a digging for fossils exhibit. There is ground up rubber bits and kids dig to find dinosaur bones and such. Really fun!

My guys are 6 years old and it was just barely worth it for us to go. I feel it’s better suited for younger kids but that’s my opinion. It was something to do on a gray winter day. You are allowed to bring in lunch and they have lots of tables downstairs to eat.

If you’ve never been, try it. Usually the museum is closed on Mondays and Thursdays is half price admission after 3:00. Keep in mind they close at 5:00pm everyday, don’t learn this the hard way like I did!

Real Estate wise we are back to 2005

Image via Wikipedia

We keep thinking the real estate market is getting better, and it is, until you start comparing the facts to past years. According to the Seattle Times buyers spent 8.9 billion dollars on houses and condos in King County last year.  That’s good, that’s a lot of money, until you see that in 2005 we spent  17.1 billion. That’s right, almost 90% more money was spent 5 years ago.

The prices of homes were about the same in 2010 as they were in 2005 but the difference is fewer homes sold last year. In 2005 roughly 42,000 homes/condos were sold. 2010 saw only 21,000.

Honestly though, it is getting better. We had a HUGE real estate boom that we are comparing ourselves to instead of looking at the bigger picture. Value goes up and down, it’s all about selling high and buying low. The tricky part is the timing of it all.

North Creek Trail in Mill Creek WA

Mill Creek WA is FULL of wonderful paved trails. I haven’t been able to find a map of all the trails in the city, which would be nice to have, but we do use the trails we know quite a bit. These trails take you through neighborhoods, connects you to parks and a lot of times, away from traffic.

North Creek Trail however is a totally different path. This trails makes you feel like you are in the middle of nature but a Starbucks is just around the corner. My family often visits this trail to ride bikes or scooters. There are some fun hills to go down, lots of duck ponds, it’s a wide path which is great for young riders, people are out walking their dogs, etc. We really enjoy it.

The trail is about 10 feet wide and 2.5 miles long, one end is McCollum Park on 128th and the other end is on Mill Creek Blvd near the Zen Garden Chinese Restaurant. The trail often times comes out into the Mill Creek Town Center which is full of shops, restaurants, ice cream, books stores, Starbucks, you name it.

My family usually drives to the start of the trail and then ride bikes or scooters. There are no drinking fountains on the path or restrooms so come prepared. A word of caution, while we have never seen or experienced any danger I would use caution if walking alone. There are no lights on the path and it neighbors acres of nature preserve. Always a good idea to be safe than sorry!

Bothell’s Country Village

Image via Wikipedia

What makes you love where you live? Not the state or even the city, but your community. What’s great about it? Maybe you’re the type that doesn’t have a car and likes the downtown city feel where you can walk to everything you need. Or it could be you are tired of the hustle and bustle and want some space where you have to drive 10 miles just to find a small grocery store. To each their own but when you find the heart of the community and it speaks to you, you’ve found home!

In Bothell, WA there is a small Country Village, hence the name Country Village. This place is different, it’s unique, I wouldn’t call it a shopping center or a mall even though there are a lot of shops there. It’s  a country village. According to their website there are 40 unique shops, and by unique I mean family owned shops. No franchises here! The buildings are old, some with wood floors, nothing matches and there are nooks and crannies everywhere you go. It’s pretty cool and there’s just a great feel about the place and kids are welcomed!

Besides the shops Country Village offers a huge field and playground for the kids complete with a pirate ship and train rides, there are chickens on the property, a lovely gazebo and courtyard, a farmers market in the summer time, the list goes on and on. It’s not for everyone but it’s something different to do besides going to the mall.

Check out Bothell’s Country Village, exit 26 off the 405.

Bellevue, WA one of the Best Places to Live

According to CNNMoney Bellevue, WA is the 4th best small city to live for 2010. That is not a typo 4th! They describe Bellevue as follows:

If forested cityscapes are your thing, this is your kind of place. Bellevue’s compact downtown bristles with new skyscrapers that seem to hover above Lake Washington — and when the clouds part, mountain views loom.Real estate isn’t a bargain, but the town’s jobless rate is more than two points below that of the Seattle metro area, thanks to a recent influx of jobs from such employers as Microsoft (which has moved 6,500 positions here), T-Mobile, Verizon, and Expedia. In fact, Bellevue has more jobs than it does residents.–Jessica Levine

The only other city in Washington to make the top 100 is Shoreline.

How Is The Market?

Home sales remained sluggish around most of Western Washington during September.  However, there are some positive signs.  It’s a weak recovery, but it’s trending in the right direction. . . at least we think so.

Among positive indicators were pending sales (“starting to show signs of life”), month’s supply of inventory (pointing toward a more balanced market), stabilizing prices (with more homes being priced competitively), the market adjusting to no more tax credits, and strong sales of “specialty homes.”   There were 5,741 pending sales during September across the 21 counties in its service area.  That’s a drop from August (down 4.9 percent) and from the same month a year ago (a decline of 24.3 percent), but an improvement on the total number of mutually accepted offers for May, June and July.

Bellevue – A Unique City

Image via Wikipedia

If forested cityscapes are your thing, this is your kind of place. Bellevue’s compact downtown bristles with new skyscrapers that seem to hover above Lake Washington — and when the clouds part, mountain views loom.

Real estate isn’t a bargain, but the town’s jobless rate is more than two points below that of the Seattle metro area, thanks to a recent influx of jobs from such employers as Microsoft (which has moved 6,500 positions here), T-Mobile, Verizon, and Expedia. In fact, Bellevue has more jobs than it does residents.

And the population is diverse: Nearly a quarter of residents are Asian, and nearly a third are foreign born.

The town’s high schools consistently land at the top of state rankings. There’s also a ton of arts and entertainment, including a philharmonic orchestra, fine arts museum, botanical garden, youth theater, annual jazz festival, and 74 (!) parks.