The Perot Museum

Our first big field trip of the new year was to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, an incredible and brand new museum right in the heart of downtown Dallas.   There is so much to see at this museum!  I don't think you can do it all justice with just a one-day visit.   The museum itself is an architectural wonder...one of the highlights for some of the kids was the escalators that go up the side of the building:

 We had a group of about 35 that met us there, and we also had scheduled a Lego: Simple Machines class for while we were there.  Our teacher was an adult who never wanted to grow up...and now he gets to play with Legos all day long.  He was perfect for the group!  

 

The kids enjoyed talking about what a simple machine is, what it does, and where they might be found.  Then they were set free with a set of Legos and a set of plans to build their own machines.

  They started with a lever, moved onto a wedge, and finished with a gear assembly.  

Then they were allowed to make up their own creations or pick from more elaborate plans.  The kids LOVED their time in the Lego room.  

  We had a picnic lunch outside (thankfully the weather was PERFECT!).  There were so many of us, and so many public school groups there too, that we ended up splitting up a little during lunch.  The kids enjoyed the outside area of a stream, pond, frogs and huge musical instruments while they ran around during our lunch break.  

 My favorite exhibit inside the museum was the human body hall.  They have slices of human bodies, head to foot...one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.  

   All of the kids really enjoyed the engineering hall, where they could program robots, play computers that controlled musical instruments, build roads and create a light show.  It was hard to leave that area!

Other fun highlights were the dinosaur area and the bonus bird level.  The kids loved being able to 'build their own bird' as they worked their way through the kiosks. 

In the weather area, the boys enjoyed being weather forecasters, reading off of a tele-prompter and seeing themselves on screen.

The sports hall might have been our favorite, even though our time there was cut short as we had to step outside to give a friend with a dead battery a jump-start.  They have a motion room where they film you while you attempt a sports move, then they send your video to a computer where you can watch it in slow motion.  You can also play a video side-by-side of a professional athlete doing the same move, to compare.  So fun!  The kids enjoyed the race track, where you can be timed while you race against your friend as well as a cheetah, a dinosaur, or a professional athlete on screen.  Seriously fun to watch!

We left without exploring all of the exhibits, but we hope to have the chance to go again soon!  Maybe we won't have such a big group next time, however.  ;)

We had some friends riding along with us (Sarah, Haven and Kate).  On the way home, the six children in our car were getting a little restless and wild, so we stopped at a nice rest area to run around.  That helped, and we were able to end the day on a really fun note!  

Field trips are so fun, and exploring the world with friends is the best! 

Splash Kingdom-Shreveport

Sam (along with his dad and brothers) spent the first week of July fishing in Canada.  Yes, that means they spent America's Independance Day by leaving the country.  Ha!

They had a phenomenal trip.  First they flew to Mineappolis, MN, where they grabbed dinner and a hotel room for the night.  The next morning they drove their rental car 11 hours North into the province of Ontario, where they were picked up by a little pilot in a float plane.  The float plane delivered them to a little cabin on a lake in the middle of nowhere.  Don't worry, though.  The pilot brought in all the groceries they had bought on the way.  And he left them a sattelite phone so they could call if the had any emergencies while they were there.  (They didn't know at the time, but the sat-phone was password-protected and they couldn't actually use it!)

I don't have any pictures from their trip, but they caught hundreds of fish (Northern Pike), had beautiful (if a little hot) weather, and enjoyed the time away.  It's not exactly my idea of paradise, but Sam can't imagine anything more fun than a week "off the grid".  He had a blast.  

The night that the guys left, the kids and I headed an hour and half east to Shreveport, Louisiana to visit a water park.  Our radio station had been giving away tickets to a closer water park, and at the end of the giveaway they still had tickets left for the farther-away park....so we got some of those!

The kids were so excited to try out a new water park.  Along the way, we stopped at Arby's for a quick dinner.  While we were there a semi-truck drove into the parking lot pulling a tank.  The kids were pretty impressed with this and we talked to the driver for a while (who told us that the tank weighs 60,000 pounds!).  

When we got to Splash Kingdom, everyone was gathered outside and they hadn't opened the gates yet. There were less than 100 people there, and the radio station people soon announced that this was EVERYONE who would be at the park that evening...no lines, no waiting, SO FUN!

They had some fun new slides...here are Henry and Jonah dropping off of these really fun short slides:

And Bridget loved every bit of it.  She was (finally) tall enough to go down some of the big slides, and her favorite one was a face-first, superman-type slide that made me scream every time I went down it.  She is such a daring little girl!

We had so much fun and we are so grateful to our local Christian radio station for the free tickets and the adventure.  :)

Christmas Week Camping!

A few days before Christmas, we went camping. Cold, you say? Nope. We live in Texas. :)

Sam had the crazy idea that since he already had time off from work, we should go camping Christmas week. And Jon and Kelly were just crazy enough to agree to go along with us!Sam's first order of business was to put up the tree. I mean, it was Christmas week, after all! And nobody loves Christmas quite as much as my Sam.

We went to a very close National Park (15 minutes from our door!) and had a fantastic time. There were some great geocaches to be found by this crew:

Crafts, painting, and hot chocolate with marshmallows not too far from the fire:

We also had a few fun firsts: After much practicing (and lots of help from her big brother) Bridget learned to ride her bike with no training wheels! She was so proud of herself...and we were proud of her for sticking it out when it got difficult.

And the other 'first' was Jonah losing his second front tooth! It had been loose for a long while but his adult tooth is coming in funny and not pushing on the old one...the dentist had warned us that he may have to pull it...but on the first morning camping, it came right out! :)
Henry led many biking expeditions...
We had the coolest tree to climb around on right behind our campsite.
It was a really great camping trip and we all had so much fun! It was so nice to step away from the hustle-bustle of the season and take some time to just enjoy our families and relax.
I'm so glad I married into a camping family! :)

Florida 2011

We had another fun vacation to Florida this past fall! We planned a fun stop along the way this time...in Mobile, Alabama. We always drive by a huge battleship as we zoom on by and we decided this year that we'd better check it out.

It was so great! When we first got there we let the kids out of the car to run around. There is a wonderful park area, with a pier, a rocky shoreline, and lots of tanks, helicopters, and airplanes that you can look at up close.

We would have enjoyed the stop if that had been all that we got to see, but there was SO much more!We bought tickets to board the USS Alabama and headed out. None of us had ever been on a battleship before. It was WAY bigger than we could have imagined. It's amazing that it can float! We followed the self-guided tours around and saw most of the boat...we actually got lost more than once.

It was a real treat and an eye-opener for all of us. We so appreciate the US armed forces and all who serve our country.

After touring the battleship we walked over to another part of the park where they have a submarine, the USS Drum. The kids really enjoyed walking through that...I think for two reasons it was their favorite part. (1) It's so compact and they make use of every inch of space, and (2) We met the man who is in charge of restoring the sub, a retired vet who had lots of fascinating things to share with us. Sam was anxious to get back on the road by this point, but we just couldn't tear ourselves away from this kind man and his vast knowledge. SO FUN!
After the battleship park, we headed on down the road...at that point we are pretty close to our destination, so the last part of the journey went pretty quickly. We finally made it to the house we rent (or as the kids call it, "our Florida house"), dropped off our things and the kids and I, along with Kelly, Jordan and Matthew, grabbed some buckets and headed down to the beach.

We slipped our toes into the warm water, dug in the sand a little, got wetter than we planned on, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. What a perfect start to a vacation!

We did many of the 'usual' things that we do in Florida, since this is an annual trip for us. This year we decided to take the kids to see Dolphin Tale, as it had recently opened in the theaters. What a perfect movie to see at the beach, huh? :)

We spent some fun times shopping and even found matching sunglasses for all of the adults...

We spent many mornings and/or afternoons at this fun park that is just across the street from our house...and we even got a unique group picture!

Family picture time! We tried to recapture the colors from that first incredible sunset but couldn't quite get them.

The beauty of this vacation is that we all get time together, but as the kids get busy playing, Sam and I get time to talk and reconnect too. Such a refreshing time!

Of course there was lots of swimming...once they finally fixed the pool. The first few days we were there it was WAY too cold to swim, and the last day we were there it was actually too hot! There were a few days in the middle there that were absolutely perfect.

Vacations with family are the best!!!

I had high hopes for this next picture...it didn't turn out so great, but I just love all these little faces! :)

Last year Henry studied the Mississippi and was fascinated by it. He loved the idea of this HUGE river that flows so very far and was so very useful to the early American settlers. When I reminded him that we drive over the Mississippi every year on the way to Florida, he could not wait! Since we didn't cross it at a good time on the way there, we decided we would stop on the way back.

As we crossed over the river (on a bridge, high, high, high above the river) Sam pointed it out to Henry and told him to wave. Henry was devastated. He had thought we would stop and take pictures, and Sam had thought we would just slow down and look...different plans. So we drove on a few miles, and Sam looked for a place to turn around so we could go back across the river where the visitor center is and get out of the car. We enjoyed looking out over the river and walking around. For some reason there was an old cannon displayed on a hill overlooking the river. Sam thought it would be a good place for us to break out our inaugural 'family planking' and join the strange phenomenon. ;)

We are so grateful that we are able to take a yearly vacation. We love Florida: the weather, the beaches, the friendly folks and abundant shopping. But what we love most is a chance to spend time with family and enjoy time away together! Thank you Lord for the blessing of family vacations with extended family! :)

Trip to Arizona

This summer my Mom and Jim treated us to an incredible vacation to Arizona! We had so much fun visiting their home during the summer. The only other time we've been to visit them was in April, and while the weather felt pretty perfect, the pool was a little cold during that visit. This time, their pool was about 80 degrees...perfect!
The kids and I flew down first and spent a few days before Sam was able to leave work and join us. One of the things we did without him was visit the Phoenix zoo. It is such a great zoo! We loved every bit of it. One of our favorite parts was playing around in the gnome house. Another highlight was petting the rays in a touch tank...so great!

I love that my mom is not afraid to 'monkey around' and have a good time with us! ;)

We took a picture in this same spot last year-I love the way the trees lean apart just perfectly framing us! Even though it was hot, there was plenty of shade and a bit of a breeze that day. We really had a good time! The kids also loved the splash pad area (I didn't take any pictures in that section) that has slides and waterfalls...they were soaked, but they dried up pretty quickly walking around in the sunshine!

Once Sam got into town, we celebrated our anniversary. My mom and Jim threw us a lovely party and showered us with fun treats...it was so cool. We don't always get to celebrate our special days together since we live in different states!

Sam ramped up the fun in the pool...he brings a little more rowdiness to the crowd. :) He thought it would be fun to build a tower of kids, but Bridget got very nervous at the last minute.

Because we are able to Skype regularly, the kids don't really feel like Grandma and Jim are so far away. When they see them they don't feel like it's been forever since they've seen each other. I'm so very thankful for that little invention!
We were treated to a trip to a new museum that is in the area as well. It was a neat place and they kids loved it. They had a touch tank there as well as lots of cool rooms to explore. The shark tunnel was probably our favorite spot.
My mom treated us to a trip to a local pottery-painting studio while we were there too. It was a great place with so many options that we hardly knew what to do! I made a cute little serving platter and the kids all made Christmas ornaments. My mom carefully packed them up and shipped them to us after they were glazed and fired...what a treat to find in the mail a few weeks after we got home!

We also spent a day at the library and signed up for their summer reading program. We got there the day the library was setting up a sidewalk sale with super-cheap kids books...so instead of checking books out, we just bought a bunch. :) Near the end of the week the kids went back to the library to watch a Flat Stanley puppet show and do a craft. They all came home with summer reading treasures, and about a week after we got home we received their big prizes...free books in the mail, courtesy of the library!

For the kids, one of the highlights of the whole trip is flying. They love airports, airplanes and all that goes along with travel. All of the kids traveled exceptionally well and I was so proud of them! We packed a few books, crayons and a few snacks in each of their bags, and they never once complained or found themselves without something to occupy their minds. It really makes it fun for me too, knowing that I can relax and enjoy traveling with them.

I am so grateful for my Mom and Jim. They value family so much and they always make us feel so welcomed and special. It is always a treat when we get to see them and spend time with them. Due to many little reasons, we have been blessed to see Mom and Jim many times this past year and we do not take it for granted. We are so thankful for you guys! We love you. :)