Imagine That! 4/9/10

On our second day in Toledo we went to Imagination Station (Toledo's science museum). In the entrance there is a massive interactive ball maze. There were several places where kids could put balls in and watch them go through different obstacles.There were various hands-on exhibits to play with. One of them was a giant floor piano for the kids to walk on and make music.
There was a fun water area that Samantha went to town in! She had lots of fun splashing herself in the face and moving the rubber duckies from one place to another and back again.
All 3 of my kids worked together to make a dam for the water.
There was a section in the water area where there were various pieces of tubes to be used to build water passageways.
In the "Little Explorers" area there was a grocery store that Samantha enjoyed spending time in. There were shelves for each food group and some very realistic looking food. Samantha got various types of food and put them into her shopping cart.
After she filled her cart, she headed to the checkout.
The cash registers made beeping noises as the kids "scanned" them. (There was a laser beam that, when it got interrupted by the food, caused a beep) The buttons on the register made a bunch of silly noises.
When Marc and Daddy joined up later, Marc decided Samantha looked like she was having so much fun, he decided to ring up some of his own groceries.
There was a pulley example turned into a tug of war. On one side the rope was attached to the top of the beam and on the other side the rope was attached to the bottom. This was supposed to show how the pulley system worked. Marc was pulling on the side where the rope was attached at the top. He was taking it VERY seriously that they couldn't win! ;)
It was a fun afternoon. Marc learned lots, even though he didn't know it. ;)

Lions, Tigers, and Bear,,,,Oh My!! 4/8/10

We decided to get away for a few days during spring break week. We headed over to Toledo. The first day we were there we went to the zoo. It was a cool day so there weren't very many people to fight with to see the animals. We made good use of all the indoor exhibits to warm up periodically.
The first exhibit see saw were the seals. Since it has been a year since we went to a zoo, Samantha got REALLY excited when the seal swam by her. :)If there is a carousel to be ridden, my kids will find it. ;) The kids (and Daddy) had the whole carousel to themselves so I think they got an extra long ride.
Of course, if there was a statue, I had my kiddos pose for a picture by it. ;)
Our favorite exhibit in zoos are the polar bears. So of course we have to pose for a picture by the polar bears fountain. :)
There were some very friendly ducks swimming in the polar bear fountain. Samantha was having quite the conversation with one of them. ;) "cack, cack, cack"
"Bye duckie!"
After spending time outside, we decided it was time to warm up, so off to the aviary for awhile. While we were there some new, rare species of birds were hatched! ;)


After some more walking around we came upon the gorillas. Again.....I made the kids pose for a picture. ;)


This gorilla sat by the window for a long time. We noticed that the gorilla was eating a whole onion.....whew!
We sat and watched this monkey family for close to 1/2 an hour! The kids loved watching the 2 younger monkeys playing. We decided they must be brother & sister. They played and then fought and played some more. ;)
Marc had to see if his arms stretched as far as an orangutan's arms do.
In the entry way of a children's area, there were a bunch of masks hanging for the kids to try on. The elephant swallowed Samantha. ;)
Marc transformed into a tiger.
And he got stung by a massive bee. ;)
There was a whole indoor exhibit all about bugs. Eewww! There was a cool beehive that the kids can crawl in and pretend to be bees.
The kids got to pretend to be spiders and climb a spider web.
The kids put on bumble bee costumes.

We got to watch the elephant eat his lunch. It was pretty cool watching him us his trunk to dig trough hay and stuff to find his food.
The zoo wore Samantha out!
We had a good time. We have thought about going back again when it warms up a little bit more. :)

Happy Easter - Part 2

After Marc followed the clues and found the Easter baskets, the kids got to look in them.Samantha got a cool ribbon twirler/waver thingy. She had so much fun waving it all around.
Marc and his loot from the "Easter Bunny".
Samantha had her loot from the "Easter Bunny".
After some Easter basket fun, we got ready to go to church. My Mom bought Marc his Easter outfit and my Grandma bought Samantha hers. They both looked SO adorable.

Samantha looked like a grown-up girl. I swear she aged 2 years in about a minute, just long enough to get her dressed.
Marc looked like a young executive.
My SUPER cute kiddos!!!!After church we headed over to my Mom's house. She does an egg hunt around her house for the kids. She puts filled plastic eggs leading upstairs to where their baskets are. (yes, my kiddos are spoiled)

Samantha checking our her loot from Grandma.
Marc got a Zhu Zhu pet in his basket. He had fun watching it go.
It was a great day of family, food, smiles, and giggles. :-)

Happy Easter - "The Amazing Basket Race" 4/4/10

Every year we try to "hide" the kids' Easter baskets. One year we had a trail of plastic, filled, eggs and one year we had a trail of jelly beans leading to his basket. This year we decided to make him follow clues to find it. Daddy Marc had the idea of calling it "The Amazing Basket Race" (after "The Amazing Race") since Marc likes the show so much. His first egg was sitting in the bathroom when he woke up. Here is the race he had to go on:

Clue #1:
"You've hunted for eggs, now hunt for clues. Your basket is 7 clues away, but only if you can solve the riddles. Your first clue is easy....look in the box that REFRIGERATES your food.Clue #2:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 LOOK IT UP, it's true (you've got a Bible).
Clue #3:
You're out of SCHOOL for a week. But to get your next clue, you'll have to let the cat out of the BAG.
Clue #4:
we'd like To eat At this location But sometimes there's Lots of stuff covering Every part of it; We also do crafts here sometimes.If you find this spot, look underneath it (you like to hide there anyway).
Clue #5:
"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' " Mark 16:6-7 You'll need your Dad's help to look this one up (he has a Bible too, ya know).

Samantha wanted to help Marc find his next clue. :)

Clue #6:
Let's find your next clue. Excellent builders Get to have a lot of fun putting together these blocks for Others to knock over and tear apart.
Clue #7:
Look around.....you've arrived!!
FOUND IT!!!!!
We had fun creating the clues and even more fun watching Marc find them and try to figure them out. He did a GREAT job figuring them out. Now the real question.....how do we top this next year??? ;-)