End of summer 2013

The end of the summer was busy.  We had lots of fun.

A trip to Port Discovery was in the works, this time we brought friends.  It was nice to share one of our favorite places with some friends.  Of course the boys didn't want their pictures taken.  

 We had a few last minute Dr. appointments.  Of course where we take out the camera to entertain children while we wait.

 We had a few dart gun wars around the house.  This little guy is finally figuring out how to play.

It was a great end to the summer.

Last Day of School and Port Discovery

The last day of school was a 1/2 day and there were some pool parties.  However, the thought of keeping track of 4 kids, 2 of whom can't swim without any help on a hot summer day had no appeal to me.   I decided to go to Port Discovery (the Children's museum in Baltimore)   The kids love that place and it is all inside, plus when most school kids still have another week it is completely empty in the afternoons.  We arrived at 1:15 when all the school groups were leaving, and only shared the place with a few other families. 

Amazingly we only went to 3 or 4 exhibits. 

I love the water area, they have a plumbers park with water flowing out of the floor and the kids can attach pipes to direct, block and divert water.  It amazes me to watch Buddy's engineering mind at work.  He and Princess were directing Munchkin and had a whole system worked out to make a high fountain.  They got soaked but loved it.

 This little guy I tried to keep dry, he carried that little spoon everywhere and love pouring it over and over.

We eventually moved to an area that had 2 staff people and they were taking notes as kids played with hammers, screws, dowels, boxes with holes, and some wheels.  My children had never seen this before in all our times there.  They honed in on it and the 3 big kids stayed there for almost 2 hours.  I left them together and let Simon play in the toddler area.  I came back to check on them every 20 minutes, but they didn't want to leave.

 

They built a combine

 They built a lawn mower

 They built a horse with wheels for legs.

 

They had stumbled upon a prototype area where the staff was testing a future exhibit. The staff loved the 3 kids.  They were the perfect testing demographic of ages, plus they had a long attention span, big imagination and were comfortable telling adults what they were doing. They even loved it when my kids broke stuff because then they knew it needed to be built stronger to withstand childrens museum use.  The kids loved it and the best part of all is that the staff person took my email and will send me an email next time they need stuff tested.  WIN.

 

This guy loved the one-on-one attention of the toddler area and the train.

We ended our day with a some pictures, a walk around the Inner Harbor and dinner, and almost pefect last day of school.

 

Port Discovery and GREAT kids

My kids are totally wonderful.  OK, not every day, but most days.

The kids had off school at the end of the quarter for professional development days.  I decided to have a fun day and took them to the children's museum in Baltimore.  It was great.  It was a Thursday and most kids were in school, so there was 1 school group and maybe 5 other families in the museum all day long. 

This is the story time.  There are 7 kids total, my 4 represent more than half of the group.  The drummer was cool.

 

Soccer time, notice that they are playing together without any other kids.

 

Playing chef and waitress in the diner.  Last time we went the 4 boothes were full and the kitchen was packed.  This time, my kids and one other kid.

 

Depending on whom you ask, Scout's first word was either dog or ball.  He Loved this stuffed dog that was bigger than him.

Scout loved playing with water, he was totally soaked, but he loved it.

 

 Usually I am unable to take Scout in the area reserved for kids under 3 because the big kids aren't allowed in, and I need to watch them.  This time there was no one else there, so all the kids got to play with him.  This was one of my favorite parts.  It was a image projected on the floor and when you stepped on the mat on the floor it changed.  The water rippled with sound effects of water. Then the image changed to fall leaves that moved when you moved your feet, with the sound of wind. It was cool and all the kids got to play with it.

Plus, the kids totally surprised me by not only getting along but also helping each other and watching out for each other WITHOUT being told.  I was shocked.

The museum has a 3+ story climbing fort/treehouse/slide whatever thing in the middle of it.  It is completely enclosed by cargo nets, ropes and all sorts of stuff. completely safe, but if you are 4 years old, being able to look down is a little scary.  The 2 big kids totally helped her, one going ahead and the other behind.  They encouraged her, cheered her on, held her hand and on one point even pushed/pulled her up a rock wall.  It was amazing to watch from the balcony of the 2nd floor as they helped her.  I never asked them to do it, but all day long as we moved from exhibit to exhibit they worked together. 

This is the only pictures that kind of came out.  This is munchkin with a very scared look on her face as she climbs off the structure onto the 3rd floor balcony, notice a brother in front showing her its safe and a sister behind encouraging.

 

She even gave me a very brave smile.

 

After the first few times she got more confident and played freely, but her siblings STILL stuck by her to make sure.  It made my day/week/year.  There is hope that they like each other.

Children's museum, July 2011 edition

The kids really like the children's museum.  We went again the kids had lots of fun.  They of course had to go fishing off the tug boat.

 Then Princess got to drive the bus to her choice of destinations.  (the ice cream store)

 We also played in the kaleidescope room.  The kids and I love this room, they stand in front of a reflective screen and then the image is shown in front of them.  The lights keep changing, so it isn't ever the same.

 The big image on the left is me trying to get a picture.

 I tried to get a group shot in the huge chair, but Buddy only pouted and Scout only screamed.

 He seemed to spend a lot of time screaming in the children's museum.  Maybe we will have to go when school is in session with just the 2 little kids and he might like it.