Vacation 2012, June 14: Children's Museum, my sister's and HOME!

We got up early and had another hotel breakfast delivered by Bryan.  It's so much easier to eat in the room rather than take two sleepy, grumpy boys down to eat with a bunch of strangers.  Eli decided to help feed Mommy.

We got the camera out too late but he had been spooning Fruit Loops to me.

 After we ate we re-packed the van (which was quite an adventure!) and headed to the Children's Museum.  We went there last summer and loved it so we knew we had to go again.  Zachary was so excited to see the dinosaurs again and Eli was picking up on Zachary's excitement. 

We spent a long time in the Dinosphere.  There's a lot of activities for the kids.  Unfortunately the dino dig wasn't available like it was last year.  They closed it "to improve the exhibit in the future."  Zachary quickly got over that disappointment and found something else to do.  Eli enjoyed it a lot too.  He growls when you ask him what sound a dinosaur makes.  I think he's developed a love of dinos too, but Zachary's is very intense. 

Walking into the Dinosphere.  Zachary was checking out the dino hanging from the ceiling.

Zachary exploring one of the caves with dinosaur fossils inside

A corythosaurus skeleton (I had to have Zachary look at this picture & tell me what kind it is!)

The boys wore dino vests & claws and sat on eggs in a nest.  Too busy to pose together but very cute to watch & hear their growls!

Zachary piecing together a Gorgosaurus puzzle

Eli playing at one of the dinosaur tables.

Chipping away for some dinosaur fossils

After the dinosaurs we went to see the train display.  Eli can say "All Aboard!" but of course he wouldn't say it in this exhibit. 

The museum had some special exhibits going on while we were there.  The first one we saw was about Egypt and underwater discoveries.  It was pretty cool.

Zachary looking extremely cute as he dons scuba gear and explores a wreck at sea.

Eli wasn't as happy to explore as Zachary was.

Zachary helping build a support wall in an exploratory cave.

Zachary trying to pose as an Egyptian warrior

Later we went to the Hot Wheels exhibit.  It was a little old for Eli but he loved it anyway.  He really likes cars & trucks so he had a good time.

Eli LOVED playing with the cars

Zachary climbed up to a platform and sent his car down the ramp.  Then he got to come down on a slide.

Eli has no idea he's not a "big kid" like the others.  He had a lot of fun in this area.

Hot Wheels motorcycle

Both the boys enjoyed sitting on the motorcycles

Crazy driver!!!!

Another thing they had was a Lego exhibit.  It was fun but it was one of the last things we did and the boys were starting to lose interest a little.  The other things were more fun for us but we're glad we saw this. 

A race car made out of Legos. 

Eli did not want to get out of this.

The very last place we visited was the Science Center.  There's all kinds of activities in there.  You can build a boat and watch it float down a course that changes as people build dams and obstacles, a construction site, a rock climbing wall, and other things I can't remember.  There's also a small house that is geared toward healthy living.  It's so cute.  The kitchen focuses on healthy food choices, the living room has ideas & activities to avoid being a couch potato, the bathroom has tips for brushing kids' teeth and the importance of handwashing, and in the bedroom they point out how important sleep is. 

Bryan & Eli moving the crane.

Zachary really had fun in the digging area.  He moved lots of mulch!

Figuring out the controls

Once we left the museum we drove to Greenwood and met my sister and Aaron for supper.  We went to Tony Sacco's Pizza.  It was so good!  Zachary liked watching them toss the crust in the air and spin it.  Then we got to see Ashley & Josh's apartment and had a nice visit, even if it was short.  We headed home and made it back to the house by 11pm.  Eli didn't sleep any on the way home even though he was obviously sleepy.  He felt it was more important to keep reminding us that he was tired of his car seat, tired of the van, and probably tired of us.  When we got in the house he looked around and pointed at everything.  He loved going into his room and showing me his stuff.  Then he crawled up the stairs.  That was something he didn't get to do on vacation and apparently he missed that activity.  The boys finally calmed down and fell asleep between 12:30 and 1 am. 

The day before we got home my mom had bought milk for us so we had some for the boys.  She also made a meatloaf with mashed potatoes and veggies so we had a meal ready without having to run to the store.  It was so nice to have those immediate needs taken care of!  Thanks, Mommy :)

Friday afternoon Bryan & I took Zachary to see a movie.  He had been a little upset that we left the hotels.  We tried telling him vacation was still going on but without a hotel room he wasn't buying it.  We wanted to do something special for him anyway and Madagascar 3 had come out the weekend before.  We saw it in 3D (my first 3D movie!).  It was so funny.  I definitely want to add that to our collection.  When the movie was over he played some arcade games in the lobby and we stopped for ice cream on the way home.  It was a fun afternoon.

Overall our vacation was everything we'd hoped for.  We had a great time but there's no place like home!