Friday, May 10, 2013

Field Trip Day

I officially have a five year old. Five!

It was birthday week for a certain someone in our house, so I have a ton of birthday pictures as well as a mound of photos from the past few weeks that I am slowly starting to dig myself out from under. It's been busy in my neck of the woods. So busy in fact, that my faithful blog followers (ok, my mom and Nathan's mom), have begun to gripe. Where are our pictures? Where are our babies? Coming! Coming, I tell you!

Before I pile on the weeks worth of birthday pictures that I have waiting to be shared....a field trip! My time may be a wee bit warped by sleep deprivation and too much time in toddler world, but it really does feel like this field trip took place months ago. In reality, it was just last week. The Discovery Center is a place here in town that is part playground, part science museum, part reptile exhibit and all parts fun for little kids. I had never been (nor did I even know it existed), but I grabbed Drew, the two littlest littles and Auntie Jenn (what would I do without that girl?) and loaded up for a big preschool adventure. The Discovery Center turned out to be quite the hodgepodge of different activities and things to see, but was actually really fun. Drew loved spending the entire day with his classmates and it was cute to see their interactions. They're all very silly. Coll got to feel like a big kid, as Drew's teacher Mrs. Kim, allowed him (and the other siblings) to join in as if they were part of the class, and Tanner...well as long as he was fed, had a smiling face to entertain him, and a place to catnap (check! check! and check!), he was a happy camper!

Our jogger is indeed a double jogger, but where is Collin's favorite place to sit? On the foot rest of the front seat. The foot rest.

The first place we stopped was the cactus garden. Drew's sweet teacher, Mrs. Kim pointed out all sorts of different things in the garden. How tall plants were, those that flowered, those that didn't, why they might have the thorns they did, etc.


Makes cacti actually look pretty, right?


Our next stop was a teepee circle

The teepees were filled with these huge pinecones. All of which had fallen from the huge pine trees all around the teepees. ...Leaving us Mom's to wonder just how much damage those things could do if one were to decide to fall with all of us standing around underneath it.

Coll-brother who still refuses to smile for pictures, was indeed having fun, I promise.

....as was this goon.

A giant dinosaur in the middle of the desert tortoise exhibit (I told you this place was random).

Mrs. Kim explaining the rings of a tree stump

After spending time exploring the things outside, we headed in to explore a room filled with all sorts of discovery stations. A music area...

Amphibious friends

Lizards to touch

A giant operation table 

A reptile room filled with snakes that were far too big for my liking...

 ...muddy lizards...

 ...horned lizards...

...and sunbathing lizards.

A wall filled with stuffed dead things (what?!)

A space room. Say hello to my little storm trooper (I got it Burke and Nathan. It is not a storm trooper).

Magnets

and then back outside to the turtle pond where the kids were encouraged to catch the little fish and tadpoles and take them back to a holding tank where you could examine your catch more clearly. Catch, release, and repeat!


I returned home with three filthy (Tan Tan was the exception), exhausted little boys that had enjoyed a morning and early afternoon filled with all sorts of good fun!

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