Transportation Museum

We got a membership to the Transportation Museum this year.  We visited once in December (not sure why this never got posted).  Technically the Creation Station is for kids under 5, but Z loves it anyway.  He is so crafty and creative and loves to play, so he had fun :) 

MoBot

The Botanical Gardens has a model train setup every year.  It is huge and lots of fun.  Last year we went on New Years Eve and it was pretty nuts, so we didn't see a ton.  This year we went early-ish in the morning, and as we were wrapping up it started getting crowded.  (Yay me!). 

There is a seek and find, so the boys searched all over to find the hidden things (different plants, different toys, etc).  Z of course found most of them, but he directed the boys to find them.  We had a fabulous time. 

When it started getting crowded we bundled up (it was pretty chilly) and made our way to the Climatron, and then the indoor basement section where we never spend any time.  My general thought is why be inside when it is beautiful outside, but it was cold, so this day we had a fun time exploring.  There are books, a puppet stage, dress up clothes, puzzles, and there was a table to make snowflakes.  We played happily by ourselves for about 30 minutes, then the crowd from the trains made its way over, and we headed out for lunch and the bus stop.  It was so much fun! 

WF&P

We went to this fun little train a few Sundays ago.  It is an outdoor train that goes on a 30 minute trip out into the woods and back.  It is only open on Sundays, and I had heard it was best in the fall, but I knew that one or all of the boys would have to sit on their own (since the seats are very small).  So WF&P had been on my mind for awhile...but I had to wait for the boys to be old enough. 

At any rate.  We went a few weeks ago.  Nate was at the very beginning of a nasty cold that kept him home 2 days from school, but he was a trooper and went out anyway.  It was a gorgeous day, and according to one of the conductors, it might have been a record breaking day....super!  We went after church and ended up waiting about an hour for our turn.  The boys did unbelievably well, considering I hadn't really fed them lunch, and we left home at 1115 and didn't get home til 2!  In my defense, though, I did buy some frosted donettes ;) at QT, had some apples and animal crackers in the car, and found a leftover bag of cheetos and 2 clementines in my purse from the day before that I forgot I had (I felt like Mary Poppins!).  

There were people to watch, leaves to play in, trains to listen for and watch, and dogs to pet (a nice worker let the boys pet her dog).

On the train, I had 2 boys on my lap most of the time, and Nate had 1, and Z sitting in front of him.  The boys loved it!  It was great to look around in the woods, we saw bluffs, the Meramac, all sorts of trees and different colors...quite enjoyable. None of our boys are train nuts, but they still are fans, so that was pretty cool too.   

Definitely a place we will return to! 

MoBot

We went to the Botanical Gardens two Fridays in a row...that place never gets old!  The first week we went with Aunt Emily (that's when these pics are from).  We hadn't seen her in awhile (even though we live not too far from each other, our schedules are so different it makes it hard to catch each other!).  The boys were happy to see "Aunt Em-y" and she was more than happy to play with them.  They showed off for her and ran around like nuts, but they were great.  It was also my first time to take them without a wagon of any sort!  I figured I had an extra set of hands just in case, but I didn't need her to carry anyone out (and I didn't carry anyone out either).  She happily let us wander through the "best" places...the Climatron and the Children's Garden and she got a ton of pictures on the way...maybe I should get those! 

The next week my dear roommate from college was in town visiting her in-laws with her 4 kiddos.  I see Beth every time she is in town, but not normally her kids (it is difficult to have a conversation with 8 kids running around).  It was so fun to see her kids!  We met up with Laura and Stephanie, too, and it is always fun to catch up with those girls!  I only got one picture (which isn't even good) from that day (4 moms + 10 kids running amuk does not make for many opportunities to get pictures!). 

The kids, again, just ran and played and we followed them around.  It is nice that my boys are kind of at that point. 

I didn't take my wagon again, and we walked FAR that day.  The boys did great (there was a lot of external motivation with all the bigger kids running around too!).  But about 100 yards from the exit, sweet L decided he was done.  He is always my pokiest puppy...lagging behind every place we ever go, but never upset about it, he just likes to take his time.  And when he is done, he just lies down on the ground, spread eagled, and puts his face on the ground too.  No crying, no talking, he just lies down.  This happened this day, but it has occurred in parking lots, on the beach, in public bathrooms (GROSS), on walks at home...everywhere.  Today I looked back at him (as he lagged) and said, Come on L, let's go!  And he just stopped, gave me a small grin, and laid right on down.  SO STINKIN CUTE.  So I walked back and carried him on my shoulders the rest of the way.  So classic L...and so cute.  I sure do love that kid. 

After the gardens we went home and Beth and her kids came too.  We all ate lunch, got Z on the bus, the littles in bed, the bigs watching a movie, and Beth and I got a few hours to chat.  It was fabulous! 

Grants Farm

Have I mentioned my love for Groupons when it comes to activities?  Most places have an "under 2" or "2 and under" freebie rule, and we're very close to past that.  So Groupons have been a good friend to us.  I got us a pass to Grant's Farm that we used a few weeks ago.  I had my girlfriend Erin get one too (she has 4 kiddos too), so we went together. 

There are not many pictures here...2 moms and 7 kids out of strollers (plus one in) is a lot of kids to keep in our eyesight.  In fact, just about every time I'm out with her or any other friends who have lots of kids (like my friend Rachelle who moved), we are asked if we have a daycare.  Nope.  These are all our children...all 8 kids under 6.

 

Back to the Groupon, it gave us 4 bottles of milk for the goats, and the kids did great with them...much better than last time.  Clearly no pictures of this!  C finally kept saying "all done, mama, all done!" so we got out.  We also got 2 carousel rides (so I had to buy two more).  This carousel is wonderful, because there are seatbelts for the kids, so I wasn't so nervous about them.  Z got to ride the dragon, so he was pleased as punch.  We got 2 lunches and shared them, and then got 2 snowcones (all from the Groupon!).  The kids loved it.  We didn't actually see many animals while we walked around, but we did see a lot on the tram.  And with the kids sitting on the tram and looking for animals, Erin and I actually got to have a conversation, as well!  Since they are gearing up for Halloween there were lots of "scary" things set up...ghosts in trees, skeletons in cages, etc...Z is mostly past his crazy obsession with all things scary, but that doesn't mean he still doesn't love it. 

What a ham this kid is.  :)

Night at the Park

I was with a few girlfriends at a park a few weeks ago, and we saw a sign for a Night at the Park.  Nate had conferences that night, and it advertised Subway, DQ, a bubble bus, and a police helicopter landing (all free!).  One of the other girls was going to be husbandless that night also, so we figured we could go. 

So we crashed it ;)  (and even happened to randomly run into another friend there!).  It was in a very small "township" and there weren't many people there, but we had a great time.  The kids played on the playground (and somehow Z managed to really nail C with a piece of playground equipment, which resulted in a slightly black eye a few days later).  Z loved the bubbles...they were so cool!  I have never seen so many bubbles in my life.  And some of them they filled with that fog from fog machines, so they were smoky, then popped and let out the fog.  Super cool.  The little boys were a bit wary, but Z loved it.  We ate a bit of a sandwich, but mostly chips, Subway cookies, and DQ ice cream.  The little boys were freaked out by the helicopter and were totally ready to go home when it arrived.  We stayed a few more minutes, but then took off.  Needless to say, it made our evening alone go much more quickly!

 His right eye got hit. 

I think his mouth is forming the first part of "AWE-SOMEEEEEE!" when he saw the helicopter. 

Eckert's

We went to Eckert's in Millstadt this year, and for the first time we DIDN'T get lost. It is at least the third time we've been, and every time we get lost. But not this time!

We jumped on the new pillow balloon things, and the kids loved them!

 

Giant tire swings are always a hit.  I didn't see them last year, so I don't know if they were new or if we just missed them last year. 

I LOVE this picture...I love how C is looking at Z.  So cute, my boys!

We fed a few animals.  No one really loved it. 

Rode the wagon train tractor thing.

Headed out to pick apples.  Bummed because I got a Groupon for us to go out cheaper (no way could we or would we have paid $60 to go to Eckerts for the day...Groupons and another B1G1 made it doable).  At any rate, we had to go earlier in the year than we did last year, so the Fuji apples weren't ripe, and we ended up with Golden Delicious, which are not at all my favorite.  Sidenote, I didn't start liking apples until I was an adult, and only now do I like Fujis, Galas, and Granny Smith apples.  We got them, but Z (who feels about apples like I do) grabbed one, took a bite, and said, "no, Mom, this one is mushy"...that sums up how we feel about apples.  :)  But we got some Golden Delicious and I made a pie...and when it is baked and covered in sugar, who cares if it's mushy?!

I love this picture because it just captures L's habit!  The kid LOVES to collect stuff. He will walk around with all the red blocks, or will pick out the orange beads, or with all the Cars cars, or with all of the shapes flashcards.  And heaven forbid you should try to mess with his collection! 

There is this huge tunnel slide that the kids loved.  I think they went down it 5 times each.  They were moving sloooowly on those last few times up the hill.  Poor L (my pokey puppy on any given day!) was so far behind the other boys that Nate just carried him up the last time.  :) 

And then my camera ran out of batteries.  We watched the pig races, and I was so proud of Z for actully volunteering to be involved--he cheered for a pig.  But this is big, this was the first time I have ever seen him raise his hand to be involved...normally he looks at me like I'm nuts if I even suggest he raise his hand. 

We ate some funnel cake (man, I love that stuff), and watched the pumpkin cannon, where Z volunteered again!  This time he got to crack the stem off of a pumpkin (fun stuff, right)? 

We had a great time, and the boys were wiped out.  They made it home before they passed out (thankfully).