Spring Break #1

This last week was spring break for us. The weather was very cold and windy for most of the week, so we didn't get to play outside. At the end of the week, we tried some places we've been meaning to go since we moved here. These pictures are from the Discovery Museum in Binghamton. It was a bit too crowded at the beginning, but it thinned out after a while. My kids always seem a bit tense in crowds.

Looking at these pictures reminds me of one of my minor pet peeves: moms who don't limit the time their children spend at an exhibit when other kids are waiting. After a while you have to start answering your kids in a loud voice, "I don't know when he'll be done in the jet. Maybe soon." :)

Tori loves singing. There is a woman who's a member of the church who does multiple music-related things professionally, including running a children's choir. Tori wants to join, but it is more than 1/2 hr. away. Gas is so expensive here - nearly $4 per gallon - that I hate to commit to another regular longish drive. But anyway, here are the kids performing:

Shopping at the grocery store:
Driving the fire truck:

Cinderella's coach:

The building/toy room:

One thing that I really liked at this museum were the real (older) vehicles and equipment they had. The most popular was the jet and hot air balloon room:

This is a bubble tube like at the Festival of Trees. You can kind of see it collapsing in on Maggie here:

Tori and Maggie enjoyed fixing hair on these heads - that had apparently had plenty of vigorous hair-brushing prior to this:

The only professional sport in our area is a hockey team, the Elmira Jackals. We took the kids to a game on "Cub Scout Night." They really enjoyed it. So here is Eli suiting up in hockey gear at the museum:

They all really loved the baby chicks. In each area, they have kids' books about the exhibit. As we were looking at the chicks, Maggie got one of the books and started reading to them. It was too cute.

The kids probably enjoyed the outdoor area the most, even though it was a bit too cool - for me anyway.

They loved the little minature golf area. I don't think we've ever tried golfing with them.

In this picture, Tori was getting mad at Jonah for making a funny face. Even in another shot I didn't include, she was trying to smile, but still watching Jonah closely.

John and the kids have gone out flying kites a couple of times in our front yard. This day was less successful: