Children's Museum Trip

Sure, you've got your treadmills, your TurboJam, even (I'm told) work-outs on the Wii, but if you REALLY want to get your heart racing, check out the Children's Museum with three kids in tow during peak hours! Last Thursday, the kids and I headed to the Children's Museum with our playgroup friends and their kids (5 moms and 10 kids). In two words: fun and CRAZY! In the morning, some Sesame Street characters were visiting, along with a number of schools. The exhibits were just inundated with kids (mostly under 5 years) and their parents and strollers. It was a constant, "Where's Isabelle? Henry? I've got Hailey over here! Where's Kasey?" Thank God Lucy was happily hanging out in the sling, so I always knew where she was!

Story time with Elmo

Henry meets Grover (Isabelle was scared)However, it was the first time at the museum and we did have a blast! There were SO many neat things to play with! Here are some pics of the Clifford exhibit that was there:

Henry LOVED putting Clifford's bones on the conveyor belt or into the bowl.

Henry & friend Jake driving the truck.

Isabelle manning the cash register at the store.

So, after the crazy, heart-throbbing morning, our playgroup friends had to go. We decided to grab McDonald's. There was NO way I was going to stay and eat in the standing-room-only restaurant, so we joined some other people who were picnicking in the hallway. Afterward, we saw this sign on the Ronald McDonald bench we were lingering on/near:

Whoops!

We hadn't had enough, so we headed back to the museum, where the crowds had decreased by about 80%. Thank goodness! Mom had been ready to have a breakdown herself. We enjoyed all the rooms again, and my heart wasn't beating nearly as fast. It was so neat to see the kids using their imaginations and just exploring like crazy.

Lucy even got to get out of the sling in the Habitot, where she picked some flowers and played on some lilypads.

Henry played with the mailbox for about 1/2 an hour!

Isabelle loved jamming for the music video. I didn't get many pictures of her because she was so busy most of the day that she wouldn't even pose for any pictures (very unlike her!)

After about 5 1/2 hours, we decided to head out. We got up the stairs, out the skywalk, across the other skywalk, up the elevator, to the parking ramp, to our van, and buckled in before I realized we had left Lucy's cute, handmade jacket in the museum. Well, I couldn't just leave it there, so I threw Henry in the backpack and we cruised back to get it. On the walk back (again!) to the van, Isabelle started crawling through the skywalk, she was so tired. She jabbered about the museum the entire way home.

The museum was incredibly fun, and now that we've learned how to beat the crowds, we'll definitely be back. At least I know I'll get in a much-needed cardio workout!