Fun for kids!

I realized that there is a lot lacking on this blog telling about our most recent trip. So, I'll start with Monday in Las Vegas.  Pops had plenty of learning to go do and Continuing Ed seminars (or whatever those professional people call their classes) to attend.  A fairly full schedule that was non-inclusive of us - even dinnertime we were on our own!  So... what is a YOUNG mother to do with her three children in the city of sin? She finds herself a child friendly place to set up camp for a while.

That is where Lied Discovery Children's Museum comes in!  We went over to the museum and discovered that our membership (photos here and here) to ScienceWorks in Ahland, OR is honored in many other children's museums, including the Lied in Las Vegas!  Woo Hoo! (Thanks Grandpa Tractor and Grandma Diane for the membership again!) They did "get us" though. We were visiting the museum on President's Day, so they had face painting and balloon twisting available - if you purchased a $3/child ticket. Well, big savings on the admission and I couldn't honestly say, "I have face paint in the hotel." So, I ponied up and bought the tickets.

Clifford the Big Red Dog is the current featured exhibit, so we were able to see Clifford and Birdwell Island. It was a great exhibit and the kids all found things that they enjoyed.

Branch enjoyed being Birdwell Island's Mail Carrier and she did a great job of getting all of the right letters into the right mailboxes. She is really beginning to enjoy reading!

Bud was "feeding Clifford" here. There was a ramp that had a conveyor belt on it where the LARGE dog bones could be placed and carried up the ramp and then they fell into the "dog bowl." I took this picture sitting in the dog bowl. Bud wanted to see if he could bury me in the foam dog bones. It didn't work. Clifford consumed them too quickly, I suppose!

Blossom found this flower garden at the Howard's home.  You know, Emily Elizabeth? Yea, she is a Howard. Her dad and mom are Mr. and Mrs. Howard. Blossom spent quite a bit of time tending to these flowers. She picked a few that "smelled nice" and shared them with me. So, there is a sweet bone in her body after all!

Clifford arrived and Blossom took off running for her big hug. I was a bit concerned how it would all turn out for Branch. She does NOT like these costumed creatures. If the person that she knows is inside the costume (we have told her all about costuming and she has had several opportunities to explore an adult costume) is not showing their face (like a princess or pirate for example) then she does not want anything to do with the character and usually runs and hides and cries until they are out of sight. It is very stressful for her and she gets all nervous before going places that she knows has these characters... Chuck E. Cheese's, Disney, etc. She gives herself a pep talk and all but will still be very fearful. All that to say, I was sure that she was going to turn tail and hide in the other room while we did our Clifford picture. Then, I was totally taken by surprise. She timidly walked over to Clifford, touched his hand...

and then she stepped into his embrace and accepted his hug and gave one back. Bud was a few seconds behind and was running, and got in on the same hug.  You will notice that Blossom is looking back at the camera... Two-Fold here. She wants the reassurance that I am still there. AND she wants to make sure that she hugs Clifford long enough that it is in a picture so that she can see how brave she was!!

I asked Blossom later about her hug. She told me, "I like dogs. I really like Clifford. And, I could feel the real person's hand through the mitten and then their body in the costume." What a funny girl.

This is an activity that is also in Ashland, but Blossom loves it. You pull the rope, it lifts a bowling ball. When you let go of the rope, the bowling ball drops and pushes air through a tube and forces a tennis ball up way into the air. Then the tennis ball drops into a net and down back into the tube. Over and over and over again... Pull the rope!

This is a new experience for the kids... the green screen.  There was a television in front of them with a sport activity going and they were on the screen playing the sport. So, they had to jump and run and kick and all sorts of things to perform the particular sport they were in. Volleyball, soccer, basketball, hockey were the sporting options.

Here Bud and Branch are ready to block and dig in sand volleyball. I think that they are standing too close to the camera and that is why they appear to be half buried in the sand! Oh, well. They all had fun and it was a nice way to spend the morning and part of the afternoon before I said I was too hungry to stay any longer!! The kids were ignoring their hunger and were complete bears when we got to the van. Lucky them that I had a bag of traveling snacks still loaded!