S'MORE FAMILY FUN

we fired up the outside fireplace the other night and broke out the s'more fixin's!!

and then we decided to play with our new camera's ability to take photos in the dark. :)

DADDY'S DAY OFF + 2 MUSEUMS = LOTS OF FAMILY FUN!

John has every other Friday off.

We LOVE having a 3day weekend twice a month!

The kids especially love having daddy home an extra day.

Last Friday was daddy's Friday off and we had passes for free admission to the Children's Museum again AND our Science Museum..and they happen to be about 2 blocks apart...so we had a fun family day hitting both museums WITH daddy!


First up -the Children*s Museum

don't know if you really see this -but I LOVED seeing the fall leaves right next to a cactus.:)

we have a new camera so decided to try out the timer and try to get a group photo after our picnic lunch.

Next up-the Science Museum

in Biruk's referral info -it said he wanted to be a pilot....he sure did seem to enjoy "flying" this plane. :)

this is Biruk behind a screen -and somehow there is a sensor and the bubbles move around you depending on how you move.

depending on how fast you pedal, the soccer ball moves up the tube

wheelchair racing.

this was great.

taught the kids how tough being in a wheelchair is ~especially on your arms!

of course daddy had to race too. :)

"bed of nails" :)
it actually felt good on my bad back!

these are crazy but great photos...this apparatus was teaching about momentum.

the girls didn't care what they were learning -they just liked spinning

on our way home.

what a great way to spend a day as family!

HANGING WITH COUSINS!

Jordan turned 10 on December 1st....so to celebrate, my mom, sister, and I took all the kids to the local Children's Museum.

Children's Museum + all your cousins = a pretty fun day!

this is the new ginormous play structure the kids climb!

there are a few of these in the museum...air is blowing thru those tubes and the kids can turn the valves to direct the air flow...and you stuff puff balls into the tubes, watch them travel thru the tubes and then shoot out. Andrew used it for "catching practice". :)

my smart little thang.
see her balancing these little circles? it's supposed to be like that Price *is* R*ght game "pl*inko" with the disc cascading from level to another...but she figured out how to balance them!

all of the girls' favorite parts of the whole museum is the miniature store -they shop, they check out, they re-stock...for hours!

while the girls shopped, the boys played in the car section. :)

adjoining the shopping area is a kitchen...so that's always where the girls end up when they're tired of shopping!

Julia scooping ice cream while Elizabeth waits to be served. :)



A few days after the museum...we watched 5 of my sisters kids on a Saturday morning.

For Joanna -coming to auntie's house means heading STRAIGHT to the dress up clothes!

John had just set up the train tracks the night before -so my little nephews really got a kick out of it!

we took all 9 kids on a bike ride to our neighborhood park since it was A) a beautiful day and B) they were going stir crazy in the house. :)

Jordan is a great big brother!

you can't go to the park and NOT climb a tree right?!

Jeremiah played in the sand quite a bit...even poured some on himself and then proclaimed "I'm a mess. I'm a mess."

playing football


It's such a blessing that the kids have their cousins so close by and they get to play with them regularly. They all love to be with each other SO much.