Another Science Museum

One of the great things about our Fernbank membership is that it allows us to enter other science museums across the county. We took advantage of this over spring break, as we went to visit friends in Charlotte and go to Discovery Place. It is wonderful, especially when visited with great friends.

The rain forest exhibit was our first stop.


Have you ever tried to take seven kids to a museum with just two adults? It was an adventure. Here are the six older kids. We were afraid to pose the baby in this picture.

The aquarium was interesting.



Amanda loved the jellyfish.


This is the chaos that I saw every time I turned around. They are all trying to fit on one stool.

We loved the upstairs physics area.






And a special presentation about native people was an unexpected treat.

These sail boats were kind of cool. You could turn the direction of the wind and move the boats across the table. Once Andrew got the hang of it, loved racing the boats.

He also enjoyed using the pulleys to raise the seat.









This seat used negative air pressure (or something like that) to "pull" the seat up.


The girls were fascinated...all except the sleeping baby.





This was a bed of nails. Scott said it did not even hurt!

We took a break for a picnic lunch and the baby enjoyed some stretching time (and lots of kisses.)


Back inside, the favorite room of the day was the toddler room. All of the kids loved the water play area.




















Amanda stayed long after everyone else had moved on.


I finally convinced Amanda to dance in front of the big fan in hopes that she would dry a bit.


The boys really enjoyed building cars and racing them.


Back at the water table one last time before we leave.


Back at home, we really enjoyed a great visit. Amanda especially loved playing with the baby...a real, live baby!!






With seven children, you are bound to lose track of one at least once. At one point, I went to check on Amanda. She had been brushing the baby's teeth.

Scott's Party

We had Scott's party on a Friday afternoon. It was originally supposed to be after school, but when I looked at the calendar a second time, I realized he had a school holiday that day. We had a great morning at the Vet School Open House and came home to having friends over for the party.

The difference between Scott and Andrew's parties was amazing. I think two years makes a big difference in the ability of the kids. We had so much fun with the activities and the kids were really able to stick with the task assigned.


Scott really wanted a Field Day party, but the weather was iffy for the day, so I decided to have everything inside. We began with a Lego competition.




Then, we moved on to marshmallow and toothpick buildings. The goal was to work together to build the tallest building.


The kids really worked hard.


More marshmallows were requested quite frequently. I'm not sure if the buildings actually needed so many marshmallows. I think many found their way into various mouths. After all, it is good to have something to chew while you think.


Alex worked hard.


Elizabeth won the prize.


Nana helped Callie.


The best part of the party was the balloon competition. One person put on a shirt and the others blew up balloons to try to see how many they could stuff into the shirt.

It was hilarious. I have never laughed so much at a birthday party.


And, of course, everyone wanted a chance to wear the shirt.


Scott was huge!








After the balloons were popped, we settled down for some food...carrots, cheese puffs, grapes, pizza...


...and, of course, cupcakes. Scott wanted the special lime-buttermilk icing (SO good). I also make chocolate icing for those less adventurous.












Amanda loved having her friend (a little sister) to play with during the party. She even shared some of her babies.

After the party, our friend Andrew B. stayed to play for a while. They are playing with a little Hex bug set that Scott got for his birthday. They look like little robot roaches that buzz around on the track. I thought it was fitting that Scott used the money that Nana gave him to purchase the set. She HATES roaches. So, when she called later that day, he said "Thank you for the roaches!"

Vet School Open House

I think that the annual UGA Vet School Open House is the best kids event in the area...and what makes it even better is that it is free. I thought I would pull Scott out of school early to go, but Spring Break started early this year and he did not have school that day.

We went with our friends Bekah and Rachel. It was a treat to hang out with them for the day. The day starts with a bus ride from the parking lot to the vet school. That was a highlight for my kids.


We began in the surgery center. This poor little bear, whom we named Super Fly Guy, had a big gash in his head. Here we are in the pre-op area, taking his vital signs.



Rachel and Bekah also took an animal through.


The kids suited up into surgical gear. Amanda didn't last long with this hat on.

Amanda was too little to understand what was going on. Scott wasn't willing to let his imagination override his literal nature. But Andrew LOVED it. He was right there alongside Super Fly Guy the whole way. He held the anesthesia medicine throughout the entire surgery so that our little friend would not feel any pain. He was caring and watched every move of the vet student very closely. At the end, he would not give the animal back. So, Super Fly Guy now lives in our house. He has recovered quite well from the surgery and is frequently seen flying through the house. In fact, I had to make a new mask for him just a few weeks ago.





Scott did take over the anesthesia tube for a minute. He asked tons of questions like, "Is there really medicine coming out of this tube?" and "What is this valve used for?" and "What does this measure?" The poor vet student really didn't know what to make of all of his questions.





The other great part of the Open House is the exotic animal exhibit. We were up close and personal with these animals.


This guy was huge. I can't imagine riding one.


He even smiled for the camera. :)



I've never been this close to a zebra.


While Andrew loved the surgery, Scott loved the anatomy room. These are real animals, parts, etc. that the students use in their classes. We could have spent the entire day in this small room.


In the foreground is the cow table and behind are the pig parts. They also had a table of dog parts.








This is a pig skeleton and at the bottom you can see a cat skeleton. On the right is the dog skeleton.


Here is Andrew looking at the dog. The vet student who was stationed here had his dog with him, so the kids could compare the skeleton with a real dog. The skeleton is marked with the parts of the dog that you should be able to feel when doing an exam on the dog. Sure enough, we were able to feel the correct bones and then identify them on the skeleton.




Look at these great big whale lungs!






I spent most of the time in this room keeping Amanda away from all of the breakable things. It was a toddler heaven and a parent nightmare. :)