Austin Children's Musuem

We are putting the money that we've saved from cutting our cable and phone to good use. This month we used the extra money to buy a year long membership to the Austin Children's museum. Now we can go as often as we want for the next year. It's great because they have things that are age appropriate for both Grace and Lucas.

My dad was kind enough to accompany us and help me watch the wild child. When we first got there they were having storytime and so Grace and I went to listen or more accurately I went to listen and she went to talk. I couldn't believe how chatty she was! Every time the story reader asked a question or even paused to take a breath, Grace was interjecting her opinion or random comment. This girl is not shy. While we were in story time, Lucas was off exploring with Grandpa.

Lucas and Grandpa enjoying the train room upstairs.
Really cool peg board. Sort of like a giant Lite Brite.
The back part of the museum was dedicated to the mexican american culture with displays of pinatas, tamale making, music etc. We spent most of our time here.

Here they are trying to fill the fish (pinata) up with balls (candy).
Pulling the string to release all of the balls.
Grace getting busy in the kitchen.
Lucas helping out with the seasoning.
Separating the masa and the meat. See the busy body in the back?
Modelling a festive skirt.
She needed a short nap after all that cooking. Lucas trying to get into more drawers.
They both really enjoyed the children's museum and we didn't even go near the upstairs construction area. We're saving that for next time.

Today was also an exciting day for me because it was my first in a series of six sewing classes. I'm learning to do darts, interfacing and all kinds of cool stuff. Steve watched the kids and I hear they had a great time down on Congress eating all kinds of candy and ice cream.
I'm sure they'll be happy to see me leave next week.

Fun with kool aid

I got the bright idea to make some kool aid popsicles this morning. Did you ever make those as a kid? I did and always imagined that they would taste like regular popsicles instead of the watered down version. I guess you don't think of these anymore or at least I don't with the demise of ice trays and rise of the ice maker (or maybe it's because I'm 34 and not 4). Anyway, I've had these silicone trays for some time as well as left over kool aid packs from another craft. It was not a big stretch of the imagination.

Grace attempting to pour the kool aid into the ice trays. She refused to drink it claiming "blue is not good."

Lucas getting his chance but into a bowl. He loved this. In fact now he just wants to climb up on the chair and pour stuff. Great.
This activity evolved into some outdoor water play. Lucas could not get enough of pouring inside so I decided to take it outside. Grace loves playing with dye and so it worked well for both of them.Lots of bowls and pitchers. Working together to fill the bowl.
Looking up for the (ahem) plane. I could've sworn I saw or heard it.
The price you pay for playing with dye. At least I was smart enough to take off their pajamas.
A measuring cup hoarder.
Too much fun that ended way too soon for Lucas. When I took (dragged) him inside he kept running to the door with a desperate look in his eyes and signing "more". Poor baby. The "popsicles" or "kool aid ice" was not that exciting. Despite not wanting to drink it, Grace had no problem eating the ice letter or at least licking them. She wasn't too interested and most of them broke when I tried to pop them out. This one was all about the process and not about the product.

Kiddie acres

We took the kiddos to Kiddie Acres, an amusement park in Austin for the under 10 crowd. They have different kinds of kiddie rides like a ferris wheel, carousel, boats, a train and pony rides. We've been here before and Grace loved it. She was really excited to go back.

Going round and round on the ferris wheel in little cages.
Waiting for the carousel ride to start.
Going round and round on the carousel and hanging on for dear life. This thing went fast and seemed to last forever. Not great for those prone to motion sickness.
Going round and round on the boats (are you sensing a trend here?).
Pointing at the ponies, not that he wanted to go near them or anything.

First flight---Lucas as pilot and Grace as copilot. We weren't sure if he was going to sit through the whole thing but he did great especially considering we had to wait for them to load a bunch of other kids at the last minute.
Grace on the pony. I guess her expertise in riding sofa cushions and bed pillows transfers over to the real thing.
Back to the stable.
Lucas gets a chance to get up close to the pony. At first he did not want to go near it but Daddy does not take "uh-uh" for an answer.
He kind of pet it or at least let Daddy sort of push his arm into the pony.
After riding round and round on the train. Someone is getting sleepy.
A quick juice break.
Oh, the misters.....so refreshing.
On the way back to the van I asked Grace "Was that fun or what?" and she said "Mommy, that was fun and what!"