At the Drive In

We love going to the drive in! We seem to go every couple of months--whenever there is a good family movie playing. Generally, it is definitely cheaper and in some ways easier to take four kids to the drive in. For instance, I would NOT want to take Keeley to a regular theater right now--she is way too wiggly and wouldn't sit still or be quiet, and those things, while frowned upon at the regular theater, don't present too much of a problem at the drive in. Although on this particular night, as you can see from the above photo, she was not happy and made sure everyone knew about it. She was upset for most of the first movie. It does take a little more work to get everythig ready to go to the drive in--you need blankets, pillows, camp chairs, your own popcorn, and a cooler with drink. So in that regard--not easier at all.

 Lexi and Scott came along and we all had fun together.

 Too bad this is such a blurry picture.

We brought Finley's round pink chair for her to sit in. This used to be Lexi's chair, but when she got married she left it in the sunshine room for Finley, who was moving in.

Daddy had to hold Keeley a lot. I also have to point out that this outing took place in July. In Phoenix. And I am not the one who dressed Keeley in those fuzzy fleece pajamas. I am, however, the one who took those fuzzy fleece pajamas off of Keeley during the first movie because it was over 100 degrees.

Anyway, we had a great time!

Celebrating at the CMOP

We went to the Children's Museum on a random friday in June and discovered after we got there that they were celebrating their 5th birthday and admission was discounted to $5--not my first choice for visiting. But they had some fun special events going on, like face painting.

Finley was in a strange mood and wouldn't sit down to get her face painted. Then when I sat down with Keeley, she changed her mind. You can see in the photo below how happy she was. Keeley was really cute and leaned very still on me while they painted a little fish on her cheek.

Then Finley came over to get her face painted, but was still throwing a fit and pouting, so it was a little embarrassing.

Isaac chose a spider dangling from a web, and he wanted the spider right on his nose.

Sareny picked a unicorn.

Keeley's little fish looked so cute.

Finley didn't pose for a picture by herself, but she got a dolphin.

I took the girls to the art room, where Finley told me she didn't want to paint on the rocket.

Except then she guessed maybe she did, but she did it with a pout on her face.

Finally, when we moved over to one of the craft tables, she was in a normal mood and was pleasant to be around. Keith took Isaac to the fort room, because he isn't that into arts and crafts.

Isaac tried to ride this trike, but was not too happy when the girls jumped on for a ride. He was trying really hard, but it was just not going anywhere and he was a bit frustrated.

I took Keeks to the baby room, and she had fun. She was blowing/vibrating her lips.

Then she decided to blow on her hand.

Then she smashed her face up against the net.

She quite likes this fan that blows straight up from the ground when you step near it.

She kept coming back to it.

While Sareny and Finley prepared us some delicious food, Isaac and Keeley serenaded us with these pipes.

Despite being crowded, it was a fun day. My favorite activity was the special photo booth they had set up on the first floor, but I can't find the cute picture we got of the three kids who were cooperating--I'll scan it in when I find it. Any guesses who was in a grouchy mood and wouldn't get in the picture?

Home School Reward with tia Lexi

Sareny was excited to earn a reward with her home school punches, and cashed in on a trip to Frogo. Lexi and Scott took her after swimming one afternoon.

It was fun to have special time with Lexi and Scott and be the only kid.

She is always asking when we can go to Frogo, but it is pretty pricey to take the whole family there. I came up with using it as one of the rewards, and it has been a hit!

We joined the Children's Museum

While Keith was in San Francisco, we decided to join the Children's Museum. It had been over three years since our last visit, and the older kids would still talk about it and ask me when we could return. We went on a Wednesday, and Lexi came with us. We had so much fun, we stayed there for five hours!

The kids had a lot of fun with this whoosh thing that blows little cloths around the pipes and shoots them out into the air.

They were excited to finally try out "The Climber." The last time we came to the Children's Museum, they had announced this structure but not begun building it. That was a few years ago!

The kids all clambered around in this huge, three-story climbing structure.

I had them all get in the giant flying bathtub, and then I went to the second story landing to take their picture.

We spent quite a while climbing around.

It was a little difficult maneuvering KeeKee through the areas, but she liked it.

The kids all got in this boat.

Upstairs they have another blowing machine, and Isaac grabbed all the ball things and shoved them in at the same time.

They are blowing out above his head.

I like how Finley's hair is blowing out!

Keeley liked this little plinko type thing.

Then we went to the arts and crafts room. This is probably my favorite room, and the girls really love it too. Isaac, not so much. They have this giant structure for the kids to paint, and everyday they just keep gobbing more and more paint all over it.

It is actually pretty fascinating and strange.

I'm not sure why Isaac looks so fierce...they keep each structure for about two years, and then they dismantle it and get a new structure. Right now, it is a rocket ship. In places, the paint layers are up to five inches thick.

Sareny's head got painted.

The accumulation of paint creates strange ripples and shapes. I saw a cross-section from the previous castle, and it was pretty cool. I'll have to remember to take a picture of it the next time we go. In addition to the rocket, they also have several tables set up with a variety of crafts. It is a lot of fun, and the kids can cut up little pieces of paper to their hearts content and I don't have to feel angry when all those tiny scraps of paper end up all over the floor...

Another favorite, for some of us, is the baby room. Children three and under are the only ones allowed in this room, and it is always pretty quiet and uncrowded. Lexi, KeeKee, and I love it!

They have all sorts of fun and stimulating activities for the littlest museum visitors.

It is fun to let your child explore their surroundings.

They have some stairs and a little slide, and of course all the babies love to clamber up those.

Lexi and Keely played a game where they tossed this ball back and forth, and Keeley would yell, "da-DAH!" She is so cute!

Keeley also hugged these baby dolls.

Another favorite room is the fort building room.

This room has all sorts of sheets, doors, bedframes, crates, clips, and other items to create your dream fort. As long as it's not too crowded, the kids love this room. 

Finley found a perfect little cozy place to hide.

It's a pretty fun room.

They also have a cute baby area. It has some little boxes with sheets for babies to hide in. Keeley played hide and seek with us.

She loved it!

Then she found a little hole in the box and gave Lexi a kiss through it.

There is a fun trike area where the kids ride through a trike wash thing.

I love the double seater trikes!

Cute kids! Sareny usually doesn't mind being the pedaler and having a kid sit behind her. The other kids have a pretty hard time if somebody jumps on behind them.

This little trike is just KeeKee's size!

Going through the wash area!

The girls like this little ice cream stand.

Isaac came over to order a cone.

Right by the ice cream stand they have some sandstone rocks you can paint on with water. It's a good idea, but usually the rocks are just way too wet to paint. Keeley had fun though.

Then she got a little grabbey with the paintbrushes, and grabbed up every single one. If another kid came over, I would take one away from her and give it to them. As soon as they abandoned it, however, she grabbed it up again.

The noodle forest is pretty cool. I love this photo of the kids peeking out of the noodles.

There is a little grocery store where the kids can shop, check out, work in the back storage room, and restock the shelves.

They really like this room. It's funny, because some kids just get sucked into the back room/restocking area, and they take it so seriously like it is a real job. I was talking to one grandpa who said he had been in that room with his grandson for two hours. That little boy was organizing the workers and making sure they stayed on top of the groceries. It was pretty funny. 

They also have a kitchen area where you can prepare fabric food.

I love the brick pizza oven and pizza peels. It looks so fun!

Next to that room, they have an area with lots of balls that you can roll down tracks, or build your own tracks for them to roll down. Isaac always likes that room.

I like this strange rolling thing made with lids and a bundt pan.

This thing is pretty cool--that car races down the track kind of like a centipede.

They also have an area where you can race little cars, and there are little cars for small kids to sit in, like this pickle car.

As I said, we stayed there for five hours that first day, and the kids still weren't ready to leave when we finally did. Lexi and I were pretty worn out though, even if the kids weren't!