Echo Museum

Today we spent the morning at the ECHO Center. The boys have seen a "Things that Glow" exhibit advertised and were interested in seeing it. We had a nice morning there, and enjoyed a picnic lunch on the waterfront.







First experience with parking meters in the "big city"

Donovan contemplating the cost of parking-

Counting his change

Feeding the meter

Aaron takes a turn feeding the meter

Aaron posing with the meter

Our Two Chipmunks

Today, our mailman rang our doorbell, delivering a package I had ordered - the boys' Halloween costumes. (I do realize it's only June! But, when I am teaching I try to order their Halloween costumes and birthday party supplies over the summer, when I am not as busy!) THe boys were THRILLED.
Here they are, dressed as Chip (Aaron) and Dale (Donovan). Do you know the difference?



Chip has a brown/black nose like a chocolate chip and only one tooth. Dale has a red nose, and two teeth.

Before we left for Disney, we were reading many Disney stories and watching Disney dvds to prepare the boys for the different characters they would see and rides they would go on. Both boys loved Chip and Dale. Aaron kept telling people we were going to see, "Those 2 little sweet chipmunks." Our first night at dinner at Garden Grill in Epcot, both boys loved meeting and spending time with Chip and Dale. They saw that Dale is quite a trickster; after signing Donovan's autograph book, he took the pen and pretended to throw it into the scenery below. The next morning we saw them at Animal Kingdom, and again the boys were thrilled. This time Donovan made sure to get his pen back as soon as Dale finished writing with it :)
On our last day at Disney, we returned to Animal Kingdom. Just as we were leaving, I stopped at one final gift shop to check their pins for the boys' lanyards. While I was looking, Donovan appeared, wearing a Dale hat AND a HUGE GRIN. He said he wanted to buy it. When I asked why he wanted it, he informed me he would be Dale for Halloween and Aaron would be Chip. He proudly bought the hat.
Let me just say, finding Chip and Dale costumes has been difficult. I finally located (via Ebay) 2 costumes from Disneyland in France - however, they were both Chip costumes. We decided to improvise and roll the attached Chip hood down inside the neck/back of Donovan's costume so he can wear the Dale hat. I think they look pretty darn cute. The boys were thrilled to surprise Rupert when he came home from work - greeting him dressed as the chipmunks, and later in the evening did the same when Grandma stopped by.

Father's Day at the Montshire Museum

The boys invited Rupert to spend Father's Day at the Montshire Museum. (After two visits in less than two weeks, and at least one more visit before summer's end, I'm kicking myself for not getting a membership last week on our first visit!)
The boys loved their day at Montshire, just as much at last week's. Honestly, it's been the first "exciting" topic I've heard the boys talking about since our return from Disney!
Once again, the boys loved the Robot Zoo exhibit, leafcutter ants, and all the hands on science centers. They participated in an optical illusion activity too. We enjoyed a picnic lunch, as the Vermonter (train) passed by us, much to the boys' delight (they love trains). After lunch, they changed into bathing suits, and spent close to two hours in the outdoor water area. Last week there had been a school group there, of kids 8-10, and one area was dominated by then, so my boys had avoided it. Today, that area was empty and Aaron and Donovan spent close to 45 minutes constructing pipes structures, which were built on top of water spouts. They had so much fun. Then they returned to the main water area and spent a lot of time constructing a dam (just like last week). Such a fun day!
The boys were asleep in the car within 5 minutes on the ride home.
Once home, we enjoyed a late afternoon swim in the pool, dinner from our favorite Chinese restaurant, and time at a nearby playground.
Happy Father's Day to Rupert!

Both boys loved this robot housefly!

Donovan and Aaron were amazed by the leafcutter ants!

Making Bubbles

Montshire Museum

Today my mom and I took Aaron and Donovan to the Montshire Museum. We had an incredible day!
I had not been to the Montshire Museum in 15 years, when I had gone with my kindergarten and first grade class. The other day Donovan was reading a local newspaper when he exclaimed, "Mommy, there's a ROBOT EXHIBIT somewhere. We need to go." Sure enough, the Montshire currently has a robot exhibit featuring robot insects that the children control the body parts for, using joysticks, levers, and buttons.
We got there about 15 minutes before they opened, just enough time for Donovan to eat snack and Aaron to eat breakfast (with severe motion sickness, Aaron eats nothing before trips over an hour in length, just Dramamine and water), and then we headed in. We went right up to the Robot Exhibit which both boys LOVED. We toured the rest of the museum (the boys were AMAZED at the leafcutter ants), and enjoyed a picnic lunch. After lunch the boys spent over 2 hours in the outdoor water science center. It was fantastic. There was a man made stream that the boys could send balls down, and follow to the end, as they came down a waterfall (the balls, not the boys). Then, the boys loved exploring the different levels of the water area and bulding dams. It was quite a sight, as both boys had long pants on, rolled up to their upper thighs. Both boys (but especially Aaron) were absolutely drenched. I never thought to bring bathing suits and towels as it was high 60s/low 70s and cloudy, but my boys didn't care one bit. Luckily I did have a change of clothes in the car for them.
On the way home, the boys suggested they would take their naps in the car so that when we got home they could play with the new "robot arms/hands" that Grandma had purchased for them at the gift shop. They fell asleep within the first 5 minutes of the car ride.
They are already asking to go back "tomorrow!"

Enjoying the start of summer...