G&G vacation

There was nothing going on and no decisions to be made in the kitchen this week, so the kids & I headed to Waukee for a little mini vacation at Grandpa & Grandma Lorenzen's.  Austin was there for one evening before heading out on a business trip.  We had the customary supper at Godfather's complete with arcade games (the only time the kids ever actually play arcade games is at that restaurant when Grandpa is supplying them with quarters).

One of the summer highlights is always walking to Centennial Park.  Lincoln was in heaven on the diggers.  Emily couldn't wait to push Ruby (the stuffed bunny from the library) on the swing.  Both kids love throwing rocks into the creek.

The extra special outing was going to the Science Center in downtown Des Moines with Grandma.  Lincoln was more interested in the fake duck in the fake pond than all the real insects/reptiles on display.  We got to watch the noon weather report done live from the mini studio and talked to the lady doing the weather afterwards.  I can't believe how smooth she is when pointing to a green screen and watching herself on the monitor with a 2 second delay!

Giant bubbles were popular in the kids play area, as well as the food conveyor belt.

 

Both kids liked trying the spinning platform (can't remember the scientific name for it).  They got dizzy!

Who doesn't like making a paper rocket and launching it over and over (video in July play list)?!?

The ball wall...

 

Lincoln waited patiently for 20 minutes to sit on this digger and manipulate it around.

Emily waited even longer to try out the egg packaging experiment (with only three eggs and hundreds of kids flowing through, Grandma finally just grabbed one for her).  The object is to use the foam padding sheets and straps to wrap up the large weighted egg.  Then you place it on a conveyor belt where it is dropped from a significant height (20-25 feet??).  A sensor at the bottom measures the force of impact and tells if and how bad your egg cracked.  Only one of the five levels has the egg landing safely.  After spending close to 45 minutes observing, Emily's egg was one of the few to ever be packed well enough that it didn't "crack".  She was thrilled!

The kids also had their very first ever movie experience with a show on Monarch butterflies in the IMAX theater.  The look on Lincoln's face when the screen came on was priceless!  They loved it (because it wasn't a scary subject)!  Unfortunately, not every movie they see will be in an IMAX theater. ;)

We also went swimming a couple times at the private pool in G&G's development.  Some other kids rescued this little frog out of the pool while we were there!

The weather was beautiful.  We enjoyed playing outside a lot.  It was a nice break where we didn't have to think about or deal with the mess at home at all.  It was a bit of a harrowing experience driving home in a huge thunderstorm in the dark, but we made it back safe and sound.  Thanks for a fun couple days, Grandpa & Grandma!

 

This is Emily standing next to the marigolds she planted from seed at school with with Grandpa & Grandma on Grandparent's Day back in April!