Our Trip to Elyria

A couple weeks ago, we drove Carter and Calla back home to meet up with their Mommy and Daddy. We decided to have a little visit and we stayed the weekend. We had a blast visiting and the kids loved playing together! Fair warning! This is a VERY LONG post!

Gotta get some of these shots sometime to torture the kids with later on in life! Joshua and Calla in the tub.

We drove up on Thursday evening and on Friday, Carter had school. We took the kids, after picking Carter up, to a local nature preserve where there is a really cool play area. Carter wanted to show Joshua the birds outside before playing tho.

Hollie and Calla posing for a quick picture.

The three cousins.

In the play area, there is a tree house. The kids wanted their picture taken in the top of it. First, I don't consider myself fat, but let me tell ya, getting up in that tree house was tough. I fit, but was VERY claustrophobic and about had a panic attack. However, the picture turned out very cute!

Cute picture of Calla.

This is what the play area looks like. Pretty cool for a place that is free to play! I wish that the nature reserve that we had around here had something like this! I would take Joshua all the time! He loved it! There is a tunnel that runs under the whole thing and then there is a middle level with things to play with on it. In the center of this picture is the tube that leads up to the tree house...

This is a shot from the middle level looking into the door of the tree house....yea, I crawled through there, up a winding set of stairs and into the tree house...ick!

Carter and Joshua.

Friday night, we drove into Vermillion and went searching for a good place to eat. We settled on this Italian place after driving for like an hour! It was well worth it tho! It tasted sooooo good! Here is a shot of Jesse and Joshua.

Fred, Hollie, Carter and Calla. The kids were really good for having been in the car forever and having to still wait to eat once we got there.

Joshua and his Mommy.

Our family.

On Saturday morning, we got up out of bed, got dressed and took the kids into Cleveland to the Science Museum. Fred, Hollie and the kids have passes there with guests attached. Everything there is interactive and the kids had an absolute blast! I think that when we head up there to visit anymore, we will always make sure that there is time to go back. Joshua loved it!

One of the first things that Joshua played with was this gear board. You connect the gears, then, when you turn one, they all turn.

Joshua really liked any of the exhibits that had messy things in them...you know...water, bubbles, etc...

Aunt Hollie is helping Joshua do the weather report....

Here he is on TV!!!

Carter and the bubbles. They pull a string and make a huge wall of bubbles...

Joshua liked this one too but he liked it more because he could splash in the bubbles. Daddy tried to help him understand the point of it.

They have this curtained off room where you stand against a wall, there is a flash of light and it shows where you were standing. Here is Carter's pose.

I thought this picture turned out pretty cool. It looks like a double image but really it's a kaleidoscope. Hollie and Joshua are inside and Hollie is holding him...I am outside holding the camera.

Funky mirrors. I liked the one that was across from this one better. It made me look REALLY skinny!

Producing electricity...

Joshua producing electricity...

Calla and static electricity...

Inside the museum is a place called the Polymer Playground. It's total plastic. Inside is this music house. Here is Jesse and Joshua playing in it.

A view of the lake from the museum.

This is an outside playground that was closed for the winter....

This is a picture of the music house that Jesse and Joshua were playing in.

These pipes are made of PVC. I told Jesse that he should build Joshua one of these. When you tap on it, the size of each one makes it create a different sound.

There is a bridge up above their heads. The train travels around a track at the top of the room. You can lift and lower the bridge. Whenever it went up, Joshua pushed up with his hands like that.

Flying a blimp....

This is a huge lever system they have. They are pulling on it, and at the other end is a car they are lifting into the air.

Everyone watching Jesse play a game.

This ship was closed for the winter. Usually tho, you can tour it. I think that would be fun on a summer trip.

Cute picture of my little buddy.

"To infinity and beyond!"

This was Joshua and Jesse's favorite exhibit! The exhibit is called "can a robot do your job?" You select which shapes the robot is supposed to put together and then you try and race it. The boys sat in front of it for a long time. Jesse works with robots every day and Joshua shows the same interest.

Here is Joshua giving it a try.

We had a great visit with Fred, Hollie and the kids! It isn't that far away but I wish it wasn't quite so far. We will definitely have to go visit more often! We also went to the West Side Market while we were there and on Saturday night we went out to dinner with Aunt Shawn and Kirk. Joshua stayed at their house with his cousins and had a blast. Then, Saturday night we drove home. Fun, exhausting, exciting trip!