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| Jumpin Jacks |
Monday, February 25, 2008
Jumpin' Jacks
They just opened this new place about 5 miles away from our house where kids can go and play on big inflatables. It's normally about $5-6 for a child to play there, but during the off season months, they offer a parent and child pass where one parent and up to two children can go between the hours of 11 and 3 (on weekdays) and you pay $19 total for the entire month. That's a good deal. The kids absolutely love it. Tami has been with them a few times, and I took a lunch break last week and met them down there and played with the kids. Besides a few "vinyl" burns on my arms, we had a great time. There's even a small area for little kids like Jack. It's nice because the kids get a ton of exercise during the cold winter months where they're normally cooped up inside all day. Enjoy the pictures and video clips. Be sure to click the picture below to link to the online album.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Dinosnorzzzz
You're probably wondering by the title of this entry what this is all about. Brooklyn Isaac and I had a very fun opportunity this last weekend that few kids (or adults for that matter) have ever done... we had a sleepover at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving point. This museum is actually a pretty cool one. Check the link to learn more.
We arrived at about 7:00 pm and were given treats in the cafe... a bag of popcorn each, a soda and a candybar.
It was then off to the Xango Giant Mammoth screen to watch Sea Monsters in 3D. Pretty cool movie. Brooklyn kept her 3D glasses on the whole time and was constantly reaching out in front of her to touch the sea creatures. Isaac on the other hand did not keep his glasses on and just watched the "blurry" version.
After the movie we were taken on a guided tour of the museum. We had been to the museum many times before thanks to a family membership card, but listening to the "back stories" behind all the giant skeleton dinosaurs and excavation efforts were fascinating. It was then off to the Gar Fish tank to watch "the feeding". I was thinking they were going to just give them regular fish food, but when they dumped a bunch of live goldfish into the tank, it got exciting. Just like a dinosaur with eyes on the sides of their heads, they would turn their head sideways as they came up on the gold fish and then open their mouths and take a sideswipe action, gobbling the little goldfish alive. The kids loved it.
From there it was time for a scavenger hunt, which sent the kids running around the museum from end to end and back again looking for clues. We finished up underneath the huge Brachiasaurus skeleton where they received little Styrofoam flying dinosaurs. By then it was around 11:00 and the kids were very tired. They told us we could sleep pretty much anywhere on the main floor, so we scoped out the best spot in town....right underneath the two fighting T-rex skeletons. With our inflatable mattress pad and sleeping bags, we were ready for a fun night. I did try to trick the kids into the whole "Night at the Museum" story, but they didn't buy it.
It was so neat to be laying down and looking up right into the belly of a T-rex skeleton. Not everyday you can do that from your bed. Here's what I mean...
It was a little eerie to wake up at 2 in the morning surrounded by silent giants, but we made it to sunrise alive thank goodness. The kids slept well and after cleaning up our stuff, it was off to a very nice breakfast with waffles, cinnamon rolls, juice, grapes, oranges and apples.
Here are a few video clips of the museum floor and the kids talking about their experience.
After breakfast it was off to our PALEO activities. We started in the cafe by making a talking Oragami terradactyl.
From there they went to the lab and reconstructed a Mammoth skeleton (typical balsa wood puzzle).
After the Mammoth puzzles the kids took a few minutes to unearth dinosaur bones in the sand with brushes. Very cool "hands on" exhibit. Check out the video.
The kids finished up in the lab by creating their own fossil molds with plaster and then they were able to use real air drills to etch the stone away from real fish fossils in stone. They were even able to keep the fossils.
All in all it was an awesome experience and one that the kids will remember for a long, long time. And for the price we paid and for all that we got out of it, I really don't think the Museum is making much of a profit (if any) off this activity. If anyone in Utah is looking for a fun overnight adventure, you have to check out Dinosnorzzz. You'll be glad you did. (FYI. The link says 4th graders and up, but that's if you don't have an adult chaperone.)
We arrived at about 7:00 pm and were given treats in the cafe... a bag of popcorn each, a soda and a candybar.
It was then off to the Xango Giant Mammoth screen to watch Sea Monsters in 3D. Pretty cool movie. Brooklyn kept her 3D glasses on the whole time and was constantly reaching out in front of her to touch the sea creatures. Isaac on the other hand did not keep his glasses on and just watched the "blurry" version.
After the movie we were taken on a guided tour of the museum. We had been to the museum many times before thanks to a family membership card, but listening to the "back stories" behind all the giant skeleton dinosaurs and excavation efforts were fascinating. It was then off to the Gar Fish tank to watch "the feeding". I was thinking they were going to just give them regular fish food, but when they dumped a bunch of live goldfish into the tank, it got exciting. Just like a dinosaur with eyes on the sides of their heads, they would turn their head sideways as they came up on the gold fish and then open their mouths and take a sideswipe action, gobbling the little goldfish alive. The kids loved it. From there it was time for a scavenger hunt, which sent the kids running around the museum from end to end and back again looking for clues. We finished up underneath the huge Brachiasaurus skeleton where they received little Styrofoam flying dinosaurs. By then it was around 11:00 and the kids were very tired. They told us we could sleep pretty much anywhere on the main floor, so we scoped out the best spot in town....right underneath the two fighting T-rex skeletons. With our inflatable mattress pad and sleeping bags, we were ready for a fun night. I did try to trick the kids into the whole "Night at the Museum" story, but they didn't buy it.
It was so neat to be laying down and looking up right into the belly of a T-rex skeleton. Not everyday you can do that from your bed. Here's what I mean...
It was a little eerie to wake up at 2 in the morning surrounded by silent giants, but we made it to sunrise alive thank goodness. The kids slept well and after cleaning up our stuff, it was off to a very nice breakfast with waffles, cinnamon rolls, juice, grapes, oranges and apples.
Here are a few video clips of the museum floor and the kids talking about their experience. After breakfast it was off to our PALEO activities. We started in the cafe by making a talking Oragami terradactyl.
From there they went to the lab and reconstructed a Mammoth skeleton (typical balsa wood puzzle).
After the Mammoth puzzles the kids took a few minutes to unearth dinosaur bones in the sand with brushes. Very cool "hands on" exhibit. Check out the video.The kids finished up in the lab by creating their own fossil molds with plaster and then they were able to use real air drills to etch the stone away from real fish fossils in stone. They were even able to keep the fossils.
All in all it was an awesome experience and one that the kids will remember for a long, long time. And for the price we paid and for all that we got out of it, I really don't think the Museum is making much of a profit (if any) off this activity. If anyone in Utah is looking for a fun overnight adventure, you have to check out Dinosnorzzz. You'll be glad you did. (FYI. The link says 4th graders and up, but that's if you don't have an adult chaperone.)
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
6 years old!
It's hard to believe that we have a 6 yr old! My how time flies. Brooklyn had a great day though. Because of a very large party last year, we decided to have just a family party this time around. Brooklyn loves this Brazilian restaurant here in town called Tucanos because it serves so much meat and Brooklyn is true carnivore. Not to mention the delicious fried, brown sugar glazed pineapple that just melts in your mouth. And the best part about it is that kids 6 and under eat for free. Can't beat that. Grandma and Grandpa Casaday showed up along with Marinda, Abby, Brian and Kaley. We did a lunch instead of a dinner because it's quite a bit cheaper. Brooklyn ate a lot of meat that's for sure and we all had a great time. Brooklyn especially loved it when they sang to her as you can see in the video below. Our little girl is growing up!
She did get a free ice cream sundae out of it too.
And for those of you who are "in" with kids toys and technology, we bought Brooklyn a Webkinz stuffed animal. It's this new fad where you buy a stuffed animal and then go online to a special site, enter their unique ID on their tag and then the stuffed animal becomes a virtual pet. You can build your own room for your pet. You have to feed it, play with it, take it to the vet if it's sick. It's actually pretty insane what you can and are supposed to do. Check out the link for more info on it.
She did get a free ice cream sundae out of it too.
And for those of you who are "in" with kids toys and technology, we bought Brooklyn a Webkinz stuffed animal. It's this new fad where you buy a stuffed animal and then go online to a special site, enter their unique ID on their tag and then the stuffed animal becomes a virtual pet. You can build your own room for your pet. You have to feed it, play with it, take it to the vet if it's sick. It's actually pretty insane what you can and are supposed to do. Check out the link for more info on it.
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