Mother's day fun

I woke up on Mother's day to hand made cards and little gifts from the kids and a beautiful orchid from Adam. We then got dressed and after a bit of a miscommunication, ended up at a nice little place with no wait for brunch.

After brunch, we headed home for a family movie on the couch. We introduced the kids to National Treasure, and they LOVED it!!! They have already asked to watch the second one now. 

After working temporarily for The History Museum,  I have really really wanted to do a tour of the Copshaholm Mansion that was once owned by the Oliver Family. I have always loved history, and actually have a History Degree. I also have loved architecture, and interior design, having once studied those both in Chicago for a time, so this was just perfectly up my alley. Unfortunately the timing while I was working there just didn't sync up with the tour times. So Adam decided that we were going for Mother's day. It was the perfect choice. Even the kids were excited to go. We had been at the Museum on that Friday as well to watch Night at the Museum while at the Museum, so we just couldn't get enough of it that weekend.

At one point D exclaimed that she wanted to have a house like this one. She sure has big dreams.

I only wish I had a kitchen the size of this one. Amazing!!

The museum also has a really neat history of transportation exhibit going on. There was a sign encouraging us to take #spaceselfies. We just needed to do that!

And of course the kids had to leave their mark on the giant board at the end.

We finished the day off with pizza, root beer floats, and fun tv shows!

A perfect day for a nature hike

These past 2 weeks we have had tons of rain! Both kids had hiking field trips planned for the same week, and I was on board to go with both. D's trip ended up getting rained out, and our guide is booked for the rest of the school year. She was a bit bummed, so Adam and I decided to take the family to Potato Creek for a family hike. We love it here, so many things to do! There was a birthday party to attend later that day, so we packed the car, made a lunch, and took off. Of course on our way, less than 10 min from the park, the rains came again. Total downpour. Undeterred, we headed in anyway. The plan was to go straight to the Nature Center and hope the rain ends shortly.

While in the Nature Center, they had a giant viewing area with a bunch of bird feeders. The kids loved watching all the different types of birds and are getting pretty good at identification. Then an adorable little raccoon popped up from a step down by the feeders. Both kids took all the animal pictures themselves, and had fun trying to get the picture.

When we were done, headed outside and discovered that the rain had stopped. Hurray!! We sat on the benches in front of the Nature Center to eat, used the rest rooms, and then headed off on a short nature hike. It was muddy at times, but the rain brought the humidity down and made it a great day for the hike. It is mushroom season, so we saw a number of signs of hunters, and people out themselves.

These kids do great on hikes, and love pointing out different plants, animals, and trees. They sure are nature lovers!

A day with the South Bend Cubs

Once again, both kids earned a free ticket to the local baseball home game. There is a special school day, where everyone from our school gets to go. So we started out our day with a little game of catch.

How did she get so grown-up?

The kids were super excited to play on the playground, and in the splash pad. The weather was nice and warm and sunny, but not so hot that we couldn't enjoy being outside. They were both back to being dry by the time we headed back to the seats.

Over this past year, the team has become an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are now the South Bend Cubs, no longer the Silverhawks. This was a sad sight as we walked around the stadium!

Happy family ready for the game to begin!

I tweeted this picture at them during the game and it ended up on the big screen. D now says we are famous!

Very happy to meet the new mascot!

During the last inning, the kids wanted to head over to the other side of the stadium and hang out of the grass. L was so hoping to catch a foul ball, but sadly never did. We had an absolute blast and can't wait to go back!

2nd grade field trip to the Snite:Part 2

This was the 2nd grade's 3rd field trip with this program. The kids were very excited to go back to the museum! The only problem is that with all the construction going on around the ND stadium, the bus driver refused to listen to the teacher and I and dropped us just under a half mile away from our destination. Normally this would not be a big deal, but with almost 50 kids, 4 adults, 25mph winds, and carrying boxes with everyone's lunches, it was a bit of a worrisome start to the day. Once we got into the museum, the kids were very excited and they were ready for us.

We split into 2 groups again, and this time we studied landscapes. They learned about the foreground, middle ground, and background. They looked at the painting and tried to use their senses to describe what was happening in the painting.

One boy doing his best "museum pose"

We then headed outside for lunch. What a crazy time! The slightly chilly temps, and high winds caused a number of screams, food blowing, and at one point what sounded like a revolt happening (kids chanting "summer, summer")

After lunch we headed back in, and down to a theater where we studied 2 different types of landscapes and the kids wrote imaginary postcards to someone telling them about the location.  Once we were done with that fun activity, the kids headed into the workroom. Here they were given print outs (done a certain way) with objects in 3 different sizes, and a landscape. They were to put packing tape over the image, burnish it with the handle of the scissors, then cut it out leaving space around it. We then dropped it in a bowl of water, let it sit for a few minutes, then gently rub the paper off the back of the tape. This keeps the image on the tape, and makes it into a homemade sticker!

And this past Saturday, the Snite had a family day for every student that participated in this year long program. We got to head in, have the student show us around, watch a movie of all the art work done from all the schools, eat cookies and punch, and then the kids got to decorate a sketch book of their own. It was a wonderful day all around!

Fun Family Times at the Museum

Are you in the Michiana area and looking for something fun and unique to do this Friday night for your family? Then head on over to the History Museum to check out a new app they are launching AND watch the first Night at the Museum movie!! I know we can't wait!!!

They do ask that you give them a reservation if you are coming so they can make sure to have enough room for everyone. Thanks!!!