Hiccups in short trips can certainly make them shorter. Unfortunately Nana Banana and Sport had a long delay in Detroit and didn't get to Lexington until much later then expected. But once they landed and got to our house, the girls couldn't be happier to get the weekend of fun started. The weekend began at Joseph-Beth, where we spent a couple of hours looking at books, making chickens out of toilet paper rolls, feeding the ducks, and having a nice lunch.
Although it was still mid-March, the weather cooperated during the visit and we were also able to spend some time outdoors.
One of the great outdoor spots near our house is the University of Kentucky Arboretum. And this is the second year in a row that we have purchased a membership to the Children's Arboreturm, where they have even more activities available. However, since we got there before the children's part opened, we had some time to play around on the logs that they have set up for just that purpose.
The girls jumped at the opportunity to run around outside, especially with their parents and grandparents in tow. It's amazing how two little individuals can order so many adults around. And the cool logs they have set up at the arboretum provide quite a few good photo opportunities. Sarah couldn't resist this one since it was amazing how many people you could fit inside this particular stump.
It's been neat to watch Callie grow over the years. The physical growth is clear to see, but we have also begun to notice how much she is growing in terms of her desire to conquer her fears and declare her independence. As the picture to the left shows, she is now willing to do things that only a year ago would have scared her to no end. Now it is just John who is scared when she does things like this.
We also planned ahead and made the most of the day by having a picnic in the arboretum as well. Although it was a little windy we all enjoyed the good food and sunshine.
And finally our patience paid off, and the children's section opened. Now we could further enjoy all that it has to offer.
Although we visited a lot of usual spots in this section, Callie and Reese quickly spotted the newly furnished pioneer cabin that had been set up over the winter. Here the girls are washing some pretend clothes and hanging them up on the clothes line. Too bad that this pretend activity couldn't be put to use at home. Although they do like sorting laundry, we have yet to get them to do every load from start to finish. Hopefully that will change in time.
Another great activity involved learning about the different birds common to Kentucky and the sounds of their calls. This was a pretty influential lesson, since the girls are still accurately identifying various birds months later.
They also got to make a personal set of binoculars to watch the birds. Not everyone was clear on the function of these toilet paper binoculars, as you can see in the picture above. But Reese had fun with them regardless. All in all, it was a great visit with Nana Banana and Sport.
No comments:
Post a Comment