ABQ Trip - Day 3

On Monday, our outing of the day was to the Explora Science Center. The four 3-year-olds got some special treatment on the walk from the parking lot. In fact, they probably would've been content just swinging like this all morning long! :)

Once in the museum, however, all the kids eagerly moved from one exhibit to the next. We were rarely all in the same room at the same time. Jaden and Cody had visited this museum once before, when they were 1 1/2. The boys were definitely much more engaged and interested this time around. The museum has such a wide variety of exhibits. We looked into silly mirrors,

threw balls across a spinning table,

changed the walls and pathways down this water table,

made spinning sand designs,

flew airplanes,

sent objects flying up a wind tunnel,

played with floating balloons,

watched a computer trace the pattern of our steps,

drew pictures with a swinging pencil,

gazed eye-to-eye with various reptiles,

played a xylophone,

experimented with BIG bubble wands,

and made creations out of large building blocks.

Even the adults had an entertaining morning! Papa and Andrew built a block creature,

Grammy and Papa tried out some of the brain teaser puzzles at the Paradox Cafe,

  and Papa, Jason, and Amy each rode the tightrope/gravity bike (I don't remember its official name).

At the very end of our visit, we whispered messages to one another through these sound "satellites." We were amazed at how clearly the sounds could be heard all the way on the other side!

And here's the fam... (minus Kim, Ian & Nathan who had to stay behind due to a sick bug that hit Ian overnight). We're standing behind a cool fountain that squirts water streams when you press a button.

Not surprisingly, the kids all wanted to swing again on the way out!

Later in the day, we spent some time at this school playground in Grammy & Papa's neighborhood.

For our evening meal, Grammy and Papa suggested that we have homemade ice cream as dessert. Of course, no one argued with that! Jason and Nathan watched over the electric ice cream maker which was mixing plain vanilla.

The rest of us had to work a little harder for our dessert. Our second batch was peppermint Oreo ice cream, which we had to hand crank. Cody and Jaden only turned the crank a few times apiece (Ian was our STAR ice cream mixer!)...

... but all of the kids happily joined in when it was time to break up the peppermint candies.

Who wouldn't want a turn whacking at food with a hammer?! Thankfully no one was injured in this step. :) The final ice cream product was deeee-licious!

After the kids went to bed that night, we took the evening to recognize Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary. First, we presented them with a scrapbook filled with letters and well-wishes from loved ones. (Many of you reading this blog probably added to this scrapbook. We greatly appreciate your time to do so! My parents treasured all of the memories and kind words. Thank you!)

Each of the couples read aloud the letters that we had written to Mom and Dad, sharing various memories and thanking them for the impact they've had on our lives.

Then we shared aloud a selection of letters from the rest of the book. We literally laughed and cried our way through many of these memories. My parents are definitely well-loved individuals who humbly display Christ's love through their lives and in their marriage.

Finally, we put Mom and Dad on the "hot seat" and asked them all kinds of questions pertaining to their dating years, their wedding day, their early years of marriage, and various memories throughout their 40 years of married life. We actually heard quite a few stories that we had never heard before. It was a wonderful way to spend the evening! Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! :)