Friday Funnies

You might be the mother of many small children if...

A Goat Yelling Like a Man (hilarious...sort of)

Nesting + Back to School Season = I'm Going Insane

So don't tell anyone, but last night I was up past 11 organizing and watching So You Think You Can Dance. It's not all due to nesting. I did this last year around this time. I think it's the back to school jitters. I decided to drag out my planner from last year, replace the calendars with new ones and I made all new cleaning schedules and a color coding system.

Look at my beautiful cabinet! I am going to try using it for my quiet times each morning and my computer times in the afternoons. I have my Bible study stuff in there, coupons, most often used cookbooks and magazines, and I also hung birthday lists for the next two months so I can really try to send out cards. I hung a frequent address list for sending out cards, too. So I can remember to send Thank Yous for once in my life. But don't give your hopes up...some of you may get a card, and some of you may not. :-/ But I'm gonna try!

Since I know that Josiah will be here on Thursday (or possibly Friday), I suddenly feel like, AHHHHHHHHHH I must get everything ready (mentally, spiritually, physically) right now, solve every problem, fix everything we own and clean every little spot in the house. So that's what nesting is, huh? I never really experienced that urge last time. I think I thought I did, but it was nothing like this. Our sweet neighbors are gone, or else I'd go over and ask them to please make me stop cleaning, cooking, organizing, and writing Bible memory verses. Because I suddenly seem to think I must memorize the entire Bible like, um, yesterday.

And this time we have a toddler! I just flippin' realized I am going to leave her for at least a couple days, maybe more! MY BABY!!!! Agh, the agony. I've been carrying her around like an infant. It's not good, I know, since she's gonna have to share these arms soon. But she just isn't all that cuddly of a girl, so I just gotta hold on to her when I can. I had to make a list of all kinds of numbers for my mom if she needs something while she's here. What will they eat? How will they survive? Everyone is going to die without me, my house is going to fall apart, my organization system will be forgotten! MY SINKS will be DIRTY! My mom isn't going to Lysol after poopy diapers! We're going to get the virus again! Do we have enough to eat around here?

Honestly, you'd think I was preparing a bomb shelter for World War III. It's a newborn baby, Amanda. Chill out, girlfriend. Newborns are NOT that bad. He's just a teeny little thing that will probably (as long as he is NOT like his sister) sleep most of the time. Take a freaking. chill. pill.

I know. But this is the irrational kind of stuff that goes through a mommy's head when it's nesting season right? And now that a date is set...THURSDAY for crying out loud...oh my.

We don't have the car seat installed, the car is a disaster (read: DISGUSTING!) with boxes and boxes yet to be delivered to Goodwill, I haven't found the baby monitor yet and still don't know if it's even going to work. Where's the bouncy seat? We don't have a crib sheet yet! I need the breast pump out. I need to pack our hospital bag. I need to make sure we have batteries for the camera (oh my goodness, I hadn't even thought of that before!).

Okay. I'm going to go memorize some Scripture...obviously it hasn't been working for me too well!

A new obsession

Sometimes I look at my blog and think, "Wow. People probably think I am totally obsessed with this girl."
Well, that may be true. I'm pretty sure my love for her doesn't usually cross into obsession...
...but sometimes maybe it does.
I mean, just look at her! She is starting to color inside the lines! Holy moly. I promise you I did NOT teach her how to do that. She just started it. It's more like scribbling inside the lines, and after she has scribbled inside her shapes or pictures, she then scribbles ALL over. But this is quite a milestone.

Grandma Erdman (Donna) sent us a fantastic book called I Can Paste. Maryn loves, loves, LOVES to glue things, and usually it takes a hundred years to cut things out for her or find things for her to glue. But this book has super vibrant pictures and fun activities to help kids get the hang of gluing randomly and even following some directions. It's for age 2! I know you're thinking, "Maryn's not even 2 and you're doing workbooks with her?" Well, it's not really like that. And seriously, she LOVES it. It's the same as doing the magazines with her, and I was shocked at how well she really does follow directions.

Different Teaching and Parenting Styles: I learned where Maryn gets her OCD tendencies from! HER FATHER! Maryn was doing one of those gluing pages, and I told her to glue the ball on top of the seal's nose. Which she did. RIGHT on top of his nose, as in, directly over his face. And what did John do? He fixed it for her. He, in fact, tried to fix everything she did or correct her the whole time. LOL! She's not even two, honey! So, for the sake of her self-esteem, I may be going solo on the home schooling until she's at least 7. ;-)

Josiah's Birthday!
Josiah's birthday has been set for August 5th. I hope Maryn is ready for me to have another "obsession." Could he possibly be as cute as her? I'm thinking yes. :) I love him so much already! He's still curled up like a little ball, all cuddly with his mommy.

Anyway, it's possible he could choose to be here before the 5th, but I'm not really counting on it. And he COULD technically take his sweet old time like his sister and not be born until August 6th. But the doctor won't let me go until the 7th for sure. Remember, I went into labor with Maryn on September 24th. And when was she born? September 26th. My kids just aren't in any hurry.

Receiving and Offering Reproof

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates reproof is stupid.
Proverbs 12:1

I've been going through the book of Proverbs for a while now, reading a Proverb a day. There are 31 Proverbs so this works out pretty well. I'm surprised how much wisdom is in that little book of the Bible (ha! Go figure, right?). Anyway, I've just been thinking a lot about how we confront others.

Confrontation is so uncomfortable, and I am terrible at it. But I have a received reproof from many loving friends and I'll tell you, I was so blessed by it. Sometimes, however, friends or family can confront unlovingly or inappropriately. But it's not our responsibility to lash back at them. Their reproof or correction can be used for good, if we are wise. Instead of saying "I'm sorry, but YOU..." we can just say, "I'm sorry..."

What is it with church members these days? Why do we think we must always be endlessly NICE? Sometimes we have to correct each other. And we can do it in love. There may be tears on both sides as the confrontation takes place. There may be a lot of anger, embarrassment or it may severe the relationship. But we can be an iron-sharpening-iron type of friend.

As discipline of our children goes by the wayside, and as our teenagers are actually taught to disrespect and challenge authority, our society is becoming one of extremes. Oh, we still gossip about each other. We still blow up at one another, lashing out inappropriately and really messing up our relationships. If we could all just be more lovingly confrontational, we would prevent so many problems, don't you think?

When we ignore God's reproof:

"If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices."
Proverbs 1:23-31

Receiving reproof and instruction:

"Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction,
but whoever heeds reproof is honored." Proverbs 13:18

"The ear that listens to life-giving reproof
will dwell among the wise.
Whoever ignores instruction despises himself
but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.
The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom,
and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 15:31-33

What do seminary families do?

They play "Noah's Ark" before dinner. Here we had pairs of plastic animals, water colored blue, eye droppers, and a boat (bowl).
Daddy has to read A LOT and it might take him a little longer than it does a single seminary student....
because there are little hands. Everywhere. All the time.
I don't know if there's any lifestyle quite like seminary-family-lifestyle. It's one of a kind. It's a great time and it's a challenging time. So I guess you all can probably relate to that!

Please pray for us as the fall semester is almost here. Our baby will likely be born just a week or two before classes begin. Then I will start going to a new SWI class, Josiah willing. I mean, God willing. John will keep working 40 hours per week. I will be caring for a coupla small children who are a little less than angelic. And John will be training for a marathon, too! We are also hoping to get out and participate in our neighborhood a good bit more, getting to know some new neighbors and ministering where we can.

Your prayers are needed so very much. I can not express to you how much! So please, please add us to every prayer list imaginable.

Adventures in Toddler Land

Maryn has been giving me a hard time lately. I'm not sure if I'm just extra impatient and hormonal, or if she really is tough to handle. But if my mommy friends are truthful, it seems that this phase might last a while. Or forever.

She's very independent and helpful, and we have raised her to be that way. But her independence has become a catastrophic nightmare and her helpfulness has become an attitude of "I'm the one in charge here."

She's very verbal and intelligent, and we are grateful. But when my 22 month old looks up at me from her bed, where she has clearly tried to change her own diaper, smiles proudly and announces, "I change diaper, Mommy! I did it!" I just start to wonder, "Did I create a monster, here?"

Today she got out the muffin pan, a box of muffin mix, and was well on her way to getting the eggs out of the refrigerator. I asked, "What are you doing, Maryn?" She said, "I make muttins! I stir it!"

She puts extra emphasis on the I. "Iiiiiiiiiii do it!" "Iiiiiiii stir it!" "Iiiiiiii read it!"

There are temper tantrums around every corner, or just plain sadness when I have to wash her blanky, when daddy leaves, or when things just don't happen as planned. Sometimes she's just inconsolable. And there are very few times of cuddling, kisses and hugs. She is on the move.

She climbs on everything. She can climb right into the bathroom sink. She can climb onto the kitchen counter. She climbs right up onto our bed and drinks the water that was left there from the night before. Sometimes she spills it all over our pillows.

If there ever was a time that God was training me to guard my tongue, the time is now.

Sometimes parenting a toddler is just plain hard.

TMT

TMT: Too much Tweeting?

We went to Plehn's Bakery for John's birthday this morning.

I live with a couple of sweet tooths!

John had that cinnamon crisp thing he's eating here, a cream stick, and a jelly donut.
I had a chocolate chip cookie and 6 donut holes. It was all so sweet my teeth still hurt! I'm such a light weight.

Tonight we are going to Shalimar, an Indian restaurant that we've never tried, or Sol Aztecas, our favorite Mexican restaurant here in Louisville. Maryn will be at her friend Caleb's house. I'm still working on getting him to splurge on a cake or pie for himself. We saw some great ones at Plehn's today. Maryn went ga-ga over the kitty cat cake they had there.

In other news, I've been thinking. I've been doing bad things. Comparing my daughter to other people's kids and comparing my parenting to other people's parenting. I know it's terrible, but sometimes I wonder if I'm doing things right. Like the other day I met this lady who had a little girl Maryn's age. And she stayed in her stroller calmly while I let Maryn run around the room (no one was there but us). We hardly ever use a stroller anymore. She walks ahead of us down the sidewalk, she walks (runs) herself around Toys R Us as long as they aren't busy, and I usually don't make her hold my hand unless we're crossing a street. Am I terribly permissive? Will I go insane with her running around like a wild child while I hold on to a baby? Have I done EVERYTHING wrong?!

Well, the answer to that is no. No matter what you may be thinking right now. I love that Maryn is secure enough to explore her world. And that she is winsome and girly, frolicky and free. She is fairly obedient and knows when to say she's sorry. We have a temper tantrums here and there, some days more than others. I think we've been okay parents. Right? Argh.

Video

I haven't been able to post any videos in ages on here or on facebook. I finally figured it out on facebook today, so make sure you all go see the cute video of Maryn singing some songs and talking a bit. She's the cutest thing ever singing 5 Little Monkeys.

Just Stuff

VBS: VBS is going well! It's a little insane in the craft room at times and I'm probably a little less patient (read: evil) than usual. I am a very, very power tripping teacher. I like order, order, order. In children's ministry, that just seems almost impossible. I guess that's why I never do/enjoy a lot of young children's ministry. So if that's not my gift, I don't know what is. I guess I just need to lighten up.

Teaching: I've been missing having my own classroom lately. We had our car packed up for the yard sale last weekend and it smelled just like school. I felt like I was taking all my boxes back to school. I always loved that first teacher week of getting everything ready. Writing the kids' names on their name tags, folders, cubbies, books, etc. Wondering who they were and what the year would be like.

I'm aching to go to a teacher store and buy up a bunch of stuff. I don't know what. I asked John if maybe I should start doing calendar time with Maryn. He thinks it's a little unnecessary at this time. :-/ He's probably right. Maybe I could do calendar time with the stuffed animals. Maybe I'm losing my mind.

John's Birthday: John turns 29 tomorrow! I keep asking and asking what he wants or what he wants to do for his birthday and he has yet to really tell me. He said I could make him a cake. But my cakes aren't very good. I wish I could get him a Wynn's coconut cake! But they are only in Naples. Birthdays are confusing when you don't have any money. It's better to just let the birthday person do and buy exactly what they want instead of going out and spending the money on something maybe they don't want. So I guess if John doesn't want anything good and just wants a nasty box cake, that's what he's gonna get. As stupid and lame as that is. BOO.

Friday Funnies

A little early cuz I know I'll forget tomorrow. I don't really like Seinfeld, but I know everyone else in America seems to so I thought you'd all find this pretty funny.

Seinfeld as a Thriller

VBS and Cooking with Mommy

VBS started last night in our neighborhood. It was a bit of an adventure as
I helped with crafts and Maryn...occupied herself...sort of...from 5:15-8:30ish.
Maryn is used to going to bed at 7:30 and so she was a little crabby.
When you have a highly scheduled child, it sometimes comes back to bite you.

She lost about 2 hours of sleep last night.
And she was, um, a little temperamental today.

Did I mention this photo was taken one hour after she had a bath this morning?

Am I in trouble?

Maryn has gotten a lot of ouchies lately! She keeps falling all over the place. I wonder if it's because of her recent growth spurt. She is a big fan of her Hello Kitty Band Aids, though! I'm going to start carrying them with us every where we go. She got blood all over the place yesterday cuz we didn't have a bandage. Ooopsies.

We made brownies today. Ghirardelli Caramel Turtle brownies from a box. They are amazing! I am impressed. Maryn is getting to be a great cook. She loves to read the directions. Brownie boxes usually have pictures of everything we need. And since we make brownies a lot, she knows the pictures, and reads me the ingredients (eggs, oil, water). And she can put everything in the bowl all by herself. Then, she cleans off the beater and she tries to wash the dishes.

Today, the Ghirardelli brownies had slightly different directions than the usual brownies we make. We had to mix the egg, oil and water before we put the mix in. She totally flipped out, thinking I'd forgotten to add the chocolate. We're dealing with A LOT of situations like this, where she thinks she knows best and throws a tantrum when we do something different. If we do something out of order or if she doesn't get her way. So we're working on that. I don't think she's OCD or anything, but she has a really stubborn, strong will at times, and needs to be taken aside often to calm down and recollect.

Parenting. It's an adventure.

Pretending, Independence, and Creativity

Yesterday, Maryn sat her sheep on her little potty in the living room.

Maryn: "Sheep poop in potty! Sheep poop in potty!"
Mommy: "Yay! Sheep pooped in the potty!"
Maryn: "Sheep dipey change!"
Mommy: "Okay, let's go put a dipey on sheep."
Maryn (opens door to bedroom, pulls out a diaper and tries to pull out the wipes) "Wipes, wipes!"

Maryn very neatly wiped her sheep clean and I helped her put on his diaper. He still has it on today.


Today, I told Maryn we were going to go to the playground. But I said we would have to change her clothes first. So while I was cleaning up the kitchen, she ran to the baby's room (where the changing table is, which is a room I don't want her in by herself because it's a disaster and I keep the door shut), opened the door, and I found her sitting on top of her changing table. She climbed right up there and had already assumed the position for a diaper change. Sheesh.

She has also been insistent on singing a tiger song. I have no idea what she's talking about, and she told my mom about it on Skype last night. So my mom said, "You sing it for us." Maryn replied by belting out, "Tiiiiiiiiigerrrrr Soooooooooong!" In her cutest, strongest sing-song voice. Oh dear.

Please Pray for Us

She doesn't look sick, does she?

I know that title might scare you, and this probably isn't a big deal. Maryn and I were both sick last night, and I'm really afraid of getting that stomach virus again. Last time I had it, as you know, I started having contractions. If I get it again and contractions start again, I could very well go into labor! I'd like to not go into labor under those conditions (exhausted, vomiting, intestinal issues) and I don't think it'd be pleasant if John were that sick while I was in labor, either. Anyway, Maryn vomited in her bed last night and that's how the virus started last time. Please pray God protects us from this illness. In the meantime, Lysol is my BFF and we are washing our hands like crazy.

Wear the Pants

I love the words in this Dockers ad campaign.

"Once upon a time, men wore the pants, and wore them well. Women rarely had to open doors and little old ladies never crossed the street alone. Men took charge because that’s what they did. But somewhere along the way, the world decided it no longer needed men. Disco by disco, latte by foamy non-fat latte, men were stripped of their Khakis and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny. But today, there are questions our genderless society has no answers for. The world sits idly by as cities crumble, children misbehave and those little old ladies remain on one side of the street. For the first time since bad guys, WE NEED HEROES. We need grown-ups. We need men to put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar and untie the world from the tracks of complacency. It’s Time to get your hands dirty. It’s time to answer the call of manhood. IT’S TIME TO WEAR THE PANTS!"

My Growing Babies

Josiah News: We had a great ultrasound today. Little Josiah looked right at "us" and we could see his mouth moving and his little eyes darting around as though he were looking at us. It was so precious. We could see his little cheeks, and of course his hands and feet. His foot was way up by his head, and he is laying mostly head down but kind of horizontal, so that his right foot is poking out of my side. Which is really comfortable.

Things seem to be moving along better than last time. I have been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for more than a few weeks, and I've also had some real contractions that are actually pretty strong and a little painful. Which is excellent! Every contraction brings me closer to my baby and since they're not minutes apart or anything like that (more like a few each day), they're probably healthy and just helping me dilate. I'm already 1 centimeter dilated. All this stuff happening before I even reach 36 weeks is a pretty good sign that MAYBE I won't have to be induced and MAYBE I won't have to have a c-section. But I know anything can happen. Dilation can mean a lot, and it can mean nothing. However, I was in labor about 15 hours with Maryn before I was even 4 cm. dilated. So I'll let myself be happy about 1 cm. at 36 weeks!

Little Josiah is about 6 1/2 pounds. He is such a big little guy already, he could just come right now! But I know we need to keep him there for at least another few weeks. Please be in prayer that he might come around the beginning of August so that I can avoid being induced and also, most of all, avoid a c-section.

Maryn News: We had Maryn's 2 year appointment and met her new pediatrician for the first time. We really liked him aside from his making sure that, since Maryn doesn't go to any type of day care, she receives the proper amount of socialization with other kids. I know this is a little lecture I'll be getting a lot since we plan to home school. It's a stinkin wonder how any of our great leaders grew up to be normal, decent, intelligent human beings. I wonder if Abraham Lincoln's mom got lectured about taking him to day care.

He talked to us about safety issues, discipline, swimming, potty training, etc.

Anyway, Maryn is a perfectly healthy, smart little girl. She is in the 50th percentile in weight and the 75th percentile in height. The doctor says she'll probably be a little taller than average, and I hope she won't get too terribly skinny but stay in that 50th percentile range. She answered all of his questions and even opened her mouth and said, "Ahh!" when he asked to see inside. You should have seen her face when he was looking in her ears--a look of confusion and a little bit of anger.

We are going to get her vaccinations through the seminary clinic because they are free. So Maryn is going to love going to her doctor. They had Peter Pan playing in the waiting room and an aquarium full of fish. She got a Pooh Bear sticker, too. And to Maryn, it just doesn't get any better than that.

Reasons for Having a Large Family

Reasons for having a large family (very cute, funny, and true!)

Happy Birthday!

Last night we went to our little friend's 9th birthday party. Here's Maryn with the birthday girl and some of our other neighborhood girls. It was a great time! We are always blessed by her and her family every time we get a chance to spend time together. And Maryn really was saying "Cheese" in this picture...sometimes her smile comes out as more of a grimace...

school day

Since we returned from our big trip to Minnesota and Ohio, Maryn hasn't been wanting to play in her room much. And I don't really mind since I'd rather sit at the table with her anyway. She is a very good sorter, so I tried cutting out some magazine pictures and having her sort them into three categories: Animals, Babies, and Food. Three of her favorite things. It was a lot harder for her than sorting shapes, but we worked together and she had fun with the purple glue stick from Aunt Cathy. Oddly enough, I think regular glue is kind of easier...but messier.
Then I let her glue a bunch of foam shapes onto a paper however she wanted. She started sorting them on her own a little bit, which was kind of neat. She really likes triangles! I'm a little surprised she knows how to identify a triangle more than she can a square. Personally, i think it's because she loves her cheese triangles and pizza triangles. They are in a book we have.

These foam shapes are an excellent learning tool. I've had them for a long time and used them with my first graders, my preschoolers, and the kids I babysat. You can use them for sorting, graphing, making center games, and just making some cool pictures. We also have the foam letters. These are not the sticker ones, either, which is better in a lot of ways because they're reusable and more versatile. Kids can glue if they need them to be stuck. I was never one of those lazy teachers who wouldn't let my students glue. I don't get what the big deal is. :-p
Maryn also tried finger painting today, which did not go well. She hated it and asked for a brush and water. "Water, water, water!" She cried, her hands outstretched not knowing quite what to do with the mess all over her hands. So I guess we will stick with watercolors for a while.

We got out the watercolors, and Maryn really painted a beautiful picture. It's so pretty I want to frame it. I learned a trick that helped watercolor painting go better. We used two paintbrushes. I would prepare a paintbrush for her with lots of paint on it, hand it to her, and she would paint with it, hand it back, take the next brush I had prepared, and so on. I still let her dip in the water and do a lot of her own dipping in the paints, but it just helped her picture look a bit less...brown. Plus she was very, very opinionated and stubborn today, so it just made painting easier.

The Lord is my Shepherd...Forever.

Going over my prayer list today was depressing. I am so heavy burdened for so many people right now. There are illnesses, there are lost children, lost homes, lost jobs, there is death, there are separations and fears and dangerous pregnancies. Please say a prayer for these situations. I know you don't know all about them, but just pray.

The Lord Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23)

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

The Speed Art Museum

Today we woke up bright and early and set out for the St. Matthews Farmers' Market, which is about 3 minutes down the street. It was an incredible place. I've never been to a Farmers' Market like it, with live music, tons of free samples, cheap coffee and small, local businesses advertising and selling their wares--from pottery to jams, jellies, honey, candles, and lots and lots of flowers. We tried lots of great foods. We would have bought lots more if we were of the organic-eating, grass-fed meat cooking variety, but alas, we are none of those things at this time. Otherwise I'd have been all over that bison, beef, and steaks. So if you ever visit us here on a weekend, we're going there! You'd like it.

Then we went to the seminary book store, which was uneventful.

Maryn ate a whole quart of cherry tomatoes that we bought at the farmers' market in between those two places.

And then, after stopping at home for just a bit, we went to the Speed Art Museum on University of Louisville's campus downtown. It was neat to see where Pastor Nate (Nathan Dooley) went to school and I think we even saw his frat house. But we didn't stop to say hi. We didn't stop to say hi to John's fraternity brothers at Phi Kappa Tau, either. lol.

Anyway (I'm rambling), the Speed Art Museum doesn't have anything to do with velocity or anything like that. It's named after a person. They have this whole program and huge area for kids--even little kids like Maryn. It was SERIOUSLY awesome.

There was an Aztec area where Maryn could ride a donkey,
hide and play with Native American toys inside a teepee,
build with all kinds of blocks in a huge block area (those windows and doors in the houses come out--they are blocks, too!),

play on a pirate ship (there are pulleys to raise and lower the sails and other parts of the ship),

hide in an Aztec house of some sort,
create Aztec rubbings,
build with lots of blocks (this is behind all those houses I showed you earlier),
John enjoyed himself, too...
Maryn has grown very talented with blocks. Here you see she built a little house or something with mirror blocks. She did all that on her own. She builds things symmetrically, too. It's starting to freak me out.
There was also a really big art center with markers, puppets, a neat puppet show TOWER with tunnels, and a really great replica of a pioneer style home complete with dress up clothes, play food, and a pretend fire for "cooking." There were beading activities, lots of magnet types things, drawing on light tables, drawing through glass (tracing people's faces), and so much more. I couldn't get pictures of everything because there were so many kids in those parts. I didn't want parents getting weird about me taking pictures of their kids. Maybe next time.

These pictures were all taken on John's iphone because we weren't allowed to use flash photography. And there was all that neat stuff and what do you think Maryn's favorite thing was? She loved walking up and down and climbing through the bridge on that pirate ship. She also liked the pioneer house. Honestly I think she would have spent 2 hours doing just those things.

Yep, you could spend 2 hours in this place easily. And it was much better than any Chuck E. Cheese. It only cost $5/person and kids under 3 are free. Admission to the museum itself is free, but they ask for a $4 donation.

Good deals on a hot day. And lots of fun.