NC Zoo Trip

We went to the NC Zoo yesterday (Thursday). I picked the day based on the best weather for walking comfort and sunny picture taking. We got there a little after 10 and left a little before 5 and were able to cover everything except that I skipped the 'plant' building. I think I can safely say that everyone had a good time. The kids were doing imaginary play games pretty much all day with the peak of that being in the Sonara Dessert building where they discovered a real hidden doorway in the wall of decorative rocks. I got a lot of nice pictures of kids smiling and of the flowers and other plants growing around the zoo. I did also take zoo animal shots, however, it just didn't end up being the best 'pose' day ever for them. Either there was a fence in the way or too far away or something. We thoroughly enjoyed the new giraffe feeding station which was on a free trial still, the new geyser, and the new honey bee exhibit. All great stuff that has very recently opened. So, if you haven't been to the zoo in a while, a trip this fall while the weather is nice would be a great idea. Won't be long and the fall colors will be in full force around the zoo too.

The rest of the zoo pics are here.

Heroes and Villains at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham

The kids and I went to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham today for their special Heroes and Villains event. If you like Star Wars, want to know how they choreograph light saber scenes, and are interested in the sound and visual effects that go into making movies like Star Wars, this event is for you!

The highlight for the kids was posing with various Star Wars characters like Darth Vader and Princess Leia. I think I managed to get their picture with all the characters at the event today. None of the kids were scared of the characters, and all the characters did a great job encouraging the kids to come visit and standing for picture after picture to the delight of all the kids.

We did all of the typical things we do when we visit the museum too. The kids enjoyed the playground area and caboose. We visited with our farmyard friends. The museum had put up new color signage in the farmyard stating the name, weight, and type of animal, etc. Nice! We walked the Catch the Wind/Explore the Wild loop. To my delight, I got to take very up close pictures of a great blue heron and of a green heron. I even caught both of them going under for fish and coming up with a small fish in their mouths. I was so thrilled about the pictures I was able to take of these cooperative birds today!

I worked on taking picutures that convey movement today too. I was able to capture some great movement in the 'music' room by not turning on my flash. Also, on the train, I was able to catch the kids still but movement 'out the window'. The forest leaves made a lovely splash of moving green light.

Looks like there are going to be some spooky events in October, so I look forward to going back again with the kids real soon.

The best of today's pics are here.

What I Learned

The family went to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh today. We've been to this museum many times over the past years...even before the boys were born to see the dinosaur fossils when the museum was in the old location. What surprised me today was that I thought I'd seen everything but I still learned several things.

So, what I learned...

1. NC has the most types of fungus in North America. Think mushrooms.



2. It's natural for butterflies to land on green leaves if they are laying eggs vs. eating. It's also natural for butterflies, especially males, to land on the ground to look for minerals and sodium.



3. Bees have pollen pouches on their legs, and they return to the hive with the pouches full so they can deposit the pollen. We saw this in action in the Discovery Room.



4. More bricks are made in NC than any other state in the country. Thank the red clay.



5. That different species of Whelk have shell openings on the left or right.



6. Chocolate tastes good. Oh, that's right, I already knew that. But, Chocolate - The Exhibition is visiting the museum right now.

The rest of the pics are here.

Noah's Landing

The boys and I went to Noah's Landing today. This place is only a few miles form my house, but if my friend Andrea hadn't mentioned it to me, I never would have known about it. We had such a fantastic time, that I wanted to definitely blog about it to get the word out.

You can look at the best pics from today here.

They were having a special event this weekend, so there was BBQ, bluegrass music, and the NC Wildlife Rescue Center from Sandford was setup with some of their rescue birds. Plus, they had their usual, but far from ordinary, animals too!

My highlight was the birds from the rescue center. I keep looking for hawks an owls in the wild for great pics, and here they were for me to see up close and personal. All of them are rescues. They wouldn't fair well in the wild, so I think it's great that we get to enjoy them and learn from them in person.

Joey's highlight was the hedgehog. Think Sonic:-) He could not get enough of petting and trying to hold those guys. Joey was really into everything animal. He touched the alligator and opossum. He asked questions. He was gentle. The volunteer staff really seemed to enjoy his enthusiasm.

Johnny seemed to really love the horses and rabbits and doggies in and around the property. Feeding carrots and gently petting were his favorites.

There was a bounce house that the boys went crazy in when no one else was in with them. Joey also made a snowman craft with beans and a suncatcher craft with a CD and glitter. Imagine Joey and glue and glitter:-)

We also saw a skunk, sloth, tortoise, porcupine, pig and more. And, we touched most of them! How cool was that?!?

We'll go back for sure, and if you get a chance, take a drive over and see for yourself. It looks like they have their next special event on Halloween weekend. Great to go when extra volunteers are onsite for lots of hands-on learning.

Andrea, thanks for the tip! Made our weekend...

Engineers Day at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham

Joey, Johnny, Madi, and I went to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham today for Engineers Day. We had a GREAT time. I know, I know, I always say that about our trips to the museum, but it's really true!

IBM sponsored the hands-on activities that were conducted inside in the Mercury Room. I have to say that the volunteers were all fantastic with the kids. It was hard to tell who was having more fun...the adults or the kids. The activities were well thought out, and the kids had fun doing them. The first activity we tried was insulating a real egg to see if it could sustain an 8' drop. The kids had foam and paper and plastic cups, etc. along with tape to use as padding. With a little help, Johnny's egg survived. Two activities involved food and building. The kids even managed not to eat their materials. With the gum drops and toothpicks, you were supposed to see how high you could build a structure with just 10 gum drops. With the marshmallows and spaghetti you were supposed to build a bridge and then do weight testing. There were Lego Mindstorm robotics, and the kids got to build an arm with a touch pad and then test out their work. There was a neat 3-D computer game were the kids were learning about being 'green'. The kids even got to see the insides of a keyboard, computer, mouse, and hard drive. How cool was that?!? Just as long as they aren't taking my computer apart at home now! They got to build a boat and see how many screws it could hold and still float. Madi's did pretty good with a little help;-) But, maybe the most popular was racing your balloon. Tape was used to attach a straw on string to a balloon. Let the air out and watch your 'rocket' go! Like I said, we had a great time. We spent over 90 minutes enjoying ourselves with these events. Thanks to all the adults who put on such a fun and educational time for the kids...


Mom was delighted to see the Great Blue Heron so close to the boardwalk in Explore the Wild today. I got some pictures that I am very happy with. Madi also took some.


One of the keepers, Erin, was at the black bears habitat when we visited and boy did I get some great pics there too! Tongues out. Splashing in the water. Eating apples. Posing just for me I think. Too cute!


The dinsour fossil dig site was open for our visit today, and Joey found a HUGE shark tooth. It's bigger than a quarter. He did that all by himself. Madi and I worked real hard trying to find another....no luck. But, we did find coral and some bone and some smaller teeth. Every kid that gets a chance to dig in this site is going to have a good time in the dirt no matter what they walk away with!

In the butterfly house, Madi had the prettiest blue/black butterfly land in her hair. That's always a cool experience too.


We were at the museum for 6 hours today, and we could easily have stayed for another hour or two. There is just that much great stuff to see and do.

You can see the rest of the pics here.

Paint Boys!

When I was a little girl, my dad used to take me for walks in the rain with my little red goulashes.

He let me get filthy dirty at the company picnic we went to every summer.

He talked my mom into letting me have a dog in the backyard and then slowly we moved the dog into the house.

He took me to the mall to play Asteroids and other video games. He even tolerated me beating him nearly every single time.

Oh, and let's not forget the Charlies Angels and Star Wars trading cards, 45 singles, coins, stamps, McD glasses, and various other things he went out of his way to help me collect.

He baked with me in the kitchen...lemon sugar cookies, cheesecakes, and other fine delights. I was allowed to stamp the cookies too thin and spew flour in the kitchen if it made me happy and helped me learn.

Hopefully when my dad looks at a picture of my boys that looks like this, he smiles and knows I'm just following in his footsteps. Some day I hope my boys will follow in my footsteps too.

More paint pics are here.

Water Boy

All of us that know and love Johnny know that he loves water! I think this collage says it all! It was taken at his 5th b'day part at Marbles Kids Museum on Saturday.



I also captured, "Mom, the shark's got me!" from Joey.

I hope you smiled, and have a great day.