Big Machines

We stopped by the Big Machines exhibit at COSI.

O, my pint-sized genius, spent a lot of time figuring out how the hydraulics work.

Personally, I liked the stylish, graphic quality of the logos and warning labels.

Prehistoric

Our fabulous science museum is hosting a dinosaur exhibit. You can bet we were there!

Animatronic dinosaurs, video games. a rock climbing wall and a zipline.

Tons of prehistoric educational fun.

Soccer

This is how we've been spending the past two months of Saturdays.

Tree Climbing

A Windy Day

The weekend before last we had the windiest day. We dusted off our kite and headed straight for the park. Unfortunately the wind was too much for our little discount kite.

(The one in the photo belonged to someone else. I shamelessly stole the photo opportunity.)

So, we spent our time playing soccer followed by a game of freeze tag on the playground.

All in all, a fine day!

Grand Opening

January 1st was the grand reopening of the Columbus Museum of Art. It was shut down for renovations and we were so glad to see it open again.

The whole place was filled with beautiful art, wonderful interactive displays and fun activities.

Pieces of the Sea

In response to a special request by Ms. Blueistheteacher, here are the souvenirs that we brought home from Tom's in St. Augustine, Florida.

All of these stray pieces remind me of a wonderful poem by Pablo Neruda called

Of Solitude And The Sand

On blue shores of silence

among the things the sea throws up,

let us hunt for the most petrified,

violet claws of crabs,

little skulls of dead fish,

smooth syllables of wood,

small countries of mother-of-pearl;

let us look for what the sea undid

insistently, carelessly,

what it broke up and abandoned,

and left behind for us...

Let us look for secret things

somewhere in the world,

on the blue shores of silence

or where the storm has passed

rampaging like a train.

There the faint signs are left,

coins of time and water,

debris, celestial ash

and the ireplaceable rapture

of sharing in the labor

of solitude and sand.

Spring Is Here...

Spring has finally come to Ohio.

Oh, how I have missed it.

A trip to the park revealed Spring peeking out from all kinds of little hiding places.

Souvenirs

While in St. Augustine we stumbled across a real treasure.

A bone fide seaside souvenir shop!
It isn't that souvenir shops are hard to find, but most of them, nowadays, sell more swimming trunks and flip flops than good old-fashioned souvenirs.
When I walked into Tom's I actually got weak in the knees.

Rows upon rows of turquoise and sea foam green shelves lined with nautical treasures.

Bins of glistening shells, knobby white coral, pale pink sea fans hanging from the ceiling.

There were tiny wooden ships and ridiculous little animals made out of glued-together shells.

I was in heaven.

I combed the place over three times before I settled on a few treasures to take home with us.

The boys each picked out a shell and a treasure map.

We left happy, clutching our bits of the sea to bring home with us.

Castles In The Sand

Temporary masterpieces