Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum

Today the kids and I visited the Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station.

The museum's primary mission is to preserve and maintain the historic aircraft collection that was started in 1946.

You can check out some of their collection at http://www.dvhaa.org/.

The kids had a wonderful time in the helicopter simulator, in a real helicopter, and looking at all of the planes and displays. It is for sure somewhere that they said their daddy and Pop-Pop would love to visit.

The Greatest Show on Earth

The title still fits the bill. What an amazing production with death-defying acts that had me closing my eyes (7 motorcycles being driven simultaneously in a small sphere) or a man at the very top of the arena hanging upside down and going across monkey bars with his feet. (did I mention he didn't have a safety net under him?) While kiddos #1 and #2 were amazed and enthralled with each and every act, the younger two- kiddos #3 and#4 were excited about the elephants and clowns, respectfully. :-)

It was pageantry at its finest, perhaps with a bit too much "techno-tronic" mixed in there, but the circus still brings out the kid in all of us. I just as eagerly as my children looked forward to the tigers, elephants and trapeze artists who literally seem to fly.

We had awesome seats-- 5th row center. Couldn't be better. The memories will last a long time as the kiddos experienced their first circus and their mom, dad and grandmother experienced their joy.

Our Camping Adventure

For about a year now, kiddo #3 has been bugging daddy about going camping in the backyard. Well, it finally happened! Kiddo #2 helped quite a bit with the setup.

When it was all setup, the kids couldn't wait to get inside! Most of all, they couldn't wait to get most of their earthly possessions inside with them.

They all got right into their sleeping bags (that were on top of their air mattresses) and snacked on whatever they (and mommy) could carry into the tent.

Then the 4 kiddos really started to "rough-it." LOL. They all turned on portable DVD players and watched their favorite movies. Of course, kiddo #1 watched something to do with space. Kiddo #2 watched "Charlotte's Web," Kiddo #3 watched "Dumbo." For anyone who doesn't know kiddo #3, he is absolutely bonkers about elephants. (notice the stuffed animal elephant next to him in the photo) I think he has Dumbo memorized word for word. And, kiddo #4 was watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It is either that or something to do with her princesses.

I was a bit hesitant about the whole thing, well about *me* sleeping in the backyard. You see, my idea of "roughing-it" is staying in a hotel without room service, but I am pleased to say that on this wonderful spring evening, it was a really cool and pleasant night. Between the weather and the very comfy air mattress that my hubby picked out, I was just fine and slept better than I have in a long time! The kiddos were asleep by midnight, there were only a couple of bathroom requests and I am pleased to say that they all slept very well and in the morning were already wondering when we could do it again. So, I would say a pretty successful first "campout" in the backyard. :-)

Goodnight!

A Special Treat

The owner of the horse farm where the kiddos go riding took the 4 of them on a ride on one of her farm vehicles this afternoon. She rode them around her 35 acres and showed them the chicken coops and peacocks (I didn't even know she had chicken coops and peacocks, LOL). They got to take home souvenir feathers. It is incredibly peaceful walking around her grounds.

Engineering Class

Kiddos 1 and 2 started the second session of their engineering class last week. This past week, they evaluated digital photography and made balloon rockets to demonstrate thrust. Next week's topic will be space suit and lunar module design. The boys are excited about it already! :-) Since the class in held in a local library, kiddos 3 and 4 have special library time with mommy. We read books and pick books and movies to check out.

Our Caterpillars Have Arrived!

To give the kids some "hands-on" science, we bought them a caterpillar/butterfly habitat. We sent away for the caterpillars and they arrived today! They are so tiny, but they are pretty active and are really starting to move around. There are about 5 of them in each sealed container. There is food, water and air holes already in each. Our job is just to watch. The instructions say that in 7-10 days, they will make their chrysalis. At that time, we will take them out and attach them in the large observation mesh that came with our original purchase. Then, within a week or so, the butterflies will emerge (at least we hope so!). We'll have the kids watch them for a few days and then celebrate by releasing them into our garden and hope that they will help pollinate our plants and flowers. :-) I will take pictures of each step along the way.

Woodworking

Home Depot (1st Saturday of the month) and Lowe's (2nd Sunday of the month) offer free woodworking workshops for kids. The kids get to make a project and when completed receive a certificate and a pin (HD) or a patch (Lowe's) for their work aprons (they receive those the first time they go). The projects are fun to do and they have made so many things. This month they made planters (which they spray painted with a pretty awesome type of "rock" paint) at Home Depot and the photographs show the ant farms they made at Lowe's. In the past, they have made banks, napkin holders, Christmas card holders, castles.... Kiddos 1 and 2 made their projects with little or no assistance from their Pop-Pop and I. They are getting really handy with their hammers!