Dinosaur Fun

On the last day of Spring Break for James I took the boys to see the temporary Mammoths and Mastadons exhibit at the museum.  There was also an Imax (Titans of the Ice Age) that we got tickets to see.  We rarely see an Imax there since we still have to pay for the tickets with our membership, but we went all out this day :)

It was all very cool, but I don't think the boys were nearly as interested as I was.  :)

The Imax was fantastic (not only huge screen with amazing graphics, but also in 3D!).  An impressive technique that they pulled off extremely well was imposing the graphics of the mammoths onto a real shot showing buffalo and elk - it looked completely realistic to see all those creatures walking around and grazing together.  But, it broke my heart to see the scenes with the animals getting stuck in the La Brea Tar Pits and falling into the hot springs.  And, it scared both boys to see the scene with the Saber Tooth Tigers fighting the Alpine Wolves over a dead animal (but it was awesome!).  But, it was very well done and realistic, and gave us all a good idea of what that period of time was like, before we saw the exhibit.



And, I actually learned some things - I had no idea there were Columbian Mammoths who looked very much like modern elephants without much hair on them.  They lived closer to the equator, where there wasn't any snow.  I also hadn't realized that Colorado's climate was about what it is now, except an average of 16 degrees colder.  In the winter that would make it really cold, but the rest of the year it wouldn't be too bad, and in the middle of summer it would actually have been warm enough to be enjoyable.  And, there were Pygmy Mammoths that evolved in areas physically isolated due to the melting of the ice towards the end of the Ice Age (like an island that was created by the rising ocean), and subsequently became physically smaller than other Mammoths.  Interesting...

Columbian Mammoth

Todd standing by Columbian Mammoth foot - huge creature!

Adult Pygmy Mammoth - even smaller than an elephant!

I was also interested in seeing this exhibit because they included the findings from Snowmass Village (a little mountain town here in Colorado) where a lot of mammoth bones were found a couple of years ago.  It was a big deal on the news here at the time, and it was detailed in this exhibit.  There was something like 100 skeletons found there, which I think they said is the largest amount of Mammoth bones ever found in one area.  Although there are probably a lot more in the tar pits and hot springs... sniff, sniff...

And, they had a lot of information about that baby Mammoth that was found preserved in ice several years ago.  They had a cast of her body (at least I think it was a cast, but it looked so realistic it could have been the real thing), and a lot of pictures and videos of her body being excavated and studied.

Before we went into the exhibit I told the boys we were going to take our time and read all the signs.  But, I didn't need to worry about that instruction because Todd insisted on stopping to watch every single video we passed.  As soon as he saw the TV screen, he would make a beeline for it, and sit down quietly on the floor in front of it.  He wouldn't try to push the button to turn on the show (even if he was the only person there), and instead would patiently wait for the video to start.  This started to annoy James because he didn't want to watch all of them, but he did want to try all of the activities (and Todd didn't) so I let them split up a little as long as we all stayed close together, and I think they were both happy with their experiences.

Trying to move a metal trunk to pick things up

Todd was in a very calm, inquisitive mood that day because not only did he want to watch all the videos, he also wanted to stop and listen to all of the presentations being given.  Most of them were aimed towards kids, but I was still very impressed at his interest level.  James did stop to listen to one presentation, and even stayed to ask some questions about excavating fossils, and they were both pleased to get the little paper Mammoth hats.

When we were done with the exhibit the boys wanted to look in the gift shop (we don't usually stop in the big gift shop, but the museum always sets up a temporary little gift shop at the end of the exhibit, so you have to walk through it to leave).  Everything was really over-priced, but they found these little excavation kits that were only $3.  It's a block of plaster (or something like that) with a full skeleton hidden inside, and comes with both a wooden chisel and a little brush.  We had to go to the big gift shop to find the kits with a Mammoth skeleton, and then there were only two left, so we got them.  The boys spent awhile digging for fossils that afternoon, but didn't get any out of the block of plaster.  These were a great deal for the amount of time and energy that's needed to get out the skeleton!

Fantastic exhibit, and I'm really glad we were able to see it!

Easter Day

On Easter morning, Todd woke up early and I told him he couldn't get up yet but could lay in bed with me for a while if he wasn't sleepy.  Then, a little while later James came in to see if he could get up.  My rule is that they can't get up until 7, and the clock said 6:59, so James just let us know he was heading downstairs.  But, Todd knows how to read the numbers (although not tell time), so he knew it wasn't actually 7:00 yet and got really upset with James for not following the rules.  By the time I calmed him down the clock truly showed it was 7:00, so he happily followed James downstairs :)

There were lots of goodies waiting for the boys on the kitchen table, candy filled eggs hidden around the living room, and a scavenger hunt (thanks Aunt Gwendy!). 

The first clue for the scavenger hunt was on the top of each basket, but I was really surprised that the boys didn't want to go through their baskets or pick up the hidden eggs, and instead wanted to immediately do the scavenger hunt. 

And, ironically, James had caught me the night before getting the scavenger hunt clues ready (cutting out blue paper eggs and taping pieces of candy to each one), and I had just casually told him it was a game I was getting ready for the next day and he'd see it later.  I figured I'd tell them I had put together the scavenger hunt, and left the first clue on the table, and the Easter Bunny must have put them in their baskets.  But, he didn't remember!  Later in the afternoon he asked about that game I had been getting ready the night before, but I just brushed him off and told him we'd do it later.  And, he never mentioned it again, but I think this might be the last year that he's a participant rather than a creator :)

But, this scavenger hunt was a HUGE success!  I was blown away with how much the boys loved it.  There were maybe 10 clues, and I printed them on blue paper, cut them into egg shapes and then taped a piece of candy to each one.  The top of each egg stated where the egg was to be hidden, so I covered that up with the candy to make them seem more mysterious.  I had originally planned to hide each clue in a color-coded egg, so each boy would know what color they were looking for.  But, that ended up sounding like too much work, so instead I made two copies of each clue (identical in every way, including the type of candy taped to the clue), and the boys were able to work through the hunt at different paces and each just took one clue from each hiding place.  It worked out really well.

James was amazed that two clues were actually in their bedroom, and told me how sneaky the Easter Bunny must be to have hidden them there.  Yet, at the same time he failed to notice that I told him to wait to start the scavenger hunt, and then took some blue eggs out of the cupboard to hide in their shoes and coat pockets.  I had thought they'd look for the regular eggs first, and I didn't want them to find the scavenger hunt clues out of order, so I was going to hide those last two clues after they started the egg hunt.  It's amazing how powerful your mind can be when you really want to believe something.

After running through the house finding clues, they ended up back at the kitchen table to find the golden eggs taped underneath.  There was a dollar bill inside each one, and they were ecstatic.

This event will be a must-do from now on because it was definitely the highlight of their day!

After the scavenger hunt they finally started looking through their baskets.

They each got a book and a game, plus a big pack of sidewalk chalk to share.  And, there were the assorted pieces of candy and little trinkets like pencils and stickers. 

Todd has fallen in love with the Berenstain Bears, and we have repeatedly checked out this book from the library.  It's actually a compilation with five books in one, and he loves them all.  And James absolutely loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kids series, owns all the books (in English) and re-reads them all the time.  When I found a copy in Spanish I knew it would be perfect for him, and he was amazed to see it. 

I cringed a bit about the Monopoly game because James has asked for this game for about a year now, but I am hesitant to start such a loooong game.  But, we have so many other games, and I want to encourage playing games that aren't electronic, so Monopoly it was.  And, I just couldn't pass up the Pass the Pigs game when I found it online.  I remember playing the original version growing up, and can't wait to play this with the boys.  I figured Todd could handle this game since he loves playing Yahtzee, and it's the same concept.

Then they were finally ready to do the egg hunt.  In the past I've hidden the hard-boiled eggs they've decorated, but since we eat them I have to get up right before the boys to hide the eggs.  I don't want them sitting out very long, so they can't be hidden the night before.  Then last year a friend suggested that I just use plastic eggs (like the big egg hunts) with things hidden inside, and it was a huge hit (both with the boys and me!).  So, this year I bought three sets of decorated plastic eggs and put candies in them.  I think they turned out great, and the boys loved searching for them.  James was a little stressed worrying about who got more, so I made them put all the candy in a community bowl for everyone to share.  After some initial grumbling they were fine with that, and actually haven't eaten any of their candy since that morning.

Grandma and Grandpa also sent a box with some filled eggs and presents for us.  So, we opened their gifts (which was totally fun - thanks!) and then I hid their eggs for the boys to find.

We didn't do a big Easter meal this year, and instead just made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. 

And, I think we were done with everything before 7:45. Whew, busy morning!

Then, after lunch we walked down to the park to continue enjoying the wonderfully sunny weather.  The park itself was pretty busy, but there weren't many kids at the playground, so the boys were able to run around and play for quite awhile without being too crowded.  And, every time someone walked by with a dog James would stop playing to ask if he could pet their dog.

Pondering whether to follow my rules or not... the immediate answer was "not"

Beyond the franic first hour of the day, we had a relaxing Easter day and didn't do anything more than hang out and have fun.

Easter Fun

This year it felt like we went more low-key and quiet for Easter, but in looking back through my pictures it looks like we still were busy with lots to do.  Not sure if that's good or bad...

Originally, we had planned to go up to Estes Park for Easter weekend again, and do our other activities the weekend before.  But, then it snowed so much the weekend before that everything was cancelled, and we stayed home.  This caused a bit of a dilemma because the boys still really wanted to go to Estes Park, but now everything was scheduled for the same weekend.  And, we were only planning to go up for the day this year (and not spend the night), so it would have made for an incredibly busy weekend.  Although I really wanted to spend some time up in the mountains, I was able to convince the boys that we should stay at home, go to the city egg hunt and do our own crafts.  They were fine with it, our schedule was less busy and we didn't have to deal with any snowy mountain roads.

So, the Saturday before Easter we went to the Wheat Ridge egg hunt.  We've gone to the Arvada egg hunt the last few years, but they now hold it at the indoor soccer field, and I couldn't find any info about whether they had cancelled it due to the snow or if it had been held the previous weekend.  So, we skipped Arvada this year and went with the outdoors Wheat Ridge egg hunt.

It was a beautiful day, and it was great to get outside.  All of the snow had melted and the fields were dry, so it was perfect weather for an outdoor egg hunt.

Todd's new thing is to stick out his tongue any time I say "smile!"
 

The fields around the park were partitioned off into age groups, and all the eggs were on the ground when we arrived.  There were probably thousands of little plastic eggs there, and I can't imagine how long it takes them to get all those eggs filled.

One plus of the Arvada egg hunt is that they use the same field for all age groups, so I'm able to watch both boys.  But, in Wheat Ridge all the kids go at the same time (since they have individual fields), so I was only able to see one of them.  I figured James would be done in about two seconds, so I stayed with Todd to be able to get a few pictures of him picking up eggs while Allan went with James. 

Both egg hunts finished pretty quickly (although I was able to get a few pictures of Todd), and then we got in line for pictures with the Easter Bunny.  After that, we hung out in the sunny park while the boys checked their goodies.  Neither one got picked for the Easter basket drawing, and James was a little disappointed about that, but was ok in the end since one of his eggs actually had a folded up dollar bill inside!  All the other eggs had little trinkets, so he figured he'd found the "golden egg" of the hunt.

I love this picture that shows them happily hanging out and sharing :)

There's that tongue again!

Later that afternoon we made Easter crafts at home, but I completely forgot that I'd bought them those decorate your own chocolate eggs, so they're still in our fridge waiting to be decorated and eaten! 

We also made our own bunny cake.  We've done that a couple times now, since it's a happy tradition Allan remembers his Grandma doing when he was little, and we usually don't go to Marilyn's house to do the cakes there.  Last year I bought a bunny face cake pan to make it easier, and the boys had a great time decorating (and eating) it.



Todd put three jelly beans up by the ears, since he's three, and nine jelly beans in a line by the bottom of the face, since James is nine.  Other than that, there really wasn't any type of logic to the placement of decorations.  And, yes, that picture in the bottom left is Todd licking a jelly bean before placing it on the cake - apparently that's the best way to get them to stick :)

Easter Party

The weekend before Easter brought a big snowstorm, so all outdoor activities were cancelled and we just stayed home.

But, on Sunday afternoon we went to Marilyn and Bob's house for an Easter party. All of their grandkids (the little ones, at least) were able to make it, so it was a pretty fun afternoon. They must have spent a lot of time preparing for this party, because they had a lot of stuff planned and everything was ready to go when we arrived.

The kids started off by decorating the traditional bunny cake. Marilyn had made two cakes, and the kids split up into a boy group and a girl group. It was funny after they were done to see how perfectly precise the girls' cake was (matching/appropriate colors, all details done - including toenails on the bunny feet, etc), while the boys' cake had a face but other than that was a mismash of colors and decorations. But, the kids all enjoyed the decorating and were happy with their results.

Then it was time to start dying eggs. Marilyn had prepared 10 hard-boiled eggs for each kid (60 eggs in all), and had dye, crayons, markers and stickers for them to use. Again, there was quite a distinct difference between the girls' eggs and the boys' eggs, but everyone spent a long time working on their eggs and seemed happy with their final products.

Todd dyed all his eggs pretty quickly, so he decided to dye them all again. So, most of his turned out either gray or purple. And, the second time around he didn't waste time using the dipper, so his hands came home pretty green :)

Each kid picked one egg as their favorite, and those were all displayed for a contest. In the end, it was decided to be a nine-way tie :)

Then, while dinner was cooking the kids got to do an egg hunt (inside, since there was still a lot of snow on the ground). It was a pretty crazy, quick hunt with so many bigger kids searching in a fairly small living room space, but they seemed to love it.

The eggs were all filled with candy, and all of the cousins were trading after the egg hunt to try and get their favorite kinds.

Then we had pizza, ate the bunny cakes, and visited into the evening.

It was a really fun afternoon, and it was great to have a chance to visit with this side of the family that we don't see very often.

And, I just have to share this picture because I love how every time I told Todd to hold up an egg so I could take a picture, he would put it against his cheek like he was snuggling with it.  So cute!

Happy Easter!