Museums and Meetups, oh My!

BeWaRe!

L-o-n-g  P-o-s-t ahead! :o)  Grab an icy drink and get comfy.  (Whew..it is H.O.T. here!!)

We got a late start (are you surprised?).  We got in so late last night, it was a push to get everyone a bath this morning, hair washed, and breakfast.  First up?  One of the best children’s museums-Indianapolis!

 

Can you see the street name? Gorgosaurus...cool.

That was quite a Night at the Museum-they are running away!

It's Bumblebee!! Clay was thrilled to see him..timing the picture with him facing the front however...proved difficult.

Guess what she's made of?   ...Give up?  Jelly beans!

We saw the dinosaurs in the big sight/sound theater (it was really loud-Ethan was a little scared!), lots of skeletons, and a dinosaur dig!  The dig was really good-it was nice, tight, (glued?) pebbles that they had to really pick at to expose bone.  And even after a group came through, it still wasn’t all exposed.  High Marks for the Dig!  Then the train exhibit (boys got a little wild here over all the big trains!), the Treasures Under the Earth, and the Travel to…Egypt!  They had to take turns sitting in the Indy car-too fun! : )

with a big crocodile-looking dino (yep, official name!)

See?  Scary sounds!

Real Polar Bear (well..stuffed!)

Next we went to see the Barbie exhibit-it’s here until August.  It had a nice entry-with a big Barbie desk, phones, lamps, and flowers-and we had to get a picture!  Then we dressed Barbie bodies (kinda like Harumikas!) with fabrics, dressed life-size girl bodies (again, no heads), and next was Barbie play-and real dolls and clothes!  There were Barbies from the past (from the 60’s, even big hair 80’s Barbies!) and present.  There were huge life-size mannequins with elaborate designer dresses.  Designer Barbies, collections of clothes, a massive clear glass (or plexiglass?) chandelier with high-heeled Barbie shoes!  They’d also set up a pink runway complete with dress-up clothes, hairstyling and make up stations, and even flashy cameras for “photographers” (brothers) and a stereo and turntable for dj’s!  More thumbs up : )
 

Almost looks like she has a job!

Did you live in this time like I did?  We totally did this to ourselves.  How gross is that?  (ps-if you still puff your bangs, you m-i-g-h-t want to quit)

Harumika-like dolls

She styled her own Barbie!

...and again.

I never saw this doll for sale.  So...does she deliver the baby that will lay in that crib??

She is styled after this painting-with such detail!  (unlike pregnant Midge ; )

Have you ever seen a flat-footed Barbie?  Me neither!  This one was!  I liked it-she could red pink carpet barefoot...that's Stylin'!

Huge Glass "Fireworks" (four stories tall!)

We had lunch in the big food court-we just ordered an entire pizza-but then the kids weren’t that hungry.  We ended up wasting a third of it! : (  I hate to waste.

Then we split up and Ches took Ethan to the Dora and Diego exhibit!  He liked it, but didn’t stay too long.  I took the big kids to see an amazing exhibit with Ruby Bridges, Anne Frank, and Ryan White.  I loved it the most. :’ )  There was a tree of promises.  (The Best.)  We wrote our promises on notes, and stuck them to the tree.  Then there were computers you could put promises on to be “posted” on the really-real-looking tree.  I didn’t fully “get” it.  I wrote mine (that I promised to love MC no matter what her meter said), and there were loud trumpets, and when I looked up, it was on a computer screen with my name!  I cried too much in that exhibit. : (   The theme all over the area was leaves.  There were quotes on the walls, and I just couldn’t talk much.

First Tree of Promises

Hers?  Be Loving and Kind.

His?  I Promise to Follow the Ten Commandments.

Mine?  I promise to love my daughter no matter what the meter says.

And these are on the screens on the big life-size realistic tree!  ("I will be nice to my brothers.)

Making more promises on the computers...can you see the screens up on the trees?

I promise to be nice.

I will share. (Ethan)

We went into the Ruby Bridges classroom with all her quotes on first grade writing paper-so moving. I can’t believe people I’m related to could be so mean. : (  She was scared to eat her lunch because a lunch lady would yell outside the building every day that she’d poison Ruby’s food.  So Ruby stacked her sandwiches in the cabinets, and poured her milk into the paste jar every day.  Bless her heart.  Ruby (as an adult) had lots of recorded questions and answers on interactive tv screens for kids.  Very moving how the world has changed since then, and she’s so kind.  You can tell there’s no hate in her heart, and she’s really changed lives.

Dr. Coles thought Ruby wasn't eating because she was scared.  (This is the cabinet of supplies...and sandwiches and milk.)

Anne Frank’s city was detailed with quotes and her house and trees out front.  Bless her heart-there is such racism in our world history. : (

Ryan White, the little boy with AIDS, also had lots of medical displays and info on the program named after him for families of HIV Positive and AIDS patients needing access to excellent care.  He was discriminated against just like Ruby Bridges and Anne Frank.  I am praying no one else has to be excluded again.  Including my daughter.  Or my sons for that matter.

We also visited the miniature rooms-like dollhouse rooms, but all spread out in the wall in little recesses, Science Works and Health Works, the water clock, the glass :fireworks:, and of course…the Museum Store and some pictures outside.

She's serving me a healthy balanced meal in the Kitchen. : )

Clay's making me a sandwich.

Looking at the fish underwater!

Cool jumpy dinosaurs for the impatient kids waiting while Mom or Dad are buying tickets or shopping!

Out front on the (mini) Kukulcan Pyramid from Chichen Itza, Mexico

...and the Taj Mahal!

They traveled to the Great Wall of China...

made a short stop at the Great Sphinx of Giza!

jumped over to the Colosseum in Rome...

landed on the Parthenon...

and read Anne Frank's diary.  There is soon to be a Tree of Promises in Amsterdam.

I had to find these bronzes.  I had my picture taken with them in 1998, so I had to visit.  Wish we'd had digital pictures back then!

Then…most exciting?  We drove east two hours to meet Hallie, Jason, and Sweetpea!! : )  We met up at Young’s Dairy-a real working dairy (‘cause we like learning things!) (and they had amazing ice cream!  We got chocolate peanut butter cup, bubble gum, and key lime pie!)  We fed goats and saw: baby goats (Too Cute!), calves, kittens, roosters, and cows.  A real farm!