Discovery Center fun!

After being inspired by an article in Family Fun about "staycations", we decided last weekend to adventure out to Murfreesboro to the Discovery Center for kids. I'd heard good things about it, and it didn't disappoint. It was about a 45 minute drive, and only cost $15 for our family, which I thought was great. Eliza and Davis had a great time. Here are a few highlights of the trip.

An antique fire truck, complete with real hats, coats, and boots to try on, and you can climb all over it. They both loved it!

A two-story "super-slide". Eliza did it a LOT and was really proud of herself.

They had several train tables and block stations. Davis liked this one the best.

Thank goodness we don't ride bikes like this anymore!

Digging for dinosaur bones and fossils.

Antique car for climbing on. Because of the Nissan plant nearby, there were several car centers to play in. We'll definitely go back when Davis is a little older.

Evidently Davis knows more about changing a tire than I do...

Ugh, this water table was gigantic (this is only one small corner) and really cool, but Big D got SOAKED TO THE BONE. Not so much fun when it's 35 degrees outside and mommy didn't bring a change of clothes. And the water was a little stinky. But man, they loved playing in it.

Gigantic magnetic wall. I think Stephen liked this one better than anyone :)

W-I-N-T-E-R Bingo

I know I've mentioned before how much I love Family Fun magazine, and I just thought I'd share this idea I got from the February issue. You can print out the templates here, and since mini-marshmallows have pretty much become a staple on my weekly grocery list (hey, they're small, non-messy, and provide that little bit of sweetness I crave after every meal), we had all the supplies handy. Eliza LOVED it, and it was a great way for her to pracice sounding out words. Just thought I'd pass this on for one of these cold, rainy days we seem to be having lately!

John Piper on the economy

I saw this on our pastor's blog, and thought he gives such good insight into the current economic crisis.

Tooth fairies and Tennessee basketball

Well, Eliza's had a lot of excitement around here lately. Last week she lost her first tooth, which was quite dramatic, as most everything is with her these days :) Finally she let Stephen pull it and the tooth fairy paid her a visit. Below is her new toothless grin and her rendering of the tooth fairy.



Then this past weekend we took Eliza, along with Gram, to her first Tennessee basketball game. This little girl LOVES her Tennessee Vols, so she was jumping up and down with excitement for the several days leading up to the trip. Davis stayed behind with Mimi and Grandaddy (thanks!).

Our seats were in the nosebleed section, but we made the long trek down to the student section to get a picture with Smokey. And just let me add, I walked right by the usher guarding that section, while he stopped Stephen. He mistook me for a student perhaps??? Or maybe it was that Stephen was carrying Eliza that gave him away. I choose to believe the former :)
Eliza was very brave (overcoming her fear of large stuffed animals, i.e. mascots) to give him a high five and get this pic.

She was having a great time cheering, until about the end of the first half, when she started this.

Laying on Stephen's lap. But some cotton candy at halftime perked her up.

But that perkiness was short-lived, as by the middle of the second half, she began chanting "I wanna go home. I wanna go home. I wanna go home." But I distracted her with the world's longest game of "Guess the animal", which lasted for the rest of the game.

She had a great time, especially spending the night in a hotel, which she thinks is the greatest thing ever. We look forward to more trips like these as the kiddos get a little bigger!