1st Visit to the Natural History Museum

Since I have two kids that are really gung-ho about bugs, frogs, snakes and lizards, we couldn't miss Reptile and Amphibian Appreciation Day at the Natural History Museum. After 5 years I was looking forward to trekking back to Exposition Park and USC's neighborhood. On our way, we bought a bike for Laura that was advertised on craigslist, and Dave picked up the board game Life at a garage sale (I just hope we can minimize the extra stuff we collect and want to bring home!).

When we got in the museum, first we reserved a spot in the critter club program, which is for ages 3-5 so Benjamin can still participate. Next was the butterfly pavillion which my kids were eager to see. They missed going to see the Butterfly Show at Krohn in Cincinnati the past couple of years. After the butterflies, we went back inside and ended up in the Hall of Gems for a bit, partly because it is near the bathrooms. Laura found a computer with a touch screen that she could scream at when it didn't do what she wanted. We made a point of seeing the famous red diamond, but just seeing the magnitude of the gem collection was awe-inspiring.

Then we headed to the Discovery Center--the hands-on area for kids because Joshua had so much fun playing in it 5 years ago and because the insect zoo sounded pretty exciting. In honor of Reptile and Amphibian Appreciation Day, lots of live animals--lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, and turtles--were on display in the hallways leading to the Discovery Center. Eventually we found the insect zoo--I think the kids liked the giant millipede, but Laura was disappointed that we couldn't find any ladybugs. The Discovery Center also had a dinosaur dig and an actual dinosaur skeleton that wasn't quite complete--until Joshua came along to help.

Finally it was our turn to participate in the Critter Club. Benjamin and Laura enjoyed the story, the discussion of tadpoles turning into frogs and the live animal presentations, which even included a baby alligator! Joshua occupied himself with a selection of turtle and spider puppets. Then they each decorated a burrow for the animals to live. Then we decided that we had had enough of the museum (we will have to come back to see the dinosaur puppet show!) for the day. Though we had fun, I was disppointed that all the toys, games, and puzzles that the Discovery Center had 5 years ago were gone.

After a short rest at home, we rushed to the Glendale Library to catch some of the Annie Banannie's Balloon Storytelling Show. The kids enjoyed it, and Joshua even got to be a hero, with some kind of balloon weapon that saved the world from the evil jellybean monster (or something like that). During most of the show, Laura was yelling loudly "I want a kitty-cat", since Annie was making amazing balloon props for the stories she was telling. Laura was eager to run up on stage to get a balloon animal of her own, until Dave took her into the children's section.

When we got home, Benjamin and Laura were eager to try out their new bikes--we found a back street with minimal traffic where they could ride. We even got Joshua to join us. I just need to get at least one more helmet. For dinner, I persuaded Dave to try Sizzler Steak House which I remember going to fairly often as a kid. The dinner was somewhat enjoyable--Benjamin loved the dino-shaped chicken nuggets and Joshua ate the pizza. Laura wanted a sample of everything in front of her, and didn't want to sit in the high chair anymore. Of course her voice has only two volume levels: very loud (for her first request) and extra, extra loud (for when we didn't do exactly what her highness wanted). Ice cream was included, so the dinner was worthwhile from the kids' point of view.

Last Two Days of Tar Pits for Mommy and Laura

Yesterday, we said good-bye to Grandpa and then headed off to camp. Laura and I went to the Hollywood Bowl to try to buy tickets for Summersounds next week, but they were sold out for the days and times that we want. Then we went to the Farmer's Market and saw part of a performance of Twinkle Time (see http://www.twinkleandfriends.com/). I was glad that we found something for Laura to enjoy while the other two were at camp. After camp pick up, we went to a Pasadena Branch Library to see the very animated storyteller Jim Cogan. The kids got to participate in the story by following his motions and sound effects, though Benjamin and Laura got impatient towards the end.

Both Benjamin and Joshua seemed to learn something from their camps. Joshua learned a bit about the culture of people living during the ice age as well as the animals. The last day they saw the excavations at Pit 91 and Project 23 and showed me some homemade "tar". Benjamin did a museum scavenger hunt the last day, but on Thursday brought home a hidden picture worksheet that not only seemed easy for 1st-2nd graders, but also had nothing to do with the camp topic. He also said that they watched Tom and Jerry cartoons everyday (I didn't send him to camp to watch TV--they do plenty of that at home!).

Friday, while Joshua and Benjamin were at camp, I took Laura to the Zimmer Children's Museum (see photo) which was nearby. At camp pickup, Joshua had a bead necklace and a clay pot (learning about ice age people) as well as the homemade tar. After lunch, we went to the Glendale Library to play with their wooden trains and get the summer reading club prizes, which were a tatto, pencil and book. Joshua and Benjamin both chose a Pokemon handbook that they hadn't read yet (the same handbook). Laura picked out Diego and the Blue Morpho Butterfly.

Last Days of Camp at the tar pits

Joshua--Oh oh oh! We had cornbread! (Mommy: must have been good because that was on Wednesday.) We looked in Pit 91. We saw bones and tar mixed with water. Tar is mixed with water because there might have been a lake there. We even saw real tar. It had multiple bubbles. I meant if the bubble popped another bubble would be underneath. Let's see.... Eventually the last bubble would pop and there would be no bubble underneath. Oh we went into the science lab. We saw a Columbian Mammoth bone.

People we trying to chip around asphalt around a woolly mammoth. They did something with a woolly mammoth. On the first day of camp we had a scavenger hunt. Did you know that the American Lion is the predator with the longest tail? Did you know that the Sabertoothed Cat is not really a tiger (Benjamin says it is a cat). Sabertoothed cat has teeth that stick out.

Benjamin--Oh oh oh! Yesterday, I saw skins from skunk and jaguar. We saw American Lion bones and Woolly Mammoth. Yesterday we had chocolate teddy bears and today we had honey teddy bears [for snack at camp]. We watched Tom and Jerry everyday. It's called camouflage. Something hides and people think it is something else. On the last day of camp we had a scavenger hunt.

Joshua learns about Peistocene Pals

We had cornbread, and we never went outside (Wednesday). We finished our diorama about Pleistocene creatures. Each of us got two dire wolfs, a giant sloth and terrabird. Those were flying giant bird creatures that lived in the Pleistocene. It is the last age of the ice age. We also saw an electric mammoth. It was a mammoth that moved on electric powers and it wasn't real. An electric saber tooth attacking a giant sloth.

Yesterday we started our dioramas. There were plants in the Pleistocene that we went outside to see. We made out nature journal there. We also went on a scavenger hunt on our first day. Oh yeah, we made clay things like pots, like anything. And I found a feather right here in the house.

Benjamin tells about Fantastic Felines camp

Benjamin here on Monday-- It's about american lion and saber-tooth cats. We learned about (mommy-do you know what animal has the long horns?) the mammoth. We went into the museum and saw bones and teeth and we played games--ball catch. On Tuesday we made alligators, worms, inchworms, snakes, and balls out of playdough.

Wacky Wednesday

Today as we started on our drive to Hancock Park for day #3 of camp at the La Brea tar pits, Benjamin noticed a shoe hanging on the phone wire. Then I also noticed a pair of shoes hanging on the phone wire, so we declared today Wacky Wednesday. Later Benjamin said that he didn't notice any other wacky things so far. After dropping the kids off at camp, I decided to check out the nearest library branch, the Fairfax library. I had swung by on Monday but didn't go in because parking was not easily available in the lot or on the street. I thought that by showing up before the library opens, I would be able to park in the lot with no problem, but I was definitely wrong. The library lot and the next lot adjacent to the Pan Pacific rec center (or senior center, I'm not sure which one) was also full. Parking was available on the street, so we parked, spent a little while in the playground next to the rec center before heading into the library. The playground is fairly decent, but the huge sandbox is the main attraction for my kids. However, I don't recommend the bathrooms adjacent to the playground.

About the kids' camp. Benjamin had a paleontologist talk to them today about the American lion and showed them the bones of one named Fluffy that they are working on right now. Joshua sorted microfossils on Monday, went inside the fishbowl (where the scientists are working) and made a nature journal yesterday. Today they finished a diorama.

Grandpa and the Fossils

Today I managed to drag Grandpa to see the La Brea tar pits and museum because I thought that he would really enjoy it. After we dropped the kids we wandered around Hancock park looking at the tar deposits and the pit 91 excavation (which fortunately was being checked on by some museum employees, so we were able to go in and see it). Then we went into the museum. We were impressed by the variety of fossils and animals discovered. By midmorning the museum was getting very crowded, probably because it was "Free Tuesday", which I didn't realize in advance. In spite of the crowds (getting there early was a good idea!), we leisurely explored the museum and then hung around Hancock Park until the boys were done with camp. That morning Laura was again unhappy about not being able to go to camp. After she woke up, she said several times to me, "I am as big as Joshua and Benjamin", followed by, "Can I go to camp today?".

Then Grandpa treated us to lunch at the Olive Garden in Glendale. That was fun because the kids behaved and enjoyed the food. Then we had a short time between lunch and getting ready to go to the Free Family Night at the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena. The kids loved the museum, and even though it was crowded, the kids were still able to enjoy many of the exhibits. We started off playing in the creek area with the waterfall at one end. Joshua loved the waterfall, Benjamin loved splashing around in the water and Laura did a great job of getting herself dirty. Joshua also tried out the climbing wall and managed to ring the bell at the top. Then we went indoors to play on the climbing structures and check out the bugs and related bug activities. Creating their own bugs was almost as exciting as watching the live bugs (nothing beats seeing live bugs!). Finally, we waited on line outside to ride tricycles. Joshua and Laura decided to go on a double tricycle. The only problem was that only the front seat had pedals and both Laura and Joshua wanted to sit there. The tricycles were fairly big, so I had doubts about whether or not Laura could even ride them. She refused to try her own bike, instead insisting on driving Joshua around. Joshua was so amused that he didn't mind sitting in the back. Surprisingly, she was able to pedal and maneuver the double bike with Joshua on the back. She had problems with staying on the biking track, so she ended up taking turns with Joshua (but then she didn't want to leave the bikes when her time was up and we were ready to leave).

First Day of Camp

Today was Joshua's and Benjamin's first day of camp. Laura was very disappointed that she was not included. This week's camp is at the Page museum by the La Brea Tar Pits. While the kids were in camp, Laura and I went to the 99cent only store and Ross to find a pair of shorts for myself. Then I swung by the Fairfax library, but parking was not easily available, so we just went back to the Page museum to get Joshua and Benjamin. Joshua said that he did a scavenger hunt. Benjamin said that his camp is only about cats and mentioned that they only saw teeth and bones.

After lunch, the kids hung out with grandpa and played in the yard. Around 3:30pm we went to Singer Park in Pasadena which looked like it had a fairly large play area. The playground was really nice, but the park was surround on two sides by busy streets which made me nervous when we played with Benjamin's new ball. Dave also got a bike for Benjamin to ride. He is looking forward to riding it, after we fix the flat tire, even though it is pink.

Day at the Zoo

Sunday, July 5 we only ventured as far as the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park. I was hoping to see the bird show which can be really fun. We rushed there first thing in the morning (10am) to beat the crowds and the heat. We saw the aviary, the South American and the Asian exhibits, and the zoo play area. Benjamin was excited to see some primates, especially the gibbons. I was disappointed to discover that the 11:30am bird show was canceled. The zoo play area had a few animals to climb on, but was otherwise an ordinary playground (a nice playground, but I don't need to drag my kids around the zoo to hang out at a playground).

The rest of the day included shopping and relaxing around the house. (The "peoples' house" according to Laura, since it isn't our house, and she doesn't know the name of the person we are renting from.) The shopping expedition was Grandpa getting presents for the kids, which they found very exciting because they rarely get such a treat. Benjamin picked out a large ball and a larger size Bakugan toy which we had been promising to get him for his birthday. Joshua got a pokeball which contains a small plush pokemon and Laura got a piggybank.