A Weekend In Columbus
We took a little jaunt to Columbus with the kids. We've been wanting to go for some time, but put it off until this past weekend. We had a nice trip, too. We got a hotel with a pool (always fun for the kids!) and spent two days at COSI. We left early Saturday morning and arrived at COSI just before lunch. We went ahead and fed everyone, feeling that we'd get more out of it if we did that. The Grossology exhibit was to be closing the next day, so we opted to do that first. It was really neat, but being a Saturday, was also really crowded. Really, really crowded. Unfortunately, the kids didn't get a whole lot out of it due to the large volume of kids just wanting to make something do something. There wasn't a lot of time to explain things to them and have them understand why things were doing what they were doing. But, they did have fun, no doubt. We stayed at COSI until 4pm and then decided to head to the hotel to check in and get some dinner.
Sunday found us attending meeting in Columbus. That was nice-we'd never been there before. We have just a few members meeting down there and it was real nice. Afterward, we went back to my cousins' house for lunch. They put so much thought into our visit, even making sure they had things to occupy the kids (coloring books, Lincoln Logs, etc). That evening, we met up with Chris' Navy buddy, Marty, and his wife. Being Mother's Day (we had forgotten about that) we found it a wee bit difficult to find a restaurant last minute, but ended up at a Japanese place. The kids LOVE watching the food being cooked-they aren't so keen on eating said food. After dinner, we took the kids to the pool. They just love going. We spent quite some time there. Even Baby K went in and had a good time. Around 9 though, I decided to get him out and get him ready for bed. He dropped off the sleep in the stroller and the girls went back for some more swimming. I had had enough, so I sat and kept an eye on the girls. They played for a bit and then began a game of getting out and sliding back into the pool. I wasn't keen on it, but let it go. The next thing I see if Graci, on her hands and knees "walking" alongside the pool. And just as I see that, I see her left hand slip. And she fell onto the pool concrete, smacking her face and nearly losing her balance and tumbling into the pool. She came up crying and I was so afraid she'd knocked her front teeth lose again. A little blood was mopped up and I could see that she had a small cut on her lip. It didn't look bad, except she was really, really crying. So, I looked a little closer and realized that her tooth had gone through the lip. That ended our swimming. I got everyone ready for bed and Chris drove Boo to the ER where she received one stitch, sans novacaine. My poor Graci.
Monday morning we checked out of the hotel and headed back to COSI. We got there just after they opened. It was wonderful. Monday was nothing like Saturday. We got right in and purchased tickets to the Titanic Artifacts exhibit. We did that first thing and were one of just a handful of people in there. It was great. We were told to anticipate 1.5 hours to tour it. We spent about 3hrs there. The kids were great and we had such a wonderful time. As we entered, we were issued a "boarding pass" with the information of a passenger of the Titanic. At the end of the exhibit, we could check a wall of names to find out...had we lived or died? The exhibit began with the building of the Titanic. It was just amazing all the time and money put into that ship. There were replicas of first class accommodations, crew quarters as well as the Grand Staircase. We had the opportunity to chat with "passengers" along the way to learn some neat and interesting facts about the Titanic. The kids were so excited about their boarding passes that they clamored to show the poor unsuspecting lady in first class. She was very funny, too, telling Byron that she was not too familiar with the 3rd class passengers, but wished him a pleasant journey and saying she did know Graci's person and that she could be assured that she would live, although the chickens traveling with her did not. Just before the wall of passengers, was the sinking of the Titanic and I tell you what, it brought tears to my eyes. You see the stories of those people and the tragedy of it all and it's just heartbreaking. In the end, Ruth, Graci, Byron and I all had living passengers. When David found out that his passenger had died, he started to sob. He wanted to live so bad! Poor kid. But, Chris and Baby K didn't make it either. That helped a little. Had we all lived and he died, I think it might have been worse.
Getting ready to enter
Exploring the giant nose
And who doesn't love a good crawl through a giant rectum?
The burping man was a hit as well
But, it's shooting balls into the nose (simulating dust and allergens) that is what the kids remember to tell anyone
But, who could forget simulating the vibrations of a good toot?
Yeah, I had to practically drag Byron away from that one...
Watching a video of an eye surgery
The giant game of operation
Checking the heart beats
A slice of a giant redwood
The Japanese restaurant-Byron LOVED this
Can you tell?
Sunday found us attending meeting in Columbus. That was nice-we'd never been there before. We have just a few members meeting down there and it was real nice. Afterward, we went back to my cousins' house for lunch. They put so much thought into our visit, even making sure they had things to occupy the kids (coloring books, Lincoln Logs, etc). That evening, we met up with Chris' Navy buddy, Marty, and his wife. Being Mother's Day (we had forgotten about that) we found it a wee bit difficult to find a restaurant last minute, but ended up at a Japanese place. The kids LOVE watching the food being cooked-they aren't so keen on eating said food. After dinner, we took the kids to the pool. They just love going. We spent quite some time there. Even Baby K went in and had a good time. Around 9 though, I decided to get him out and get him ready for bed. He dropped off the sleep in the stroller and the girls went back for some more swimming. I had had enough, so I sat and kept an eye on the girls. They played for a bit and then began a game of getting out and sliding back into the pool. I wasn't keen on it, but let it go. The next thing I see if Graci, on her hands and knees "walking" alongside the pool. And just as I see that, I see her left hand slip. And she fell onto the pool concrete, smacking her face and nearly losing her balance and tumbling into the pool. She came up crying and I was so afraid she'd knocked her front teeth lose again. A little blood was mopped up and I could see that she had a small cut on her lip. It didn't look bad, except she was really, really crying. So, I looked a little closer and realized that her tooth had gone through the lip. That ended our swimming. I got everyone ready for bed and Chris drove Boo to the ER where she received one stitch, sans novacaine. My poor Graci.
Monday morning we checked out of the hotel and headed back to COSI. We got there just after they opened. It was wonderful. Monday was nothing like Saturday. We got right in and purchased tickets to the Titanic Artifacts exhibit. We did that first thing and were one of just a handful of people in there. It was great. We were told to anticipate 1.5 hours to tour it. We spent about 3hrs there. The kids were great and we had such a wonderful time. As we entered, we were issued a "boarding pass" with the information of a passenger of the Titanic. At the end of the exhibit, we could check a wall of names to find out...had we lived or died? The exhibit began with the building of the Titanic. It was just amazing all the time and money put into that ship. There were replicas of first class accommodations, crew quarters as well as the Grand Staircase. We had the opportunity to chat with "passengers" along the way to learn some neat and interesting facts about the Titanic. The kids were so excited about their boarding passes that they clamored to show the poor unsuspecting lady in first class. She was very funny, too, telling Byron that she was not too familiar with the 3rd class passengers, but wished him a pleasant journey and saying she did know Graci's person and that she could be assured that she would live, although the chickens traveling with her did not. Just before the wall of passengers, was the sinking of the Titanic and I tell you what, it brought tears to my eyes. You see the stories of those people and the tragedy of it all and it's just heartbreaking. In the end, Ruth, Graci, Byron and I all had living passengers. When David found out that his passenger had died, he started to sob. He wanted to live so bad! Poor kid. But, Chris and Baby K didn't make it either. That helped a little. Had we all lived and he died, I think it might have been worse.
I wanted to keep David confined while I got everyone else situated. This seemed like the easiest way...
Getting ready to enter
Exploring the giant nose
And who doesn't love a good crawl through a giant rectum?
The burping man was a hit as well
But, it's shooting balls into the nose (simulating dust and allergens) that is what the kids remember to tell anyone
But, who could forget simulating the vibrations of a good toot?
Yeah, I had to practically drag Byron away from that one...
Watching a video of an eye surgery
The giant game of operation
Checking the heart beats
A slice of a giant redwood
The Japanese restaurant-Byron LOVED this
Can you tell?
Boo's stitch.
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