the Alamo

Shortly after arriving in Texas and settling in to our temporary rental apartment, we had the opportunity to take the kids to see the Alamo in San Antonio.  The Mr. had an appraisal to do in the area for work and it seemed like the perfect time to get away for a few days before school started in the fall.



Luckily, our kids are great travelers (they really always have been).  They were totally up for a little road trip.  We don't need to bring much to keep them busy during long drives.  We play the Alphabet Game and I Spy and charge up the laptop, propping it on top of the cooler and pillows so the kiddos can watch a movie to break up the monotony.  And Tatum always wants to sing Down By The Bay at least 10 rounds through.  Have you ever met a moose that gawked like a goose?.......Down by the bay!



(I think someone forgot to tell the kids to smile.  It was bright, hot and they were so ready to get into an air-conditioned building.)




Our family likes to sightsee.  Daytrips to visit historic sites are always on our to do list.  More than going to amusement parks, I'd say.  We're kinda mellow that way.  Except Disneyland.  I'm sure we'd like that quite a bit.  We've been talking about it a lot lately and have decided to start saving our pennies (literally) to go one day.  Anyway..... back to the Alamo.  The heat of the day reminded us of summers in the Arizona desert and we were all too happy to get inside the actual building to cool off.  It was crowded but we were able to find a quiet spot  in a corner and talk to the kids about the battle that occurred there so long ago - a bravely fought fight to protect freedom in Texas - and that it happened right where they were standing.  We looked at artifacts on display and admired the beautiful wood doors.  We learned that the Alamo is considered hallowed ground so taking pictures inside the structure are not allowed.



We explored the grounds for about half an hour afterward.  The kids loved the koi pond and I was taken with the desert plants.  It was shaded and peaceful and I wanted to stay longer but the kids were getting anxious so we decided to head back to the car and make the four hour drive home.  We purchased snow cones from a street vendor and opted to walk down the River Walk on the way back to the car lot.  It was lined with shops and restaurants and the smell of food came from every direction.  What a treasure to have in a desert city.



We always love going on little work trips with the Mr.  Hopefully, he will have another one soon!

Metro Richmond Zoo

At the end of a short Spring Break week, we piled into the van and headed to the Metro Richmond Zoo.  It had been recommended to us by a few friends as a great place take the kids.  We put it on our list of places to go before we move to Texas.  The Mr. took the day off and we headed in the direction of the zoo after running some errands that morning.  We treated the kids to lunch at Panda Express on the way.  We're kind of in love with their orange chicken and it had been ages since our last Panda fix.  It was so worth the stop.  My mouth is starting to water just thinking about it....

The zoo itself is small enough that we made it through the whole thing in four hours.   I like small zoos.  By the time we arrive, the kids are pumped to be there.  By the time hour four rolls around, they are all done and ready to go home.  Our time there included a couple trips to the bathroom (there are only two) and really taking our time to enjoy each animal exhibit.  We paid a couple extra bucks for two cups of  animal feed.  There are several animals around the zoo to feed so we started with the giraffes (while Tatum and I took a bathroom break) and fed a little to the goats and camels toward the end of the day.  A little girl in front of us did a pretty spectacular face plant on the pavement just after we had entered the park.  Her cup of animal feed went flying everywhere.  Poor thing.  I had Hailey give the little girl her cup of animal feed while her mom was checking her knees for scrapes.  The cups were large and had plenty of feed for all four of our kids to give the animals, so we really just needed one anyway.  Hand sanitation stations speckle the park - just enough to keep the kid's hands clean.  I'm pretty sure they were sick of me telling them not to touch their faces until we found another sanitizer station.  I'm kind of a germ cop with my kids when we're in public.



We spent a good deal of time in the bird exhibit.  For a dollar, you can buy a popsicle stick with sticky bird feed on one end.  If you are patient enough, eventually a bird will cautiously land on your stick and peck at the feed.  We had to stay in the exhibit until each of the kids had a bird land on their stick.  One mama bird was super protective of one of the birdhouses.  I'm guessing her eggs inside were not yet hatched and she was just doing what any mama would do - protecting her young.



The penguin exhibit was my favorite.  I crouched down as one of them was waddling by.  It stopped and we had a little staring contest.  It's like it knew that I wanted to reach through the fencing and touch it.  But soaking in our little 20 second encounter would have to suffice.  And then a worker opened a door and a little herd of penguins waddled out to the pool's edge.  My heart skipped a beat.  Seriously.  I love penguins.  Like a lot.  You know how Kristen Bell loves sloths?  That's pretty much me with penguins.



It was fun to mark off another fun outing off our list of things to do in Virginia.  It's a cute zoo with a good variety of animals.  It was a huge plus that we could feed the animals too, allowing us more interaction with them than other zoos we've been to.

Science Museum of Virginia

After rummaging through old photos on my computer late last week, I realized I never shared a little day trip we took last fall to the Science Museum of Virginia.  The kids had a day off of school and so we made plans for the Mr. to take the day off work too and we took the kids to explore a new fun spot in Richmond.



I fell in love with the museum as soon as we drove up.  The building was once a train station and there are hints of that vintage era everywhere.  I imagine it was quite the busy station, with well dressed travelers passing through its halls to go to New York or other such places.  I appreciate that the history of the building is incorporated into the design of the Museum.



The Museum was a perfect place to spend the day.  The exhibits were interesting enough to keep our seven year old occupied (he is now 7) and fun enough to keep the Mr. & I interested too.  Most of the exhibits are hands-on, which is great for my kids who want to touch everything when we go to places like this.  We enjoyed a few demonstrations too.  I just love it when grown ups are excited and borderline nerdy about science because it rubs off on my kids.


A Museum employee clued us in to the fun exhibits on the bottom floor.  We made sure to save a good chunk of time to explore it before we left.  You get a little square card when you enter that has a barcode on the back.  You can scan your card at each exhibit in the room and it keeps the results of each activity on your card.  Cards can be kept and used any time you visit the Museum.  How cool is that?!  We did yoga, made a music video, tried to balance on a rope and watched a cooking demonstration.  The bottom floor far exceeded my expectations.



If you're looking for something fun to do for the family, the Museum is a great place to explore the world of science.  I wouldn't mind going back with just the Mr., but I'm sure our kids would be jealous.