Grand New Adventure!

 

The kids are patiently waiting . . .

            
I knew that the Ocean Institute in Dana Point is only open to the public on weekends but that they hosted field trips through the week.  Their website is not particularly informative, so I had gotten the impression that it might be better geared for kids at least a few years older than ours.  Then Logan and I went to a meal-packing event at our church and a woman spent at least thirty minutes telling us how great this place was, so with Henry and Janet in tow, we decided to check out something new!

This looks promising!

               
First up: an underwater robot that the kids get to steer.  Yep, that’ll do the trick; they’re hooked!

       
Tanks of rays and sharks and lots and lots of hands-on exhibits make this a great place for inquisitive, energetic minds.

                 
A touch tank, of course.

Characteristically, this might have been the biggest hit with the kids out of everything there.  You know, give them a toy, they play with the box; give them an ocean, they play with the kiddie pool.

                        
This touch table was spectacular.  They had bones, feathers, shells, pelts, an alligator’s head, the blade/snout of a saw shark, baleen, egg casings and a bunch of other things I can’t remember.

                  
Craft station?  Yep, check that box.


And, of course, lots more fish and ocean animal viewing.

                         
I call that a win!  

               
We didn’t even get to get on the tall ship.  Oh well!  It’ll give us something new to do next time.

Grand House Visit

Well, I’ve been more behind than this on the blog, but I think the last time it really got this bad was right after Naomi was born.  Good excuse then, not so much now.  Next round!
 Yep, we’ve been here before too, although not as many times as Legoland.  Thought Henry and Janet would enjoy it.

                   
I ran off with the kids and the camera so that the other adults could look through the house at a more leisurely place.  It might have been a mistake leaving alone with the camera; it was a gorgeous day in an extremely photogenic location.

                
Of course, the kids did their best to simultaneously distract me from the camera and give me even more photo-fodder.  They started by putting on a nice little show, including eisa dance(!), at the amphitheater.  
  We weren’t the only ones who thought it was lovely that day.  There were a couple of artists setting up easels in the central courtyard, capturing various aspects of nature and architecture with their paints.

 
After some time stretching their legs and dancing in the sunshine, the kids were more prepared to move indoors again. 

                            
A school group came through and Naomi paused, for only a moment, to listen to a portion of their lecture.  Doesn’t she look devout?

Drink it in.  Breathe deep and stare at that water.  Oh yes.

                       
Patriotic versions of the above.

               
Or if ocean view aren’t really doing it for you today, try this.  I’m feeling good now.  You?

                 
Yep, we’re all feeling good.  Henry and Jake were there too, I promise; they were just on a different schedule than the kids and I, and Janet preferred to keep pace with the kids.

We all met up at the end for lunch on the pier.

The Grand Visitors

Well, at least my kids are consistent in how they greet people.

               
A chat and a craft?  Sure, sounds great!

    
And then Logan grabbed the camera and this craziness ensued.

Do we have time for one more story?  Absolutely.

                      
After that, we’ll head out for a little adventure.  Lego-style of course.

 
Everyone enjoys taking in the sights.

Grandma’s game for some action.

       
Naomi just hit 36” (at least with shoes on), one of the height restriction benchmarks which allows her (and us) to go on several new rides.  This one was probably the best; the kids pull out the map of the park that we have at home and still talk about “the one where we got sprayed”.

Somehow Naomi was the only one who really got soaked though.

         
More pirate-style fun with one of those twisting boat rides.

 
Favorite things: Grandma and the musical fountain.

                 
It was a warm day, so water-play of any kind was a big hit.

         
There was a safari and then it was time to go.