Science Museum

Sunday afternoon we took the kids over to the Science Museum in St. Paul. They had a ton of fun! Both kids were interested in different things, so we often were split up - one kid with one parent. But they explored a ton of different things, and I would say we barely all that the museum has to offer! What makes that okay is that we got a year family pass so that we can go back as often as we want this year!

On an interesting note, if you hear an alarm go off & look over at your guilty looking child, you can assume it was because he touched the Dinosaur bones. Don't ask how we know this......

But it was a ton of fun & so glad that we did this today!

Both kids thought this giant hand was cool.

Myles was sitting on this world puzzle and watching a globe hanging from the ceiling that was showing a video on the globe. Hard to explain, but it was so cool!

Holly was very interested in checking out the fossils in the rock.

Here she is weaving yarn into a blanket. She did this for a while & was very proud of herself.

Myles was very interested in these shells. He also learned that he can collect things out in nature (rocks, shells, animal stuff, etc.) and bring it to the museum to trade in for points that earn you cool other nature things. He is excited to do some nature hikes this summer to collect things to trade!

Holly really liked the computers & phones at the museum. So if there was a computer screen in her reach, she was there! Here she is looking at some information on the screen about the Dinosaurs. She liked it!

Erik and I had a chance to go out on Saturday night - the kids were sleeping over at my parent's house. So we got dressed up & went out to a local restaurant (Pittsburgh Blue). Very fun & good food! You can have a really fancy meal, or classic bar food. We went classic and got some really good bacon & cheddar burgers. Yum! So we stayed there for a few hours and then headed home.

Here we are! My picture is a self portrait with the iPhone so it is a little fuzzy.

This is the yummy drink that I had 2 of - it was such a pretty blue color that I had to take a picture!

Cub Scouts - Pinewood Derby race

On Saturday morning, Team Johnson went to the Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby race. It was pretty cool! Myles & Erik had worked all week long on creating a cool looking (and Patriotic!) race car, and it was finally time to test it out. We had already explained to Myles that since this was our first time, it was unlikely that he would have a fast car or a winning car. That prediction came true. The car raced in 4 different races, and came in 4th place each time. I guess I should mention that only 4 cars raced at a time, so basically when I say that he came in 4th it really means that he came in last. Myles had fun, but he was really really sad when it came time for the awards. He looked so deflated and told me that he wished he got a trophy. We tried to show him the positive side of things. His car finished all races and kept all 4 wheels on - not all the cars even achieved that. He eventually snapped out of it, but I certainly hope next year we make a faster car.

This is a video of his car racing - it is the red, white, & blue car.

Sledding with the family

On Sunday afternoon, we went sledding with our neighbors at the local sledding hill. It was a ton of fun!! The kids had a blast, and I got a work out going up and down the hill. Often I had to tow Holly back up the hill in the sled. She was not so fond of walking back up the hill. But it was a ton of fun! Myles brought along his snowboard to give that a whirl again. It was a nice & safe way to get him interested in it again. He's a little leery of it since he broke his arm last winter during his one and only snowboarding lesson. But he seemed to have a blast on Sunday!

Erik & Myles pause the snowboarding lesson for a picture - aren't they sooo cute?!

While it looks like Holly isn't very happy, she really was! I think she was just to cold to smile properly for the camera.

Here is Holly going down the hill all by herself. She wipes out at the end but if you listen carefully, you can hear her say "That was Awesome!". Funny!

And this video is of Myles giving snowboarding another chance. He is trying to learn how to turn while going down the hill.

Fire House tour

Tonight Myles had his Den meeting. They went to the local Fire House for a tour. It sounds like they all had a blast (perhaps a little wild... but get a group of 6 or 7 year old boys together and let them loose in a fire house, and what else can they be but wild?!!). Erik took a few cute picture so I just had to share them!

These are the kids in the Den.

Hmmm... I wonder if this is a glimpse into his future career??

Guess he needs to grow a little before the uniform fits!

Why....

Why......
is it that 3 year olds feel the need to test limits at bedtime??? Sigh. Currently, all of Team Johnson is experiencing some levels of frustration because my usually sweet little Holly turns into a tantruming crazy toddler right after we put her in bed. It's the weirdest thing! Last night she ended up loosing all 10 of her toy horses... one at at time... over a 30 minute period of time. Painful! There was lots of tears, but she needs to know that screaming at the top of her lungs to say "Gimme back my toys NOW!" (followed by high pitched screeching) is not acceptable to Mommy & Daddy. Lets all cross our fingers that this current phase is short lived!

Guess I just have to remember that I'll look back on these days fondly and remember only the good.... right?