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Monday, June 14, 2010

Mississippi Museum of Natural History


Costas took us to the Mississippi Museum of Natural History to see the Megalodon exhibit.


The exhibit included several "giant" skeletons, including "dinosaur fish."


Giant sloth.


Sam and the dinosaurs.


Mastadon.


Giant bison.


Megalodon exhibit.



The exhibit was very interactive. This display enabled you to see where each giant shark tooth was found. When you pressed the button it turned on a light on the map.


Sam got a big kick out of the "shark with hair."


Ben loves aquariums. The turtles were a big hit.


We could have stayed there for hours. The boys were so excited and fascinated by everything. I guess we are going to have to start making the museum circuit in Dallas now that Ben is old enough to enjoy them.


Plenty of glass between Sam and the alligators made them very cool to watch.


They almost look cute.


Sam said the double-headed rat snake was his favorite.


One of the guides told us that each head takes turns feeding. I wonder how they came to that agreement.


Teeny, tiny, baby turtle display.


Cool old odd-looking turtle.


This soft-shelled turtle buried himself in the gravel so that only his head was sticking out.


Of course all turtles have to go up for air eventually. There actually were lots of fish, sharks, etc. in the aquariums, but we all seemed to gravitate to the turtles.


The swamp exhibit with more alligators. Sam was still feeling brave.



Cypress tree.

When we got back from the museum, Costas' neighbor, who works for the water company, had blocked the drain and filled up the cul-de-sac with water from the fire hydrant. The neighbors' boys and lots of other kids were playing in the water. Sam joined in and was in heaven. You just don't get many opportunities to play in water from a fire hydrant in Allen. Later that evening Sam got invited over to play on their playset. He really did not want to leave his new best friends. It's amazing how quickly he can make friends. I wish we would have taken a few pictures, but we were just having fun in the moment.

Tupelo Baldcypress Swap


We are in Mississippi for a family vacation!! Our first stop was Jackson to see Uncle Costas and Aunt Paola. We left early (for us) Saturday morning. We were hoping the boys would sleep for the first few hours, but no such luck. They did great though. Ben snoozed on and off while Sam watched movies. We even rigged up the iPad with Baby Einstein videos to keep Ben entertained.


The next day we went to a swamp not to far from Uncle Costas and Aunt Paola's house. It was just down the road off the Natchez Trace.


There were a few other visitors who had braved the hot, humid day to see this hidden treasure.


We had to convince Sam to come with us. He was certain that there crocodile's in the swamp.




The photographer becomes the photographed.





Ben was mesmerized. He loves being outside.


Uh Oh! Shhhh ... don't tell Sam.








Wednesday, June 09, 2010

School Candids



They did candid photos at Sam's preschool a few weeks ago. These are a few of my favorites of him and Hagen.



Computer lab.



Science class.



Color matching.



Did you know they let monkeys learn Science?

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Field Day



The Montessori School had a Field Day on the last day of school. It was mighty hot, but the kids were very excited. They made their own hats with finger prints and the teachers helped stamp and decorate them. I love this photo of Sam and Hagen.



Ben's hat was a bit big, but he didn't mind. He was having fun with everything going on around him. It was nice that he was able to sit up on his own even if he wasn't willing to keep his food on his plate.



Daddy and Ben at the picnic.



Mommy and Sam in the shade.



We picked a spot next to Stephanie and Hagen.



The boys were happy to have popsicles to cool them off.



Even Ben got to try a popsicle. I think he would have eaten a whole one if I would have let him.



There were lots of games for the kids to play too, but the parents preferred the shade.

Monday, June 07, 2010

Sam's 4th Birthday - The Final Chapter



After going to the movies to see How to Train Your Dragon, we wrapped up Sam's 4th birthday celebrations with a quiet evening at home.



More presents from family so Sam was very excited.



His big present from us this year was a bike.



He really wanted a Spiderman bike, but we wanted to get him a 16" aluminum frame that would last through two boys. We went with the Specialized Hotrock. Luckily it's in Spiderman colors and has spider decals on it, so we were both happy.



Finishing up the Spiderman cupcakes with white chocolate spider web.



Did I mention Sam loves the Happy Birthday song? He was very proud of his #4 candle too.



Daddy with the birthday boy.



Mimi and her big four-year-old!



It's late by now and Ben has been in bed for a while, but what birthday boy can go to bed without playing with his new toys?



Posing with Mommy in his new Spiderman Underoos.

We also went for his 4 year well visit a few days later. Here are the stats ...

Weight: 35.8 lbs (48%)
Height: 39.75 in (35%)
5 shots: Prevnar Booster, DTaP, IPV, MMR, Varicella

He tried to be brave, but five is a lot of shots!