Art Fun!

Last Friday both kids were so very bored with their typical routine (which is actually part of the routine as well!). After some searching online we found a class at the Joslyn Art Museum on Friday mornings. It was great for the kids. They went on a guided tour of one of the exhibits, the teacher was very aware of when the kids had hit their limit on attention spans, which was nice! After the tour all the kids were taken downstairs where they had an art adventure. SO MUCH FUN! They molded with clay, dug for treasure in a large bucket of sand, and played around with textured items in the clay. I also got a good tip from the teacher - when going out to eat, take the individual molding packets. Crayola makes them, they come in little white individual packs, we tried it the other night and it worked great! First meal we enjoyed in a long time. After the class we walked around the sculpture garden and took some cute photos! I recommend this to anyone with preschool age children (however, they were very accommodating to my little one and let her do everything that big brother got to do).

An Oldie, but a Goodie

This past weekend we were in charge of our 3 nephews on Sunday afternoon. They are 2, 6 and 7 years old...plus Sheridan created a pretty wide range of kids to entertain. I asked around and was told the Children's Museum would appeal to all four of these ages and Jon and I had been wanting to go so we loaded up the mini van (not ours) and headed downtown. Liam (the 2 year old) squealed with joy when we pulled around the corner and he saw the huge Elmo billboard right next to the oversized, colorful windmills. I knew he and Sheridan would have a good time but was a little worried about the older boys. I worried for no reason. All the kids had a great time, the two older boys especially loved the do your own face painting as they were able to become "Batman" with a little (LOT) black paint....I'm sure mom wasn't thrilled with us when we dropped them off. But, I would definately return. I had recently heard some mixed reviews about the museum - some had said it was often filled with daycares and field trips where children were unattended and reckless. That was definately not the case on Sunday. I do wish they had a morning dedicated to kids 3 and under - there were a lot of big kids taking over small kid areas and running around like crazy!! Guess that's what the museum is for though. I have also heard the Lincoln Children's Museum is pretty impressive - we're saving that for a cold day this fall. Below are a few pics from our adventure. Here is the Children's Museum website if you want to learn more: http://www.ocm.org/

Too Windy...

For balloons on Friday night, but it was a gorgeous night and we had a great time just sitting outside listening to live music. Once it finally got dark they did somewhat of a "light" show with the flames on the balloon baskets but no actual balloons. The event was very crowded and really spread out, but I would definately go again next year (pending weather).

And More Balloons!

If your like me and heading out of town this weekend, don't worry. There is another Balloon lighting event at Ditmar Orchards in Council Bluffs on Sept 11 - 13. I have never been so this year will be a first, but from what I hear it is smaller and not as crowded! Which is always nice.

Wish me luck, we are off to our first camping trip with the kids. Yikes!

Balloons + Wine = A Win, Win for All!

This weekend is the Nebraska Wine and Balloon Festival! Friday and Saturday night from 5 - 11 pm you can head out west for wine (or beer if you prefer), activities for the kids and live music. At 7 pm the balloons will launch and if your kids have a late bedtime you can stick around until 9 for a balloon lighting ceremony.

Our neighborhood must be in the path of hot air balloon rides because we often have many heading towards our house. Sheridan is absolutely mesmerized by them so I think this will definately be something we will check out. Cost is low...even free to kids 5 and under! Here is the website for additional information:
http://www.showofficeonline.com/NebraskaWineBalloonFestival.html