Samuel wanted to go to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science for his birthday (we went during our visit last year, and he remembered it and wanted to go again), so that's what we did. Courtney flew in that morning, so Samuel, Cadie, and I picked her up at the airport and we went straight to the museum. Since we didn't have any babies with us, we were able to move through the exhibits and spend a lot of time doing what each child wanted to do. It's a wonderful museum and we had fun in the Children's Museum, and the Sports, Dynamic Earth (weather), Life Now and Then (dinosaurs), Birds, and Universe exhibits. Of the four floors of the museum, we only visited 2.5 of them, but after 3 hours Courtney and I were tired and hungry, so we made the kids leave and we had lunch together.
That evening, we went to the Walshes' for dinner and had a little birthday celebration for Samuel. The big party was the next evening, because we wanted to make sure that Nathan would be at the party and his flight didn't arrive until after dinner. I think Samuel had a great birthday, and he especially enjoyed spending the day with his cousins.
Outside the Perot Museum
We went to the Sports Science exhibit, which had neat things like racing different athletes or animals, learning about angles as you hit tennis balls off a racquet, and a slow-motion video camera so you can evaluate your technic. For his slow-motion video, Samuel kicked a soccer ball.
The kids paid attention while Courtney told them about organs, bones, and how our bodies work.
We didn't get to explore the dinosaur exhibit last time, so it was new for us. Samuel really enjoyed looking at the skeletons and talking about what it might have been like when dinosaurs were alive.
The earthquake simulation got everyone laughing.
Nina made moon pies for dessert. I think this was Samuel's second of three birthday cakes. The kid knows how to party!
Nina and Papa got lots of fun water toys for Samuel, in anticipation of his official birthday party the next day.
