Something Fishy

Mom was determined not to sit at home and waste a perfectly good weekend. School starts in two weeks so it was a last chance to get away for some fun. So our parents surprised us with an overnight trip to Cincinnati. We stayed in a hotel and made a shopping trip to Ikea.

We had to enjoy our hotel room with a little pillow fighting.

The best part of the trip was a surprise trip to the Newport Aquarium which is just over the bridge from Cincinnati in Kentucky.

They have 1 million gallons of water and lots of fish to see. You walk through tunnels where fish swim all around you which is pretty cool. Mr. Stingray was swimming right over our heads.


We all loved the jellyfish room. They were cool!


Sarah was getting a little fed up with crawly things sneaking up behind her and tickling while she was busy looking in tanks.


Japanese Spider Crabs were huge. Sure glad I don't see those when swimming around or I would be out of the water fast!


Cool puffer fish.

We saw and touched some cool horseshoe crabs. This guy started crawling up the tank and flipped himself over right in front of us so we got a good look at his belly.


Some fish were bigger than us!


There were some really beautiful coral tanks and cool fish!

Amazing.

Look a starfish - just like Patrick.

At the end of the tanks you get to see the sharks! They swim all around you as you walk through a tunnel which is very cool.

Some scary sharks with big teeth! Perfect timing on our visit since we have been watching shark week shows with Dad.

At the end of our tour we saw penguins and we even got to touch sharks! Never thought I would pet a shark. Luckily I still have all my fingers.

Robotics 101

For my birthday, Uncle Trevor bought me a robotics kit. This weekend I finally got to get to do it. You see, I have robotics camp coming up, and I figured it would be good to get a little prep work in ahead of time. The kit was a robotic lady bug, and like any bug, it likes to head towards the light.

The first thing you have to do is make sure you have the right resistor. There was color codes on each resistor that told you what it was. I checked the values to be sure..



Then you have to figure out where it goes on the circuit board....



Once you find the spot, you put it in, which can be tricky, and bend the wires a little bit to hold it in place.



Dad then got to solder each piece in place for me..



I got to clip the excess wire off the back of each one once he had finished soldering it. Note my excellent gripping technique for the cutters. ;)



There were a bunch of other electrical thingies that also got soldered on once I found the right spot for each, and put it onto the board. Dad tried to explain what each one did, but I'm not sure I understood everything quite right.



After a bit of work we were able to finish putting it all together...



Come into the light.... Come into the light....

Virginia Beach

Let's hit the beach! We got a last minute hotel deal right on Virginia Beach for a few days. This was our first view of the Atlantic Ocean! We were on the top floor (18th) of the hotel with great views.

Claire loved watching the waves.

Sarah loved playing in the sand. Get sandy, rinse off and repeat.

Dad loved catching sand crabs.

Water was a great temperature and we loved playing in the waves.

We saw dolphins playing just off shore, saw pelicans flying overhead and even jellyfish.

Dad - staking out the sand crabs.

Aren't we adorable!

There is a long boardwalk at the beach and we took a walk down there to visit all the gift shops. After visiting we were very happy that our hotel was at the North End of the beach were we had lots of space on the beach and far away from the carnies and tourist traps.

The claw has chosen.

Future lifeguards perhaps?

We love the beach. We don't love the jellyfish that invaded and cut short our last chance at swimming.

The sunrise on our last morning.

We had a great road trip. We were all super happy to get out of the house for a few days, stay in hotels and relax. We would love to spend some more time in DC and visit more museums on a future road trip.

The Canadians Tackle Washington DC

Road Trip! We decided the day before we left to pack up and take a road trip. This time we headed for Washington DC to see the sights.

Mom got a great deal on a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia. It was fancy and I think Mom was just hoping we didn't break anything. There were great restaurants and shopping right outside our hotel and you could walk down to the water.

Down at the water watching the boats and feeding the ducks (and some strange massive fish).

Restaurants were good. Dad had some yummy seafood pasta and Claire tackled the shrimp. Although she still likes Mom's shrimp better.

After our first subway ride - which was so cool. We went on a long, long walk. We saw all the major DC landmarks: the White House, Washington Monument, War Memorials, Capitol Bldg. and parks.

Yeah - I could live in the White House someday.

After a long walk, some stairs. Claire was ready to give up on walking, but she knew her cousin really wanted a picture of the Lincoln statue so we kept on walking.

Made it!! Claire even posed with some random Asian tourist for a picture, LOL.

After seeing the monuments it was time for the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Of course the giant elephant in the rotunda was my favorite part.

Oceans!

They had some super amazing fossils. The Ice Age exhibit and Mammals were cool as were the dinosaurs.

Animals we have never even heard of!

Who knew!

We touched fossils and dinosaur bones! Touching things - our favorite pastime!
We also made it through the bugs, mammals, jewels and butterflies.

By the time we had lunch we were exhausted. After DC we decided to head to the beach. Sure hope I don't see this guy in the water.

We had a great time in DC! As long as there are baby ducks to feed everyone is happy.

Dinosaurs, Chemistry & Mighty Machines - OH MY!

Last week Claire had a Chemistry day camp at the science museum. She learned all about liquids, solids, gasses. They made ice cream and slime. Good times. Meanwhile, mom and I hung out and played for hours.

Giant lego blocks. Great for making towers.

After getting soaked at the water table, despite wearing a raincoat I spent much of my time playing doctor. Those babies required a lot of care.

Before Claire headed into her camp we did visit the mighty machine special exhibit. You could sit in the trucks and they actually had them turned on so you could scoop dirt. It was super cool.

They also opened a new special exhibit - dinosaurs! Claire has been counting the days to visit this one and we both loved it. You can look at dinosaur models, dig for fossils and go through a dinosaur maze.

Help - a T-Rex is eating Sarah!

We love our dinosaurs. At home dinosaurs and Barbies are often combined for an interesting play adventure.

A great day at COSI. My favorite part was when Mom let me pick a bag of shiny rocks to take home. Can't wait until Claire goes back for her robotics and mystery camps later this summer.

Zoo Kids

I'm a big kid now! This June I am enrolled in Zoo Kids. It is a half-day program on Tuesday mornings. It is the first time I am enrolled in something all by myself with no big sister around.

I was a little nervous, but once I found an elephant puzzle I was good to go. Each week we learn something new about animals and their senses. Week 1 was eyes and week 2 was noses.

One of our classroom pets - a tarantula.

We always go on a walkabout to visit an animal and a zookeeper brings an animal to our classroom for a visit. First was a hissing cockroach and second was an possum.

Our classroom bunny - princess sparkles.
Can't wait to see what I learn next week!