August Outings

We tried to squeeze in a lot of fun and discovery in August before school started! We went to the Joslyn Museum, where they have a fun kids’ garden outside and an interactive art area in the basement. The kids were animators, readers, portrait artists, pottery painters, pattern makers, and origami artists!

Joslyn Discovery Garden:

Joslyn Kids’ Art Area:

One night we got some ice cream at Ted and Wally’s, where they even had chicken and waffle ice cream (it was too chicken-y for me). Then we walked around Old Market a bit and ran into this guy (Chef Boyardee):

We also walked around the Heartland of America park and saw their huge fountain!

One Saturday morning we went to the movies and saw “Inside Out.” That movie seriously spoke to me, maybe a little too much, due to our recent move. And the seats were awesome! Totally reclining, giant, cushy chairs!

We also took the kids to the Children’s Museum, where they had a traveling LEGO exhibit:

The kids built lots of stuff at the LEGO exhibit, including a tower they could fit in!

My parents came and visited again in August, and they took us to Papio Bay as the kids requested. The only problem was, it was pretty cold and windy that day! So, we had the somewhat-heated pool to ourselves and had a lot of fun, even in the cold (although my dad never got in above his ankles). There were two slides that the kids were brave enough to go on again and again:

Ryan went off the high dive and learned that it’s a bit higher than he remembers:

The kids liked the toddler slide, and I liked that I didn’t have to go down it with them:

Zane didn’t like the cold water very much. He was ok when Grandma Martin put him in at first, but then he went to his tummy and got a face of cold water and pretty much hated it after that. He wouldn’t let Grandma try to put him in again:

In August we also went to the Henry Doorly zoo in Omaha a LOT. We got an annual pass, which is good, because even though I’ve been there 4 times now, we still haven’t seen it all!

Animal seats at the entrance:

The Discovery Tree, where the kids saw some bugs, snakes, and other creatures:

They also met this guy there (Cora was too scared to go up to him):

Inside the Lied Jungle- this place was super cool! It was really kind of like a jungle in this building, filled with animals that sometimes looked free and sometimes were free (the bats):

Penguins! They looked like they were having fun, and so were our little penguins (plus a friend ):

We also got to feed the budgies, though the kids were a little nervous about it (ok, and me too):

Zane slept while the kids and Ryan went through the butterfly enclosure. I got to go through a different time, and it’s pretty cool. There are a lot of different kinds, and they get really close to you. You aren’t supposed to touch them and they make a big deal about it, so the kids kept screaming every time a butterfly got close, which was a lot.

On a different visit, we went through the Desert Dome and Night Creature part and saw some (fake) cave drawings and (fake) stalactites and stalagmites:

On a different trip to the zoo, it was Member Appreciation Day, so the kids got to do a couple inflatable activities, plus some crafty things at different booths. We also saw the garden, the giraffes, and the rhinos, which was a very long walk!

At the end we waited in line and come clowns made the kids a balloon sword and balloon wand. They loved those things for the next week!

We had a fun August!