A Quick Trip to See the Dinosaurs

We tried to do a few fun kid activities while Heidi was visiting.

Time kept getting away with us, but we did manage a trip to AZ's Museum of Natural History.

Nathan often gets overshadowed by his older sister and youngest auntie, but this place was boy paradise. He loved looking at the bones and animals, seeing soldiers and swords, and "turning, turning, turning" puzzle pieces until they fit.

Jonah was so happy to see the museum from his mama's back.

These two ran from exhibit to exhibit, exclaiming how beautiful the iron pyrite was or shrinking from scary mammoths.

It was New Year's Eve and very few people were in the museum, which was nice because we didn't have to keep a tight leash on the kids. They could wander and explore and learn without ever getting lost in a crowd.

The museum has excellent dinosaur bones and southwest AZ exhibits, but it is a manageable size for little people like ours.

They were having so much fun that Heidi and I were hesitant to make them leave, but by the time we left, most of them were exhausted to the point of tears. Ellie threw herself on the ground a few times, angry that she hadn't had her turn "by the fire." Nathan wouldn't let Gran help him buckle in his carseat, and Jonah picked up on the whole "It's time to cry" vibe and started in on it, too. I remember those days vividly, and I was so impressed with how Heidi handled it all--an exasperated breath and a quick roll of her eyes as she started up the car. Home was less than ten minutes away, but we were afraid kids would fall asleep in the car on the way and everyone knows that that would be really BAD.

Without warning, Heidi quietly asked, "Who wants McDonald's?" and a miracle happened. All the crying stopped and everyone tried to decide between chicken nuggets or a han-geber. $20 at McD's bought us peace on the ride home, a no-effort lunch with little cleanup, and then a few hours of quiet as all four of them took naps.

Everyone was much nicer when they woke up. They all piled in my bed to watch "Wild Kratts" and talk about the dinosaurs from our excursion. (Seen Nathan's black eye? Lily ran into him at the cabin and he landed on his face. Poor guy.)

I am so happy these guys will grow up sharing memories of McD's plastic toys and museum trips. Just wish they lived a little closer so we could do it more often.