Since Doug left us for Moldova, I decided to take the kids to Oregon to have our own little vacation. With our zoo and science center passes we were able to get in the Oregon Zoo half off and the OMSI for free. We also went to Chuck E. Cheese's and the kids swam a lot in the pool. It was great time!
We drove down on Monday morning. We spent the afternoon at the zoo. Although, my camera was charging all night long, it was out of battery so I didn't get any pictures. We really liked the zoo though. There were several animals that we don't have in either of our zoos, like chimpanzees, cheetahs, rhinos, and more. Some of the animals were really active too, which is always fun. One of the orangutans was rolling around in a sheet. Then he went outside, where it was raining, with the sheet around him. We think the sheet wasn't blocking the rain well enough for him so he put a green mat on his head to block it. Then walked around with the mat on his head looking for food. There was a young elephant, maybe 4 or 5 years old, that was running and playing in the water. So cute. And the polar bear was playing with a ball in the water. He was jumping on it, trying to grab it. Coleman was pretty nervous about him and didn't want to stay and watch when he got close to the glass we were standing by.
The kids watched lots of cartoons.
The OMSI:
Kenzie balanced for 3 minutes.
Burning calories.
Sorting garbage.
They had blocks that you could use to build this arch, but they were hard to use. With some help from other people we almost did it, but it wouldn't stand on its own. I think if we would have spelled the words on each side instead of putting the letters in random order it may have worked.
There was a 3D printer that we watched for a little bit.
Jordan was able to build an arch!
There was a play area with imaginary aliens bloops. The kids were supposed to build homes for the bloops and there was clothes for them and musical instruments. Kenzie loved playing here and built this cute house.
There was a chemistry lab where we could do actual experiments.
Coleman played with the water for a long time.
Kenzie took several pictures of herself:
Kenzie
Jordan
Coleman
Checking his weight on the moon.
On a spaceship.
Kenzie wanted to take some silly pictures again.
I love her goofy, fun personality!
Jackson
Jordan
Coleman
Coleman and Kenzie
Kenzie made this message for me. She was sad because she wanted to play with the bloops again, but it was time to go. Throughout most of the day she kept wanting to just go back to the hotel, to swim I think. But when it was finally time to go she wanted to keep playing.
We went to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner and games.
Mackenzie and Coleman wouldn't dance the first time Chuck E. came out.
Jordan was the only one who used his tickets to get a prize. The others are all saving for a bigger prize.
We went back to the hotel to swim. They swam the night before too. And the next morning before we had to check out. The water wasn't warm enough for me to want to swim. They lasted 30 minutes to an hour before they were too cold to swim anymore. Jackson was always the last one out. Although in the morning Coleman did swim as long as Jackson.
Kenzie and Colie played with Coleman's new balls he got for Easter.
The big boys played with Jordan's new football.
Jordan would throw the ball to Jackson and Jackson would jump in to catch it.
Coleman kept asking "Please can't we stay her another night?" or "Can't you give them more money?" He really didn't want to go home. It was a fun first vacation for just the kids and me!
