Spring Break Day 3

On Day 3 we woke up to this:

37 degrees and the ground was covered in snow. 

So, fishing was out for the morning. We decided to head back in to Des Moines for museums. But...most of the museums are closed on Mondays. So we headed to one that was open. The Botanical Gardens. 

Touching the leaves. 

Weaving a reed into the display. 

Getting dripped on. (He is so hard to get good pictures of!)

Case in point. 

We hit the gift shop, where everyone found something. Three bird finger puppets, a gardening book, and a coffee plant. 

After the excursion and lunch at a local brewpub, we headed back to the cabin and Tom went fishing. It was cold but he caught 11 fish before taking Nate and Nile out to catch two more. Tom has pictures on his camera. 

At 2:15 am I woke up Nate and Nile and we headed outdoors to see the lunar eclipse. This was the first (and only) clear night we had here and the stars were amazing. The moon was pretty fantastic too. :)

Solar System

Today I asked Nate if he would draw a picture for my grandma (Grandma Deen) for her birthday, which is in a week. He decided to draw the solar system. With a little encouragement from me, and not much else, he drew the entire solar system, complete with planetary accessories like the Moon, Saturn's rings, Jupiter's red spot, and dwarf planets near Pluto. He asked me to label everything so she would know exactly what he drew. :)

This is the best drawing he's ever done, and now I don't really want to send it off - I want to keep it for myself. But I took lots of pictures, so I'll remember what it looked like, and I know Grandma will really enjoy it.

Find the Moon

Combine an obsession with space and astronomy (Nate), a serious competitive streak between two brothers, a 2 year old who wants to do EVERYTHING his brother does, and add in what must occasionally seem to a toddler like the longest 20 minute drive ever, and you get...

Find The Moon!

About once a month, the boys and I have the opportunity to play this awesome game as we drive to work in the morning.

Only on those mornings when the moon is full (or nearly full), it hangs in the western sky, just as we are on the road. Even better, our route in the morning takes us from northbound to westbound, to southbound. We even go eastbound on the mornings we are going to my parents' house. So, as we wind and turn our way to our destination, the moon makes an appearance out first one boy's window, then the other, then out the front windshield. It seems silly, and it really is, but the boys get a big kick out of finding it:

"I see the moon!"

"It's out my window!"

"Now it's out my window!"

"It's in front of us!"

"Where is the moon, Mommy?"

"I can't see the moon..."