Friday, August 17, 2012

Amazement Square for the Twins' Birthday

It's becoming an annual tradition that around the twins' birthday we take a little road trip to Amazement Square in Lynchburg.  It's a four story children's museum, and they boys enjoy it so much.  For the second year in a row, my sister-in-law and the boys' cousins met us there.

They always seem to enjoy the first farm room of Amazement Square the most.  Picking veggies and trains.  What more could you ask for?

Well, now that you mention it, a cow that could be milked might be kind of a nice addition...

And some rocking horses to "gallop" all around the room would be kind of fun as well. 

Later, on the other floors, we found things like chariots to race (note Reid's gladiator armour):

And some boating.  I think they were traveling down the Amazon, but I'm not certain.  I was too nervous about anacondas to get in.

My favorite part is always the big waterway.  A flowing river complete with little boats to float down.

It even has dams you can control with levers to make the water go fast or slow.  I think the boys could play with this all day long and never grow bored. 

Then there was the bug room.  Cousin Grady debated crawling into the bug tunnel, but he couldn't ever quite work up the nerve.  He went back to it over and over, but never made it through.

Pierce climbed up into the ant hills.  There are so many tunnels that with 3 boys I kept thinking I'd lost one.  Fortunately, I never did!

Pierce also discovered that bugs can reside under big rocks, if you only take the trouble to push them out of the way.

Before leaving, Pierce wrote his name on the wall.  We're wondering how long it'll stay up there.

Our adventures were followed by lunch at The Depot, and free brownie sundaes for Cort and Reid.  It was so much food that they shared with us all.  Yum! 

The boys are already excited for next year.  What's your favorite museum to go visit?

34 comments:

The Cranky said...

What a grand adventure! I could play with that river all day myself. =)

When my daughter was wee one of our favourite places to visit was the Indianapolis Children's Museum; she loved the carousel and spotting Granny's refrigerator.

Seraphinas Phantasie said...

Wonderful photos from the Birthday-Party to the twins. Happy Birthday !
Have a sunny weekend. Best regards, Synnöve

Anonymous said...

JDaniel and I love this museum. We went with cousins this summer.

Buttons Thoughts said...

Wow what a fantastic birthday Happy Birthday boys. You are such a cool Mom.
I loved taking my girls to any museum first when they were young all the free ones. Now they go by themselves and sometimes take me:) The best thing you can do as a parent is get them hooked on museums, it will last a lifetime.
My favourite has to be the ROM in Toronto. I try to go with my adult girls every time I make it to the city. We always have fun and learn things.
This museum you took the boys to is perfect.B

andy said...

Looks lile a great birthday! ! Have a great weekend!

Liz Mays said...

No wonder you keep going back! That place is awesome. The waterway is super cool and so is milking the cow!

bon bon said...

what a great day! i'll bet naps were in order on the ride home. ;)
we have a fun children's' museum in madison too. they have adult-only nights from time to time. the human hamster wheel is always a big hit!

Jill said...

You have a wonderful tradition going!

Sonya @ Under the Desert Sky said...

That looks like SO MUCH FUN!! I'm glad you all had a great time.

I think Livie really loves Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, partly because she was able to see beluga whales there. It is a lot of fun.

She also likes the Science Center in Des Moines.

TexWisGirl said...

sounds like a great place to explore - in the comfort of a/c. :)

Anonymous said...

Lots of fun, fun, fun! Looks like fun for all, too! =)

Gail Dixon said...

Looks like a perfect celebration for two boys. That little boat reminds me of a Louisiana pirogue (pee-roe). Great shots of your cuties.

tiarastantrums said...

looks like a great time - milking cows and all!

ps - I would just call around to your local dairies and ask them if they would give you and your kiddos a tour - I'm sure they would.

Sandy said...

I love the cow that they can milk! How cool. I think Grady had the right idea...no bugs for me either.

Sally said...

Such an awesome place for the boys! We don't have anything like that here. There's a childrens museum close to downtown, but I don't think there are actually things the kids can do.

Have a great weekend, Lisa! :)

renae said...

I love these types of outings / places for kids these days. The pretend is near to real and they still get the experiences in a nutshell, as it were.

Yes, my Duchess is a good doggie!

I'm anxious to see your library post soon.

Please have a relaxing weekend!

Marie said...

What a great tradition for all the boys! It reminds me of our Orlando Science Center. My son spent many happy hours there. :) My son also had a Brio train set and a train table just like the one there. I gave the table go to a friend, but I kept the train set for possible future grandkids.:) Adorable pictures!

Mary said...

That's a great place for kids. Those are memory builders for learning and family fun.

Tina Fariss Barbour said...

You were in my neck of the woods! I go to Lynchburg on a regular basis. I've never been to Amazement Square. It has always sounded like an awesome place. I've eaten at The Depot--good stuff!

When I lived in Ohio, I loved going to the Toledo Museum of Art.

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

It looks like they had a blast! I doubt they would ever get bored with water:)

Ellie said...

Wow, that sounds like an amazing place to take children. The boys sure look like they enjoyede themselves.
Thanks for your comments on my jam making - it is tasty but will have to try again to perfect it (hopefully) :))

Anonymous said...

Lisa,

What a great tradition for a birthday. They look like they are having a lot of fun.

Yael from Home Garden Diggers
(and grandmother to 7 yo twin grandsons - never a dull moment)

Michaele said...

OMG - that is like the funnest place ever! How perfect for a special day.

Tweedles -- that's me said...

Oh I just know I would have had a good time too!
love
tweedles

Eat To Live said...

What a fun place for the boys!! Love that cow. I have never milked a cow, I have seen it done though.

Chatty Crone said...

You have had a lot of celebrations and trips there girl. Happy birthday to the boys. sandie

Grandma Bonnie said...

Looks like you all had a greaqt time. When the kids were younger we took them to the Science Center Museum on the Red Sea. Have a great weekend.

Connie Arnold said...

So much great fun for them! Happy birthday to the twins! Thanks for sharing the photos. I'm looking forward to being with our little ones at Disney World in a couple of months, sharing joyful moments, memories and photos. We truly need to savor these precious moments!

CailinMarie said...

awe! Happy Birthday! Sounds like a fabulous day. My husband was working out in Oklahoma City one summer and I joined him for 2 months with a 4 year old and a 2 year old. Not far from where we were staying was a rocking kids museum - I went once a week!

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Fantastic place for a visit with the kidddos- I wish I lived closer to museums like this.

An Apel a Day said...

We love the Children's Museum in Lincoln more than our own. It's an hour away.

Barbara said...

It looks like so much fun. My oldest get a real kick out of children museums. They are so much fun.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Those museums always look so interesting. So many fun things for the boys to do. Looks like they had fun.

jp@A Green Ridge said...

I'd be all into that brownie...for sure!...:)JP