Monday, April 11, 2011

The MOST fun

What a fun weekend we had! On Saturday, James and Aidan participated in a Cub Scout fishing derby at Van Buren park and I went along to spectate and knit. It was a gorgeous day - temps around 60, sunny, light breeze.

While many of the Scouts were loud, boisterous and lost interest in fishing quickly, Aidan was a very patient fisherman:


He did not catch any fish, but he had fun and was able to practice casting, and he was casting much farther out by the end of the afternoon.

Yesterday was Aidan's belated birthday celebration. We gave him several choices of celebratory events, and he chose to take two friends to the MOST, Syracuse's Museum of Science and Technology. We picked up Ryan and Becket around 11, then drove to Five Guys for lunch where we all chowed down on hamburgers and french fries.

Then it was on to the MOST. The boys immediately got busy exploring the exhibits but the star of the afternoon was the Science Playhouse, which is described on the web site as "a giant climbing maze that illustrates scientific principles with a number of exciting activities within." Let's be real, people: it's a giant gerbil maze for children. Aidan told me today that he counted eleven levels in the playhouse; it is a McDonalds playland on steroids. James and I had no idea where any of the boys were in the playhouse at any given time.

Speaking of James, here he is sporting a giant brain:


We ended our visit with a presentation in the planetarium, which gave us all time to relax and cool down before driving home. I think all three boys had a great time:



Sunday, April 3, 2011

On display


Aidan brought home a note from his art teacher last week, stating that his artwork was on display at Beaver Lake for the month of April. The exhibit is sponsored by the New York State Art Teachers Association, Central Region, and the theme of the exhibit is nature, either realistic or abstract. Aidan's teacher was allowed to submit only five pieces of student artwork from his school. Yay, Aidan!

We drove out to Beaver Lake yesterday to view his artwork. Aidan was very proud that he created his artwork on his own at home and took it to his teacher, whereas the other students from his school created their artwork as part of class projects.

Nature is creating some lovely artwork of her own; it is good to see signs of spring emerging. While strolling around Beaver Lake, we saw these lovely little flowers poking through the leaves: