Thanksgiving tradition

We now have a fun family tradition for our Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, sadly it is one we will not be able to keep doing once we move away from the area.

Every year for at least the last three years, maybe even four including this year, we have gone to The Children's Museum during our Thanksgiving break (or shortly after our break). The kids love this tradition because every year during this Holiday weekend They set up their "Yuletide Slide" and have a special "winter wonderland" play area for the kids and they have these exhibits up all through December and into the beginning of January.

The Yuletide Slide is SO fun for kids and adults. It's a slide that goes from the second story to the first floor of the Museum, it's two slides next to each other (that way you can race down) set up on top of a large flight of stairs. Last year was J boys first time being able to go down by himself (you have to be a certain height) so this year of course he and E girl raced down the slide while I went down after them with Lou lou on my lap for her first time down the Yuletide Slide.

Racing down the slide. J boy "won"

Lou lou, not so impressed. But she was not scared either so that is a good thing.

The kids also enjoy the Winter Wonderland area. It's filled with fun things to do like....

"ice skating" in socks"snow ball fights" with soft fake snow balls. J boy LOVED doing this, he was so into it.

"ice fishing" and an ice play castle

Santa (but the kids never end up seeing him because they'd rather play than stand in line :)There was also a baby play area this year for Lou lou to play in, eerrr sit in, rather.

This year we also took the kids to "The Poles" exhibit which had all kinds of fun educational things about the North and South Poles. The kids favorite part was the penguin area where they dressed up as penguins and slid down a slide on their bellies like penguins do, too fun!

HA! I could not get a picture of them both smiling, even though at one point they both were. I think E was pouting because I would not let her go play, before I got a picture of my two penguins.

I think E was a penguin in her former life, she has perfect penguin form.

I love that we have been able to do this every year, the kids really look forward to it and have a blast, so much so that they don't want to leave. I will be so sad to have to leave this amazing museum behind when we move.

FYI: it's the largest Children's Museum in the world, really, look it up! It is five stories tall (and a basement) filled with tons of educational and FUN exhibits for Children of ALL ages! It's Dinosaur exhibit has THREE stories of amazing Dinosaur things to do/learn about including a dome area which stretches all three stories high with some real (and fake) Dinosaur fossils, you can even see Palaeontologists at work making replicas of the real fossils AND they will even let you touch a dinosaur fossil, they are so kid friendly here........ ((sigh)) we will miss it!