The Wheels on the Bus...

We went to Salem's Gilbert Discovery Village and Portland's OMSI on the same day Saturday to give Tony time at home to work on his sermon, as he filled in for our pastor today. I'm not sure how I thought it was going to work, but we had a terrific time. That was even despite Jewel-Anne not feeling well and crying at many new junctures. When she looked at the water room, she started sobbing, "Oh, no! I can't get wet!!!" She is a bit of a drama queen, and as I said, not feeling well, so we administered Tylenol and took it all in stride.
We were able to meet our Ferrier cousins at Gilbert House for a rousing game of hide-and-seek in the play area, and then on to OMSI, where we became really glad we had purchased our membership down south. (It was cheaper to do it that way, too.)There were about 75 people jamming the entrance hall, waiting in a line that didn't seem to be moving. We were able to walk right into the exhibit hall, which is two floors of special displays about Leonardo DaVinci, including actual working tools made according to DaVinci's designs and prepared for the exhibit in Italy with authentic period materials. The children worked the ball bearings, mechanical wings, and archimedes screw for themselves, and learned quite a bit about the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper.
My favorite at OMSI is the younger children's area, as it is so well designed and fun. There is a sand area, a water/bubbles area, and a place to play with balls and pipes and air pressure, among many other activities. I never tire of watching the light-bulb moment in learning, and places like OMSI give so many opportunities for our kids to grow their brains. I love it! It never gets old.
Aside from the 45 minute wait for AAA on the way home when we ran out of gas just north of Salem's Market Street exit, it was an exciting and adventurous day for Mama and the crew. That particular part got a bit unnerving when Keturah had had enough of all the stimulus and wailed for a while. We sang songs to pass the time, just like we used to do on the bus to day camp when I was a kid. Come to think of it,I guess I've got my own bus full of day campers.
We paid dearly for our long fun day when the time change saw us dragging the entire family out of the house in time for first service at what used to be 7AM. Ouch! But the sermon was great and a dear Sunday School Mommy brought us breakfast, so we got through it with much grace.