The Lee Family: Dinosaurs!

Yesterday I took the girls to the Heard Museum and Nature Center to see the Dinosaurs Live exhibit. I'd taken Sofia to it a few years ago and remember how much fun it was. It was an absolutely spectacular day in the mid-80s and sunny, so I figured visiting the museum and nature center would be fun. That morning, the girls played on the trampoline and also inside once they were "too hot" while I worked to get the backyard ready for a beautiful Spring that literally feels just around the corner, but I know we'll have at least one more freeze. It felt good to pull out dead shrubs, cut down the old growth on plants that will soon be beautiful and get the pots ready for new plants. We had lunch at Trio, our very favorite place to eat and then headed to the Heard Museum. On Thursday night we'd stopped in at REI and Sofia used her allowance to buy a kit that included binoculars, a compass, a flashlight and whistle. She desperately wanted her compass and binoculars so we swung by the house and picked them up. Luckily, Olivia has a pair of binoculars one of her friends gave her at her birthday, so both girls were happy.

The drive was about 40 minutes and once we arrived we nearly couldn't find a spot to park! When Sofia and I visited before, in October 2013, it was a grey and chilly day and we literally had the entire place to ourselves. This time, the museum was packed and we had to stand in line just to pay. Once inside, we headed straight for the dinosaur trail. It was actually almost hot outside, but a lot of the path was under tree cover so our walk was very comfortable. Sofia used her binoculars to figure out what dinosaur was next on our path and then would start telling us everything she knew about them. The girl absolutely knows her dinosaurs. Meanwhile, Olivia would run up ahead and wait for us at each dinosaur. The dinosaurs are set up at intervals along the nature trail, and they each move their heads, eyes and make noises. It was really well done, although I could swear when Sofia and I went before there were nearly double the amount of dinosaurs. Not only did Sofia enjoy telling Olivia and I all about each dinosaur, but she also wanted to spread her knowledge to anyone who was around. She loves pretending that she's a paleontologist and is busy exploring for live dinosaurs. Olivia was also really into it but not as into it as Sofia. Sofia loved using her compass and binoculars and Olivia used it a time or two and then handed me her binoculars for me to carry (of course).

By the time we'd seen the dinosaurs and walked the nature trail, it was maybe 45 minutes and both girls' cheeks were red with the heat! The final dinosaur was a T. Rex and the girls loved to pretend that the dinosaur was chasing them. After taking a cute photo of them, we headed into the little village where the girls ran around between small, wooden buildings and explored. By the time we reached the village there were a lot of kids there who were all interested in playing and exploring. Of course, the girls stuck around well after most of them left, so by the end we had the whole place to ourselves.

Around 4pm, both girls were hot and sweaty and ready for water. We headed back inside the museum and bought popcorn for each of the girls and a bottle of water for them to split. We got into our car and headed home. It was a fun excursion and the dinosaurs were really great. The girls had a ball and it was fun to be outside on such a gorgeous day.

Sofia checking out the dinosaurs at the Heard Museum in October 2013