Children's Museum

Today we rode the commuter rail downtown. That's an adventure all by itself, for Jackson and Olivia. They love riding the train.

Our destination provided even more excitement. This was our first time visiting the Austin Children's Museum!

We walked in to a whirlwind of activity. Dozens of kids buzzed around, running from station to station. We parked Olivia's stroller and got ourselves oriented. The first room we visited was full of golf balls and various ramps to roll them down.

The golf ball room alone was enough to entertain my kids for a good 45 minutes. Then they requested a snack, so we made our way to the designated dining area and they chomped on some granola bars and blueberries.

Then it was back to the action, for several hours. They donned hard hats and safety vests to enter the multi-level "construction site."

Plastic nuts and bolts arrived through an air chute. Olivia had the genius idea of using her hard hat to collect them.

This complicated piece of machinery was used to scoop up rubber balls and deposit them in a pit.

After observing big brother in action, Olivia had it figured out.

Next, we moved on to the hall of mirrors. Multiple Jacksons!

Olivia found some butterfly wings to try on.

Jackson went fishing for magnetic fish. And Olivia fish.

Their favorite station by far was the kitchen. Are these my kids or what?

Olivia making her "quesa-tillas."

Serving it up.

And, this shows how well my kids know me. "Mommy, here is your lunch," Jackson said, proudly serving me a plate of pizza and jalapeno peppers.

Chairs of various sizes help the kids learn about scale.

Olivia thought the tiny chair was hilarious.

They loved making faces in this red bubble thing.

At the chalkboard, Olivia collected all the O's. It's the only letter she knows right now. "O for me!" she exclaims.

I thought the vet's office was a cute touch. Olivia took good care of Mr. Squirrel and gave him his shots.

We had such an awesome time, we bought a membership. And Jackson's looking over my shoulder as I write this post, reminding me that we need to go again soon.

For dinner, I made a quick yet fabulous Chana Masala. Can't recommend this recipe enough! The spice level is mild, so I sliced some banana peppers onto me and Tony's servings.

How was your day?