One Day Of Play - Part 8

I am acting as a ghost blogger this week. I am not actually here right now! I am away at a lovely cottage on Keuka Lake. But, magically, posts are going to appear this week. All from just a few hours at our local hot spot, The Strong National Museum of Play. What an awesome awesome time it was!! It has been years since we were there and the place has just exploded with new interactive exhibits. We had a blast!

YOU MADE IT!! Here we are at our last day of Ghost Blogging and I should be back to regular blogging tomorrow. Have you enjoyed our museum time so far? There was one more nook we explored called The Field Of Play. It was full of all sorts of interactive fun...










And, I haven't even shown you half of all the photos I took while we played! You can see the full collection of images here in my Flickr set called The National Museum Of Play. If you have kids, or are just young at heart, I think you should come visit me here in Rochester and we shall go for an adventure to the museum. I know my kids would love to go back!!

And one last thing I had to share. I could help but admire the quotes all through out the building...

One Day Of Play - Part 7

I am acting as a ghost blogger this week. I am not actually here right now! I am away at a lovely cottage on Keuka Lake. But, magically, posts are going to appear this week. All from just a few hours at our local hot spot, The Strong National Museum of Play. What an awesome awesome time it was!! It has been years since we were there and the place has just exploded with new interactive exhibits. We had a blast!

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to...










SEASAME STREET!! Having been on television for more than 40 years now, I bet this is one childhood memory we all have in common. This is the part of the museum we remember visiting when the kids were toddlers and what fun it was to play here now that they are bigger. I think counting to 20 with The Count was Lauren's favorite part. And Andrew loved whacking the air out of those sounds tubes.

One last stop...

One Day Of Play - Part 6

I am acting as a ghost blogger this week. I am not actually here right now! I am away at a lovely cottage on Keuka Lake. But, magically, posts are going to appear this week. All from just a few hours at our local hot spot, The Strong National Museum of Play. What an awesome awesome time it was!! It has been years since we were there and the place has just exploded with new interactive exhibits. We had a blast!

We blew through this section on American Comic Book Heros faster than a speeding bullet, but still had time to scale a few skyscrapers with a single bound.






I think you all will know the place we went next...

One Day Of Play - Part 5

I am acting as a ghost blogger this week. I am not actually here right now! I am away at a lovely cottage on Keuka Lake. But, magically, posts are going to appear this week. All from just a few hours at our local hot spot, The Strong National Museum of Play. What an awesome awesome time it was!! It has been years since we were there and the place has just exploded with new interactive exhibits. We had a blast!

You might be thinking, "WOW, this place just goes on and on"! And you would be right. We don't think we discovered half of what their was to see! You see why I thought it was way to much for one post now, don't ya?








Where else can you find magic mirrors, upside down house, the cover of every Bernstein Bear's book every written, and play wizarding shadow games? I can't think of another place, can you?

Are you still with me through all these posts? I have a few more things to show you...

One Day Of Play - Part 4

I am acting as a ghost blogger this week. I am not actually here right now! I am away at a lovely cottage on Keuka Lake. But, magically, posts are going to appear this week. All from just a few hours at our local hot spot, The Strong National Museum of Play. What an awesome awesome time it was!! It has been years since we were there and the place has just exploded with new interactive exhibits. We had a blast!






An incredible wild architectual structure, let me tell ya. And it leads to a cool view of the city, and this place...

One Day Of Play - Part 3

I am acting as a ghost blogger this week. I am not actually here right now! I am away at a lovely cottage on Keuka Lake. But, magically, posts are going to appear this week. All from just a few hours at our local hot spot, The Strong National Museum of Play. What an awesome awesome time it was!! It has been years since we were there and the place has just exploded with new interactive exhibits. We had a blast!

Although Lauren and I had fun with Andrew in the video game area, we had just as much fun (if not a little more) in the Barbie area in the History of Toys display! Oh yeah, I am pretty sure they had every Barbie ever made, and every version of her Dream House ever sold. Plus accessories. Even a large interactive kid size dream house you could play in!!






I don't think it is very nice to put so much glass between a girl and a Barbie Dream House of that size! Just not right.

Down the hall, around a corner, we found...

One Day Of Play - Part 2

I am acting as a ghost blogger this week. I am not actually here right now! I am away at a lovely cottage on Keuka Lake. But, magically, posts are going to appear this week. All from just a few hours at our local hot spot, The Strong National Museum of Play. What an awesome awesome time it was!! It has been years since we were there and the place has just exploded with new interactive exhibits. We had a blast!

The main reason we decided to check out museum again after so long was a new permanent History of Gaming exhibit. So very cool to pop tokens into vintage arcade machines and beep beep beep, BLAST, the other guys away.









So, um, yeah, I totally had the high score on Astroid! And I kicked Lauren's little butt at the race car game. She thinks it is because I am bigger and can reach the pedals better. I think it is because I am awesome and I rock.

Would you believe, we were are just getting started...

One Day Of Play - Part 1

I am acting as a ghost blogger this week. I am not actually here right now! I am away at a lovely cottage on Keuka Lake. But, magically, posts are going to appear this week. All from just a few hours at our local hot spot, The Strong National Museum of Play. What an awesome awesome time it was!! It has been years since we were there and the place has just exploded with new interactive exhibits. We had a blast!

But first, we had lunch... inside a 50's diner... inside the museum!







Ever had a Grilled Cheeseburger Melt? Yeah, that is when the make your grilled cheese sandwich with a burger inside. Add a bit of hot sauce, some lettuce and tomato and you are full for the afternoon!!

After lunch, we went in...

Can A Countdown Be Random?

Why, yes. On Monday they can...




I know, I know, some friends won't want to hear this (SORRY CINDY!) but, it is just 16 days until the kids start school. I mentioned early on in the season that Andrew (my middle child, age 12, for newbie readers) would be in the summer session of his new school for 6 weeks. (This is a special program at the school to continue working on things like social connections through out the year. Great for a special needs kid that needs continuity!) Friday was the last day of that and it really is a Catch 22. The program was really great for him, but combined with Jacob's (my oldest child, age 13, for newbie readers) football schedule, we never really had more than 2 hours here or there broken up through the day to do anything. Which has been incredibly boring for Lauren (my youngest, age 8, for newbie readers). So we really haven't done as much as we have in past summers. And I thought it was going to work out that I could make it to the studio at least a few times a week, but oh was I wrong about that! Only time I have gotten to really spend there are stolen hours in wee morning times on the weekend. (Like yesterday at 6am, yyyaaawwwwnnn.)

But I digress...
With this Monday coming up fast, part of me felt a sudden panic at oh-my-stars-how-am-I-going-to-keep-these-kids-entertained-for-the-next-few-weeks, the other part of me knew that with a little support from friends and family we could get through and we would finally be able to DO stuff. We do something called CFTs (Child Family Team Meetings) with Andrew's Care Coordinator. Here are the things our team brainstormed to do over the next 16 days... in no particular order... because it is Random Monday.

• The Strong National Museum of Play (video game exhibit) check
• Swim at Ontario Beach Park
• Play Frisbee Golf at Ellison Park and Picnic check
• Bowling
• Take a trip to a BIG zoo... The Buffalo Zoo
• Go camping, or to Aunt Mary's cottage check
• Cornmaze or Wickham Farms
• Planetarium or Science Center
• Check out the new Abraham Lincoln Park check
• Mini golf
• Find Corbitt's Glen check
• Corning Museum of Glass
• Meet new school teachers check
• Stoneybrook Park

Quite the list, isn't it? As soon as Andrew got home from school on Friday, we checked out the new Abraham Lincoln Park here just a mile or two from our house. It has trails down to the Irondequoit Bay. Lots of fun, sadly, I didn't pull my camera out. (Them trails were hills and I was in flip flops, camera safety must be maintained at all times. I couldn't risk it! ) I just learned this morning that we'll be taking an inpromptu trip to my Aunt's cottage for a few days this week too. And with rain in the forecast we are checkign out The Strong Museum today.
I wonder how many other things we'll be able to cram into the next two weeks? Stay tuned.
And, until school starts again, I'll keep using photos like these to daydream about studio time.