Roar!

We went to the Arizona Museum of Natural History, formally known as the Mesa Southwest Museum. I have many fond memories of visiting there as a child, so it was a treat to be able to take my brood. God was so faithful, because I had been having a really hard week (4 weeks of very little sleep had finally caught up with me) and there wasn't a way to back out since I had organized the field trip and we needed a minimum of 10 people for the homeschool discount and we were barely there. I had hoped that my mom could go with me to help with the boys, but she needed to work. My other attempts to find some help didn't work out either. So I was just a bit nervous to attempt a museum with a curious 3.5 yo, a wild child 20 month old and a frequently nursing 4 weekold. Thankfully, God's grace was there and all three boys behaved beautifully and we had a delightful trip.

Xander wasn't too scared of the dinosaurs. We prepped him beforehand reminding him that all of the dinosaurs were dead and what we would be seeing were just bones or replica's (aka really BIG toys!). He loves dinosaurs, but based on our previous experience with the large animals and animal noises at the Smithsonian, we decided to prep him just in case. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

They also have an area where you can pan for gold. As an adult, it was readily apparent that the "gold specks" were fake, but I remember being so convinced as a child that it was real that I even planned out what I would "buy" with the money I made from selling my gold pieces... ok, I'm gullible! Xander was really too young to even understand the concept of panning for gold, but he sure had fun playing in the water.

Keegan also enjoyed the break from the stroller!