Day at the Museum of Play

I took the kids to the Strong National Museum of Play over the weekend. We had a great time. I wanted new pics of them but the died before we finished. I uploaded what I had to Picassa and I thought I'd try the "Blog" button to show off the collage I made.
We went later than I'd planned so we had lunch as soon as we got there. When that was finished the arguments began. "Mommy can we go upstairs and dance?", "Mommy, I wanna go in this room!". Then there was the baby who didn't care where we went because he was more focused on running wildly.
We went to most exhibits on the first floor as well as the Butterfly Garden. The last time we went to the Butterfly Garden, it was nice because we were the only ones there. This time it was too crowded to enjoy. Everyone was stuck on standing still and I didn't feel like staring at leaves for 20 minutes. We maneuvered around well enough, the girls followed the butterflies and actually held some. The butterflies really seemed to like Jonathan, he was frequently on the run after being "attacked" by the butterflies. :)
We spent some time in the Berenstain Bears exhibit before we headed to the Reading Adventureland. Jonathan loves climbing Jacks "Beanstalk" so I had the opportunity to sit for a few moments. I was fortunate enough to meet a nice young woman who, upon first meeting, thought I was about 12 years old. A few minutes later, I was informed of her husband not being the best father and some weight issues! She had a neat accent.
We moved on to other exhibits, which made it difficult to keep up with all three children. Someone always seems to get lost every visit. We have a plan, one kid stays put, the other girl and I walk in opposite directions as long as she is in my eyesight. We usually find the missing child (the boy) climbing through something nearby.We went into the History Place where there is a parlor, attic and kitchen that dates back around the turn of the century. Jonathan LOVES the train and will watch it as if it were the first time he saw it, every time. He also likes to cook in the kitchen and had a tea party with a younger boy who could not talk yet. Neither understood the concept of sharing, it made for a funny scene. The girls spent most of their time in the kitchen cooking and ironing.
We finished at the arts and crafts tables where I made them leave their artwork behind at a quarter to 5 because we have MORE than enough of it at home.