Nature inspired weekend

I was able to get out of work early on Friday so I decided to get the kids even though Friday is Tommy's night to pick them up. I stopped at the house, got Kira and headed to Lyla and Steven's schools. Then we went over to Tommy's office to start the weekend of outdoor fun. 

Tommy's office shares its land with the Missouri Department of Conservation's Anita Gorman Discovery Center. The Kauffman Foundation has a nice outdoor space of its own with a pond and waterfalls that the kids were loving! I was afraid at a few moments that we were going to have soaking wet kids, but in the end they behaved. 

After dodging goose poo around the pond we visited the wooden canoe and stopped to watch the frogs. 

A big highlight for me was catching a glimpse of this robin keeping her eggs safe in her nest. It is so nice to have this little nature oasis in the midst of the city. It really doesn't feel like we are a mile away from our house when we visit the Discovery Center.

Continuing the weekend's nature theme, I took the kids to Lakeside Nature Center on Saturday for Mother Nature Reads. Tommy spent the morning at the Zoo being a docent because admission was free for residents of Jackson County. He said it was nuts (attendance when he left around 1pm was over 14,000) so I am glad that I decided to take the kids somewhere a little more low key. 

After listening to a few stories about Owls, the kids did a sticker art project and played puppet show. I don't quite think that our kids completely understand that puppeteers should remain behind the curtain during the show!

We even got to be silly with horns at the touch table.

And to top the weekend off we spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning working in the yard. We found worms, rolly pollies, snails, slugs, and a mulitude of other creatures of nature that our children do not fear. 

And the last photos of our weekend top them all. I wish I could say April Fool's but really, it was 90 degrees! The kids were so excited for the warm weather that we put out the plastic pool and let them play in the frigid water. They absolutely loved it!

I thought about running and turning the water on while she was holding the hose like this but that would have been mean.

I've confirmed that we have a daredevil on our hands. Lyla took off at a run from the neighbors yard, jumped in the pool, splashed into the side of the pool and laughed her head off. Steven was a bit more timid - he took off at a run but stopped before entering the pool and carefully stepped in and then proceeded to let his sister splash all kinds of water on him. 

What a great weekend!