Happy 4th of July!

For the Fourth of July we decided to head back downtown Dallas and go to the Museum of Nature and Science and the Reunion  Tower before heading back to our hotel where they had their own fireworks over  the  water.

By this point in the vacation I had been demoted to  the  second row of bucket seats and Gabriel was moved to the front.  One of the kids has a hard  time getting along well with the others.  I blame pre-teen hormones.  

When we got to the museum of Nature and Science the  first thing we did was head to the  kids 5 and younger section.  Madelyn really enjoyed it.

Isabelle wasn't as thrilled but they had a model of the Freedom Tower.  Except this one was a bit smaller than the real deal.

The boys built a tower out of bricks and  had a competition to see how high it could get.

Madelyn then decided it  was time  to knock it  down.

They also had different insects common to the area... Michael found this spider to be interesting.

Meanwhile, our man-child (that's what the ladies at  our gym childcare place call Gabriel) found the baby slides exciting! 

After checking  out the kids section we went to the floor that  had the  dinosaur bones.  It was really neat and I think one of the  first museums I have been in with actual dinosaur bones.

Of course mom had to force everyone to take a picture.  People kept asking us if we were from Chicago.  I can't figure out why?    Turns out it was all the red, white and blue we have in our closets.

The dinosaur bones were really interesting to see, even Madelyn was interested in climbing on the rail to get a closer look.

Just us and a  bunch of bones.  Pretty incredible.

There were bones everywhere even when we looked up. 

And then we headed to another floor in the museum.  

This was from the top floor, the 5th level, of the museum.  

On another floor you could compete against professional athletes.  

Gabriel raced against several NFL players. 

And Michael did also!

One of my favorite parts in the museum was seeing the actual human brain and spinal cord on display.  It was SO AMAZING!

How amazing to think that is what controls our thoughts, actions, movements.  AMAZING.

In this mirror it actually shows you what you look like to others.  Since mirrors reflect our image in the opposite way, this is how we are viewed by others.  It was so strange for me to see this!

And here was a balance exercise.  Isabelle was actually really good at it.

Dad had to try the mirror exhibit too!

And then people could write on the board their message to themselves.

Another activity the kids got to do was make bubble wands.  Madelyn just wanted to play in the bubble water.

After the museum, we headed over to the Reunion Tower. Gabriel is not a fan of elevators and was dreading it.  I loved teasing him.  

Here we are waiting in line to go up.  Can you tell Gabriel was dreading it?

Isn't it crazy how tall it is?

To distract Gabriel, dad and him decided to switch glasses.  Doesn't Gabriel look so old?

And soon enough we were allowed to ride up.

Here the kids are reading about the different views from around the tower.  

Madelyn found a kids table and chairs and thought it was a perfect play place. 

Here are some of the views.

And here's the view looking down.  Yes Michael stuck his hand (with my cell phone) out of the tower and took a picture of the ground below.
I'm so glad I didn't know about this until after he did it, otherwise I would have worried he would have dropped it.  

More fun at the kids table!

And then it was time to go down. 

Here's our souvenir photo of our time there.  Classic right? One of these I'm sure that will embarrass us for years!

And then on the way home we had to drive by a big mansion where dad used to be able to go when he  was a member of the Texas Law group.  

And here is the outside of the Museum of science and Nature. 

Before heading back to our  hotel we ate at the Spaghetti Company in downtown Dallas.  After the meal  the kids got a big bag of candy.  Michael chose this...

Is it a lemon or a gum ball?

Yep a gum ball.  and YES it was the size of a lemon. 

Back at the hotel we went on a scavenger hunt looking for all the Smurfs within the resort.  The boys were not interested at all in it, but eventually came around and helped us.

Here we are finding clues.

Madelyn was determined she could help read the map to find clues too.

Here is a  hidden clue in the box.  By this point Gabriel was moody, can you tell?

Madelyn was like, "Why he acting like he's my age?"

After we solved the mystery clues and collected our prize we went to the resort water park.    It was really big and the boys went off on their own.  It's amazing to see the girls that watch them.  The eyes and the gawking that follows Gabriel around, since he looks like a man, is crazy to me.  I still see him as a little boy.  The girls, teenagers, they don't see him that way.  And Gabriel is surely taking more of an interest in the ladies as well.

Dad had the kids under control so I decided I would grab a table and get myself a nice treat to relax and enjoy as well.  

Michael was definitely enjoying himself as well!

After spending a few hours at the water park we went back to the resort and got ready for fireworks!

The resort had all sorts of activities planned and it was fun to walk around.  We just happen to run into the tallest man in Texas.  He agreed to take a family picture of us from "a great angle"  

See how tall he is!!!

As the sun was setting we made our way  over to the parking structure near the resort.  They had music, games, dancing and food on the top of the parking garage and from there we got  to watch fireworks over the lake.  

And yay another great family photo! NOT  But this is pretty much how we are!

Our view of the sunset.  What we were about to realize is that we  could  see fireworks from 13 different areas.  Yes we were surrounded by fireworks.   It was so cool!  Plus the weather was incredible!  

Just a  few of our fellow hotel guest friends. 

They handed out glow bracelts and Madelyn decided I should be Rudolph 

And then the shows started. 

Wow were they great and everything 4th of July in America is.  So much American patriotism can be found in Texas and it was fun to celebrate America's birthday in the heart of where people truly embody the qualities this country was founded upon.

Yes indeed it was a great 4th of  July.

After a wonderful day celebrating America, the  next day we were scheduled to visit Six Flags over Texas.  The forecast said 102 with high humidity.  Great time to spend outside in the warm Texas sun.  

Until next time,

Angie