July 9th, woke up, got the kids dressed, and started heading for the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum! On the way there, what a sight to behold, but the north end of a cow heading south on 131. What was really strange is that my friend Brandon had posted a picture of this same cow only days earlier on Facebook. See this image larger.

I wasn’t actually worried about it, until it started following us! Mooo… Mooo………Mooo… Moo……Mooo, moo. Mooo, mooo. MooMoo MooMoo MooMoo MooMoo (Grampa Dave already got that Jaws reference, the rest of you needed this little hint. 😉 ) See this image larger.

We got all the way to the Children’s Museum, and put some quarters in the meter, when a man with a beanie on his head stopped us to ask if we had our member IDs ready. When I said that I did not because we aren’t members, he gave us the speech. “Today,” he said “is Members Monday, but I can’t turn away your lovely children, one of whom is picking his eye, and the other picking her nose.” Some people would be partially offended, and screamed something like “JUST TAKE MY MONEY!” but again, this man was wearing a beanie, which means all of his social commentary is moot. First thing to check out? Car! See this image larger.

I liked this one too. See this image larger.

This one’s been photoshopped a bit. See this image larger.

When Ian was Nina’s age, he used to play with this exhibit… you drop golf balls and they hit school bells on the way down. See this image larger.

There’s my awesome kids sharing again! See this image larger.

Makin’ great big bubbles! See this image larger.

Nina came up to the play ultrasound machine and said “scary.” This is sort of ironic as real ultrasound machines have conveyed pure joy and terror to Melissa and I over the years, particularly in regard to Nina. Hard to believe that it was three years ago when an ultrasound resulted in a whole lot of relief and Mommy seeing our little girl waving hello from the womb. Scary? Only sometimes, little girl. See this image larger.

These were cool magnetic transparent building blocks. See this image larger.

Ian helped me build a great castle-like building, including corner towers. I built the right half, and he mirrored it for the left! He’s been taking a liking to Minecraft lately, so maybe that’s why we did this. If you don’t know what Minecraft is, I’ll show you a picture in a couple entries. See this image larger.

As much as I love these kids, and I really, really love them… two is enough, thanks! See this image larger.

Nina plays to the beat of her own drum, that’s for sure! See this image larger.

THAT’S my girl! See this image larger.

World’s biggest light-bright set? Sure! See this image larger.

Ian creeps through a mirror tunnel! See this image larger.

Wherever she looks, a friendly face! See this image larger.

She got to live out a bit of one of her favorite books here in the farm section of the museum. The book is about how a small girl goes to the Apple Orchard a couple times a year and picks apples. See this image larger.

The lighting was great here, so I took a bunch of shots. See this image larger.

Wish I could have gotten a smile out of her, but these will do! See this image larger.

She could see outside to downtown Grand Rapids, and city life was interesting to our little girl. See this image larger.

Nina tries a hard-hat on, near the construction area. See this image larger.

She moved these out into the walkway herself, and put hats on them like a little family. See this image larger.

If you’re a pedestrian, I assume a sight such as this would cause you to freak out in abject terror. See this image larger.

Afterwards, we ate at Panera. Because this was a Monday, I was by myself with the kids all day. These meals are always a challenge. For example, if one kid needs to go potty, you need to take both kids, and any valuables, leaving the food at the table. Here Nina shows off her soup technique. I showed her how she could sit on her knees to make the straw not have to bend… moments later she sat back down normally, pushed the bowl until it was much further away, and the straw didn’t have to bend either. (Yes, I know I could have cut the straw, but it needed to be a certain length to work appropriately.) See this image larger.

That night, by the light of the pink-ish hued light in Nina’s room, stories were read to happy children. See this image larger.

Here the tale of Snow White is absorbed with interest. See this image larger.

Love this shot, it was an accident. I don’t mind the lack of focus other than I wish SOMEBODY was in focus. Otherwise, nice shot! See this image larger.

Hello, beautiful family, time for bed! See this image larger.

Ian’s big grimace. See this image larger.

Daddy really needed to take a shower… See this image larger.