Kicking Off Summer, Toddler-Style

Summer is here. Officially. At 60 degrees outside, it sure doesn't feel like it, but Caleb is out of pre-school, so summer is here, whether I'm still wearing jeans or no. And this Mommy has been busy preparing all sorts of activities and outings to keep her Little Man busy during the long and (hopefully) sunny summer days.

Last Thursday, we kicked off the festivities with a trip to the Everett Children's Museum. We were supposed to go with the local MOPs group, but, well, we didn't wake up early enough. Ahem. But that's a whole 'nuther story. . .

We drove down the whole length of the island and rode the ferry across the channel for fun. Caleb loves the ferry. So do I. :)

I had no idea what to expect when we arrived, but not in my wildest imaginations could I have conjured up what the museum had in store for us. The main floor housed an entire town, built to kid-level and totally hands-on. Fire station, barnyard, theater, barber shop, wildlife rescue clinic, treehouse, Italian restaurant, bank, airport. All of it beautifully designed. Every station and exhibit begged to engage your imagination; and while the kids laughed and played, they learned, too. Because every part was also educational.

Mommy like. Mommy like very, very much. Mommy wanted to drop Caleb off at the train station and go pretend to be a pirate or a veternarian or a ferry boat captain for the rest of the day. But instead, Mommy took pictures and experienced the wonder of exploration vicariously through her son. :)

The enormous rail station train set. Guess who thought this was just about the best idea ever?

Finally dragged Caleb away from the trains long enough to realize there was more to see!

The barnyard. Complete with a horse, tractor, and

water-milking cow

Hmmmmm, what are these?

The H2O Exhibit, housed inside a faux ferry boat.

I think this was Favorite Part #2

Pizza, anyone?

Sorry Caleb! It's not real!

(he lost interest once he realized he couldn't eat it)

After two hours inside, we discovered there was a roof-top station.

Oh my.

One Gi-Normous jungle gym (this photo only shows half of it)

Diggin' for dino bones.

Largest chess set ever.

Caleb thought this was pretty cool, sort of like a cross between bowling and dominoes,

because he kept trying to knock all the figurines down. :)

3 hours of play. 4 hours of driving.

2 very happy people.

Our summer's off to a good start, I think.

Now I'm curious: what are y'all up to these next few months? Have any interesting plans or places to go? If you've got littles, what are you doing to fill the days?