A Fun Friday

Scott was off for several weeks in July so I took Friday off so we could have a family fun day. We wanted to do something inside and Jenn had just told me how much fun they had recently at Kaleidoscope and the fountains at Crown Center. I thought we could do Kaleidoscope, the Rain Forest area, lunch then fountains. When I checked the web site the night before we went, I discovered there were no sessions for Karsten's age group until noon. Sooo, we flipped everything around and did the Hallmark Visitors Center, Rain Forest area, fountains, lunch then Kaleidoscope.

Chillin' with a friendly ape at the Rain Forest area. I think this was more geared for older kids, Karsten kept getting run over and pushed out of the way by other kids. We didn't spend too much time here.

He was distracted by the 'mess' that the construction crew was making right outside of Kaleidoscope and The Visitors Center. He couldn't take his eyes off of it even for a quick pic.

Showing off the fun bow he got to make at The Visitors Center.

We told him that Grandma would like this tree and he said 'ooooooo' and watched it go around for a minute. He also liked the tree that had 'ho ho hos' all over it.

Then it was time to play in the fountains. He got so excited when we were walking over to the fountains.

When he could finally run into the fountains he was a bit apprehensive. There were a lot of kids there and the water was really tall.

But he quickly got into it - he would run into the water, squeal with delight then run out to say 'MOMMY - WATER WET!!!".

He saw all of the other kids sitting down on top of the water spouts when the water went away, so Scott sat him down and a few times Karsten jumped up before the water he was sitting on came on.

But then he stayed sitting and the water came on and soaked him. He was laughing so hard (and so were we!!)

Running away from the water!

Playing in the fountains is so much fun! Karsten says he wants to go back to the water - looks like we'll be making another trip there in a future!

After a quick picnic lunch, we were off to Kaleidoscope. We got there 15 minutes before our start time and they were already letting people in. It was a madhouse - so many kids of different ages rushing to make sure that they didn't miss anything.

Karsten enjoyed this wall where you could stick your head in and see a fun scene on the inside.

I couldn't get a good picture of the inside, but this gives you an idea of what the kids saw when they put their head through the hole in the wall.

Next he colored a necklace to wear. Once he had drawn a few 'o's', he was ready to move along to something else.

Showing off his necklace.

Then he colored a puzzle - I remember doing this when I was a kid. It was one of my favorite things about Kaleidoscope.

Taking a brief bathroom break - who knew the sink would be so entertaining. Both Karsten and this little guy were far more interested in the water in the sink than going back out into the art project chaos!

There was so much fun stuff to look at - Karsten enjoyed exploring and finding new things.

This magnifying glass was a hit - I showed him how we could color on it or tape on pieces of puzzle but he said NO and just wanted to leave it as is.

Moving along to explore another area - still hanging on to the magnifying glass!

This was one of those tables where you put your hand into a bunch of metal pieces and it forms to the shape of your hand. He wasn't quite tall enough to see what went on when he touched it but he seemed to really enjoy playing with it anyway!

The flag station was also a hit - he waved the flag all the way home. When we drove by Union Station and the flags, he said 'Look Mommy, big flag.'

What a fun morning we had - Karsten was a sleepy boy ready for a nap. We'll definitely be heading back to Crown Center in the future for another adventure!