Perot Nature and Science Museum

During our visit with my Mom, she took all of us to the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas.  It was amazing! It had 5 floors of learning labs, hands on activities, educational games,  and a play area for children.  We watched a 3-D movie and spent around 4 hours exploring the museum.

This wall had lights that followed your movements as you ran by...

The kids loved making the lights move around!

This exhibit was a bird flight simulator.  Put on 3D glasses, watch the screen, and flap your arms.  The computer would copy your movements to the bird on the screen.  Too cool!

Joshua needed some help to get his "wings" to fly!

These cool "glow in the dark" frogs were in a outdoor play area in front of the museum.

We were excited to learn that with our Evansville Museum membership, our admission to the Perot Museum was free for our entire family!  This Museum membership allows us free admission to over 275 Museum and Science Centers across the country.  Hopefully, we will get good use of it during our travels:)

Blessings to you and yours,

Jill and the boys:)

Christmas Fun With Family - Part Two

After visiting with Alan's family, we drove south to see Jill's Mom for Christmas.  Jill's sister, Chris, also came to visit from California with her family.  We had a GREAT time just talking, playing games, exchanging gifts, and singing songs while Patrick and Paige played their ukuleles (such a fun instrument!).

We enjoyed going to a Christmas Eve Candlelight service together as well.

Jill's sister, Chris, and her beautiful family

Our California cousins were THRILLED that we had snow on Christmas Day! They were so excited in fact, that they all ran outside...barefoot! Yep! BAREFOOT! I really don't know what got into us, because the next thing I knew we were all having barefoot races in the backyard! CRAZY! We would run to the shed and back as fast as we could.  Then, we would run inside and take turns putting our feet in bathtub filled with hot water!!! We may have lived in Missouri for 6 years, but it was still SUPER COLD!

We didn't even wear winter coats! 

The girls even convinced my Mom to join the races!

Some of the boys even took off their shirts! (Yes- that would include Alan! He started it, of course!)

Then, Alan took the race to a whole new level....He laid down and made a snow angel!!!!! No Shirt, No Shoes, NO problem for Alan!

"THAT IS COLD!"

Yes- that is a dog next to Alan's head! My Mom's dog Timmy ran to check on Alan when he laid down on the ground.   He was probably thinking, "What is this crazy person doing?!"

Our Crazy Crew in the Snow!!!:)
We just need the Calvert Cousins here next time!! We missed you Matt, Jodi, Sydney and Grayson!

Blessings to you and yours!

Jill and the boys:)

Christmas Fun With Family - Part One

We had a wonderful Christmas full of visits with extended family.  The weekend before Christmas, we enjoyed some time with Alan's family.   There were lots of laughs, games, good food and fun!

Every year before we begin the party, one of the grandchildren reads the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible.  This year it was Nathanael's turn. 

Micah and Glen having fun during the Santa Claus Game

Nathanael being silly playing Mrs. Santa Claus!

Our little reindeer

Alan captured Nathanael's excitement mid-jump when he opened his gift! 

Alan's Sister Alisha and family

Alan's brother Alec and family

Alan's Parents - (They are still smiling after hosting our family gathering with 6 adults and 10 grandchildren- whew!)

Blessings to you and yours!

Jill and the boys:)

Merry Christmas from the Haigoods!

To our friends and family - Merry Christmas!  Whether we are together or apart, we think of you often and pray God's Blessings over you and yours. Thank you very much for your cards, emails, calls, encouragement, support and prayers.  We love and appreciate you very much.  We are grateful for you, and for the reason for the season! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Love,
The Haigoods:)

San Antonio & Good Visits with Friends and Family!

After our stay near Austin, we drove down to San Antonio.  We stayed at another Thousand Trails Campground which was very nice.  They had many opportunities for fellowship including potluck dinners, ice cream socials, and Christmas events.  (Those of you who know me, know I REALLY like social gatherings!  I have really missed all of our St. Louis friends the past few weeks so this really was a blessing to me especially!) We enjoyed attending some of these events and meeting people from Washington state, Oklahoma, and some other full time RVers as well.

At our campground, it was deer mating season, so there were deer EVERYWHERE! They were not afraid of people at all.  Back in St. Louis, we would occasionally have a few deer roam our neighborhood, but this was different.  Everyday, there would be around 3 to 5 deer hanging around our campsite.  They were very tame and would not run away when we came outside close by them.  I think they thought we might give them food, but we decided it would be best just to observe and not get too close just in case they might bite.  Also, during my jogs, I would come across dozens of deer just eating or wandering around.  One morning during breakfast,  two female deer ran by the window.  Shortly afterwards, a male deer ran by.  One of the boys said they must be playing tag! Tee hee :)

We had the opportunity for visits with some good friends and family along the way.  I LOVE being able to reconnect with loved ones during our travels!  First, we had a lunch visit with the Powells on our way to San Antonio.  They used to be our neighbors in St. Louis before they moved to Texas about a year or so ago.

Thanks for the great visit Karen, Ivan and Travis!

During our stay in San Antonio, we took a day trip to visit my Aunt and Uncle at their beautiful home in New Braunfels.  We had a wonderful visit.  The boys loved seeing all of their chickens! They also have a beautiful garden with a variety of vegetables. Before we left, they showed us a beautiful outdoor park that the community calls "The Island".

Uncle Paul telling the boys all about the chickens 

They all have cute names like "Dot" and "Big Bertha"

This is just one small area of the garden...covered up for the winter. 

Joshua was fascinated by this little inchworm that was feasting in the garden!

My handsome boys:)

Thank you Uncle Paul and Aunt Janice! It was great to see you!

Blessings to you and yours!

Jill and the boys:)

Texas History Museum & Austin Children's Museum!

During our stay near Austin, we visited the Texas History Museum and the Austin Children's Museum both on the same day.  The Texas History Museum was HUGE with three floors full of hands on exhibits, videos, and artifacts from the first settlers to modern times.  It was a lot of information for the boys to take in, but I still think it was worth it to go.

Later that night, we visited the Austin Children's Museum.  It reminded us of The Magic House Children's Museum in St. Louis. This was a REALLY fun place for all of the boys (Alan included!!).  There were all kinds of exhibits for the boys to learn, explore and play.  Every Wednesday night, this museum offers a community night where admission is only a $1 suggested donation!  Normally, admission for our family of six would have been around $40! We were thrilled to find out about this special night for a great discount:)

Caleb and Joshua work together to race their cars down the track

The boys enjoyed building race cars and other objects.

Joshua loves to put things together and take them apart!

 

We love the excitement expressed on Nathanael's face in this picture!

Blessings to you and yours!

Jill and the boys:)