Fun for the kids in Indiana

While I had my own fun with the race on Saturday morning, the kids enjoyed their fair share of fun experiences on the other days that we were in Indiana. We spent Friday afternoon at the Indianapolis Children's Museum, where we all enjoyed the interesting museum exhibits. We were at the museum for three hours, and if it had not been closing I think Amelia and John would have liked to have stayed longer.

We spent a lot of time in the Dinosphere, where the kids learned about dinosaurs and fossils. There were dinosaur skeletons, lots of bones for the kids to touch, and an area where they could dig through dirt and gravel for dinosaur bones. In the dinosaur skeleton area (pictured below), the ceiling simulated the sky in that a thunderstorm passed through, complete with thunder and lightning and then returned to day and then night over the course of about 15 minutes.We also spent a lot of time upstairs in the science area. John got to drive a bulldozer......and Amelia posed in an Indy race car. The kids were both surprised by how far back the pedals were on the car. They both had to lie down horizontally in order to reach the pedals.

The kids also loved this maze, where billiard balls were put through a series of obstacles and paths. Amelia and John could assist by putting the balls through part of the maze and by turning levers to make the contraption move. They were fascinated.After the race on Saturday, we left Indy and drove north to Fort Wayne where my aunt and uncle live. My parents and my cousins Kelly and Kim, and Kim's husband Dave, joined us there for a few more days of family fun.

On Sunday, my uncle took us all to a putting green situated next to a rver that runs through town. This golf course was interesting in that it was an 18-hole putting course. It reminded me of a miniature golf course without the obstacles and tricks, but it was still challenging because of slopes and other features on the green that you had to navigate.
My uncle commented that John plays golf like a polo player. John runs after the ball, swings at it, and runs after the ball to hit it again before the ball stops moving. We were the only patrons on the course that afternoon so the kids could run from hole to hole as often and as quickly as they wished. They had a blast (and the adults enjoyed it too)!

The kids posed for photos after we finished. Below are my cousin Jeff's son Todd, John, and Amelia with Dave. Dave had just finished filming a video of the kids making monster faces and they were hyper and having a great time.The kids were so giggly that they thought it would be funny to surprise my uncle with bunny ears. I don't know who enjoyed this more - Uncle Lyn or the kids.
Before we drove back to Indianapolis on Monday, my parents and I spent the morning with the kids at the Fort Wayne Zoo. The zoo was fabulous and we had a great time there. The weather was perfect (60 degrees and sunny), it wasn't too crowded, and the exhibits were perfect for kids and adults to enjoy.
These lemurs were hilarious. I loved the way they jumped around the cage quickly and swung with their tails from end to end. They totally reminded me of the lemurs in the movie Madagascar.

Below John is checking out how the size of his hand compares to the paw of a lion.

And Amelia is pretending to be a joey in the pouch of a mother kangaroo.

These zebras were awesome, running after each other and the wildebeasts across the plains of the Africa exhibit.The last animals we saw before leaving the zoo were the giraffes.

What a great morning at the zoo, and an awesome way to wrap up our fun trip to Indiana!