A Day to Play

I had four marvelously free admissions to Strong Museum of Play. Aunt Leta and Lucas were invited and, on one fine day, we went. Lucas is two and Josh is three, so being full on inquisitions, they entered the Museum on their toes. Lucas would've spent all morning looking at the fish in the giant fish tank just past the admissions desk, but Josh, who had been to the museum on February, was eager to get on to the good stuff. If you live in the Rochester area and have kids of any age, the Strong Museum is a highly recommended place to go, although it can get pricey if you cannot get a deal somewhere. The boys wanted to see everything and go up every ramp, but their favorite place was probably the "sand" box. Leta and I got a good break from chasing them while they sat and played in the beads. Josh got the grand idea of making snow angels, which caught on with the some of the other kids. Lucas was psyched to ride the train. Josh wanted to shop at Wegmans and Leta and I couldn't wait to go into the butterfly garden. We spent three plus hours traipsing through the rooms, exploring and investigating the ways to play. Lucas was fond of pitter-pattering over the pirate bridge. I almost lost Josh while chasing Lucas through Story land. (Leta was taking a break.) And then we finally made it to the butterfly garden. Josh stood so still and carefully so as not to squish any butterflies. He looked like he was having a horrible time, but he was just trying to be careful. There were butterflies everywhere and little Dr. Suess-type birds running down the paths. I was able to hold a butterfly, but Josh didn't seem impressed. But he was impressed with the carousal we rode on before we left the museum. I was impressed with the picnic lunch we ate on the grassy curb of the parking lot and the grass stains that I got on my shirt... Maybe not the last part there, but we had such a great day together, Josh, Lucas, Leta, and I. Good times.