Summer Vacation 2012 Begins

The big event for our summer (aside from the upcoming baby, of course) was our summer vacation, an epic adventure which will unfold in several installments. Today we start at the beginning, with the Muffins buckled into the minivan for a long road trip.

Our first major stop was the Discovery Center of Idaho, in Boise. Here the kids encountered all sorts of fun science toys, including this chair-and-pulley thing they had fun lifting each other with.

Amanda bravely tried out the bed of nails (and lived to tell the tale).

Curtis loved floating balls on air.

All the Muffins loved the kid-sized play grocery store. Mom took tons of pictures, but this one of Lydia in action zooming through the aisles in her pink jacket with her tiny cart pretty much sums it up. All in all, definitely a Muffin-approved stop.

Farther down the road, an unscheduled bathroom break gave us a new adventure. The closest town at that point was Baker City, Oregon, and we ended up getting off at the "other" exit, i.e. the one that wasn't loaded with convenience store bathrooms. As we cruised through town, we came across the library, which in addition to being open and having bathrooms was conveniently located by a nice park. The park included this interesting merry-go-round, and, even better, Daredevil Dave, the guy in the brown jacket. He kept the merry-go-round going, to the delight of all the kids, usually while simultaneously performing stunts, such as hanging by his feet from the bars in the top/center area of the merry-go-round. Favorite overheard Dave quote: "Hmm, what other stupid things can I do?"

All in all, a fairly decent road trip, considering all the Muffins and how long they spent on the go. As for our destination . . . stay tuned for another installment of Muffin News.