Hiking, Bugs, and Ice Cream

This past week we had the opportunity to go on a family hike. All of us, including India, set out into the woods. Despite the humidity (which I am STILL not used to), the weather was great for a hike. Here are some pictures of our journey:

The sign at the beginning of the trail:

All the kids and India posing in a nice shady area.

This spot was one with a beautiful view out over the Farmington Valley area. Jake said, "Connecticut sure is beautiful." And, he is right!

Another picture in the same spot with me.

Now, add Robb to the mix.

Halfway through our hike we stopped and had a picnic lunch of sandwiches, chips and apples. We were hungry so it seemed like we were eating a gourmet meal! After we ate, the boys were anxious to get going so Robb told them they could continue on the hike following the BLUE paint marks on the trees. (Notice the blue paint on the tree behind the boys in this picture.) He said to follow the paint until they came to a pavilion, then stop and wait there for the rest of us. So, off they went! Well, when we got to the pavilion the boys were nowhere to be found. I, of course, panicked. We were shouting for them and Robb went ahead on the trail while Audrey, Kate, India, and I waited at the pavilion. We could hear Robb shouting the boys' names, each time getting farther and farther away. I was worried and started thinking the worst. After what seemed like an eternity, I see Robb coming through the woods with three boys. Their faces were red from sweat (see picture below). They apparently didn't know what a pavilion was and just kept following the blue paint marks. Finally, they came to a stranger farther up the trail who told them they better turn around and head back! I was so relieved that this stranger was a nice person! Who knows what could have happened. My mind ran through all of the scenarios. This picture was taken right after we were reunited. They all know what a pavilion is now!

Here I am still looking worried. It took a little time for the worry to wear off.

Audrey and me.
Robb and all the boys.

Here we are getting a very much needed drink!

Audrey
Forest
Josh
Jake

Josh

Jake
Kate
Me

Along the way, we found some interesting looking bugs and the kids were very excited about it. (Yes, I said they were excited about bugs!) Of course, we had to snap some pictures. So, here they are:

Here are the boys and Kate around a catepillar.

Kate getting a closer look...

And here's the little guy everyone is so interested in.

Here's another new friend...
(Yes, that small hand at the top is Kate's! Eeww!)

Taking a break at the end of the hike:
India, Jake, Audrey, and Kate

Kate, Audrey, Josh, and India

After our hike, we decided to stop for a nice, cool treat. We stopped at J. Foster's Ice Cream for ice cream cones. Since we had India with us, we ordered our ice cream and ate it outside by the car. From these pictures, it looks like we are still in the woods, not in town. But, this is what a lot of the towns look like around here. Lots of trees and green!

Robb and Kate shared an ice cream cone.

YUMMY!

Audrey with chocolate brownie ice cream and Forest with black raspberry ice cream.

Jake had Reese peanut butter ice cream while Josh opted for fresh squeezed lemonade.
He choose that over ice cream!

It was a great day!

The Connecticut Science Center

Our first big outing in Connecticut was to go to The Connecticut Science Center. It's located in Hartford. The adventure started on our drive there. We drove right through a rather "scary" part of town. There were bars over doors and windows, big groups of people standing on street corners, several security guards standing outside of the banks, and just about every other building was some kind of small church. It was a big contrast from what we are used to seeing. Anyway, we finally got to the science center-which was not in the same part of town.

The Connecticut Science Center is a big kids museum with all sorts of fun, hands on areas. Our kids had a lot of fun exploring and discovering. Here are some pictures of what we did:

Kate and Forest are watching balls go down a spiral track. Kate loved this! She just kept loading the balls and watching them go 'round and 'round.

Of course, there was a water area! It was this giant room with all sorts of faucets, spigots, balls, fountains, buckets, etc. Anything you could possibly use to experiment with water. The kids would put balls on tracks and watch the water take them up or down, depending on the track. It was lots of fun to watch.

Here's Jake getting wet.
Josh, Forest, and Kate in the fountain...

Audrey and Josh at another fountain.

Our next stop at the science center was the Android Cafe. Here we got to see all sorts of robotic things and how they worked. In the cafe they were offering an assortment of nuts and bolts and oils. Nice menu options, if you're a robot.

Kate and I sitting in the cafe.

This is Lena. She's a computer that talks to you. You just type in questions and she answers them. That is, if she understands what you are trying to ask.

The Android Cafe is hiring! Here are the qualifications:

The next place we went to was the movement area. In this room, you got to experiment with all types of movement: water, air, magnets, etc. The kids really liked these cones that shot out strong blasts of air. You used the cones to maneuver a beach ball through a hoop. It was tough, but they had fun!

Josh and Jake working as a team.

Steady now. We're almost there!

Forest working his magic.

Jake and Forest

Audrey in deep concentration.

Our last stop was the space area. Here we got to learn different things about planets and stars and all things space.

Jake, Kate and I in a spaceship taking a tour of the galaxy.

Audrey on her galaxy quest.

We had such a good time at The Connecticut Science Center. There were so many fun things to see and do!

The Monster

Our family has been enjoying Connecticut for the past couple of weeks, and I haven't been very good about blogging since I got here. BUT, I will update everyone with a few posts:

Robb's work shipped our Honda Pilot here but there was about 12 days when we didn't have it. Luckily, the company also got us a rental car until ours got here. It was a new Suburban, which was very nice but also very big. I affectionately called it The Monster. Here is a picture of it: