Thursday, December 11, 2008

What It's Like to Have 5 Kids

This last weekend, we were lucky enough to have our niece Eva and nephew Jude come stay with us for a couple of nights. I love when they come to stay with us because it gives us another excuse to do things like (a) skip out on the laundry and (b) let the dishes languish while we go (i) out to breakfast and (ii) do cool stuffs around town.

For this weekend, our big excursion was to the new California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. We recently bought an annual family membership and were able to get our money's worth by taking all five kids in one trip. Of course, Rodney's behemoth came in super handy as we could fit all 7 of us in one car. We even got sooooo lucky and found parking right outside so we didn't have to walk too far in the cold. :)

At the Academy of Sciences, we enjoyed the green display, where we read up on how much waste people produce and how much carbon offsets we need to purchase just to become carbon neutral. Truly interesting information and such a fun way to "brainwash" the kids about treating the Earth with kindness. Graeme's favourite part of this display was the T-Rex skeleton right next to all this green goodness.

We also checked out the new Steinhart Aquarium, where we got to see Ethan's favourite Leafy Sea Dragons, sea nettles, some really huge fish, and a huge display of Philippine coral reefs and fish (with loads of fish we'd never seen before). We also got to spend some time in the Rainforest display, where butterflies and birds flew freely, and where we got to see a ton of lizards, chameleons, and frogs. We didn't get a chance to check out penguins, the Planetarium, and a lot of other things so there will definitely have to be a follow up trip.

Some photos from the day...

Leafy Sea Dragon:


Ethan, Jude and Eva at the rainforest:


Graeme checking out some amphibians:


Xavier, Rodney, Jude, Eva, and Ethan outside the rainforest and surrounded by aquarium (NOTE: Graeme wouldn't join in any of the group photos - what a snob - hahahaha!):


The kids at a statue of Beethoven outside the Academy of Sciences:


Enjoying the sunset at the end of the day, at Sunset Beach in San Francisco:


So, what is it like having 5 kids? Well, we don't really know since we only had 5 kids for two days, but we do know that you need a bigger car and more cash to spend at the gift store. Besides that, though, there is a ton of laughter and silliness in between the times you are haranguing the kids and that makes it all so worth it.

Until next time...