Category: Photos
Aloha Friday: Three and a Half Four Eyes
Over the past few weeks, NHL has been complaining about headaches. At first, we thought he was just trying to get out of doing homework. Eventually, though, we began to wonder if he was actually having trouble seeing. An eye doctor’s appointment confirmed our suspicions: NHL needed glasses.
We tried on a few pairs, but NHL quickly decided that he had a favorite. Can you tell why?
Here’s a hint:
Just call him NHL Potter! Expelliarmus!
Of course, JSL started to feel left out. After all, I have glasses, B has glasses and now NHL has glasses. So he got his own pair.
They might not be real, but they keep him happy.
My Aloha Friday question for today is: Do your kids wear glasses?
P.S. If you haven’t already, try out my Twitter applications: FollowerHQ and Rout.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #129
Hey, Where’s Perry? At the Capital Region Kidz Expo!
Earlier this week, I wrote about the snakes and reptiles that we saw at the Kidz Expo. We didn’t just stop by the reptiles, though. We also saw tons of different programs that the kids could sign up for. I honestly didn’t realize just how much there was in the region and we have quite a few options to consider for this summer.
Of course, the main reason we were drawn into this mob of people was Radio Disney’s presence. They promised some Perry the Platypus related activities so off we went. When we got in, we played some games and the boys got some prizes (a frisbee, temporary tattoos, and stickers). They also got a Perry mask and a backpack (which came in handy to hold other things they got). Finally, we took a photo with Candace, Phineas, Ferb, Perry, and Dr. Doofenschmirtz. (Doof was on his best behavior and didn’t bring any Inators that day.)
After this booth, we wandered around and stopped at various booths to gather information. We also were on a Radio Disney scavenger hunt mission. We needed to find the five clues hidden around the expo. We spent quite some time looking for clues as we wandered around. Alas, we only found three of the five.
While at the expo, we heard a rumor that a costumed Agent P was there. Sadly, this wasn’t true. Luckily, though, the boys met a few other costumed characters, including the Devil Dog from the Albany Devils.
As the day wore on, the kids got tired and it was time to leave. On the way out, though, one last booth caught my eye: Mad Science. As a big science fan, I’m always looking for ways to spark science interest in my kids. They had planet matching blocks, rings the vibrated as they spun, and pieces of paper that they lit on fire to produce a burst of light (NHL did *not* like that one). The best was the fake snow produced by combining a certain chemical with water.
The Kidz Expo was certainly an informative and fun experience. I’m not sure if we’ll go back next year as we’re not fans of fighting crowds, but it definitely gave us a lot of options to consider.
Favorite Disney Characters
There are so many Disney characters, that it can be hard to choose one favorite. In fact, I have two.
My first favorite is Goofy. He’s clumsy, odd, and seemingly a bit of a geek. Still, Goofy is a true friend and will never gives up despite the fact that he will likely find himself propelled through the air while he lets out his trademark scream.
My other favorite is actually a duo. These geeks don’t let anything stop their quest to make the most of each day. Not even the laws of physics or simple economics can prevent their complex builds from being completed by a small group of children in a few hours’ time. Of course, I’m talking about Phineas and Ferb. You’ve got to love a pair of step brothers who decide that the perfect family pet is a platypus. Speaking of which… Where’s Perry?
Who is your favorite Disney character?
Snakes and Lizards and Cockroaches, Oh My!
This past Saturday, we braved heavy crowds and insane parking to attend the Hannaford Kidz Expo in the Empire State Plaza. There were many interesting booths with various fun options for the kids. I couldn’t possibly blog about them all, so I wanted to focus on one of them today: Reptile Adventure.
B wrote about them previously when they stopped by a local library. That time, NHL went with B to see the various creatures that Reptile Adventure had to show. This time, however, NHL was a bit overwhelmed. Perhaps it was the crowds or the anticipation of seeing the Radio Disney booth. In any event, he didn’t want to be anywhere near snakes or lizards.
Thankfully, JSL didn’t seem to mind much. So while B took NHL out of the room to calm down, JSL and I marveled at the various creatures they had. I’ll admit that I didn’t get as good a look as I would have liked. There were a lot of people walking through and I wanted to make sure that JSL stuck by me. Still, JSL and I each got to touch a snake and we each loved seeing the turtles, lizards, snakes and even the hissing cockroaches.
Yeah, about those cockroaches. When we first walked in, we saw a Reptile Adventure employee sitting down with a big snake around her neck and a hissing cockroach walking up one arm. This was easily the biggest bug I’ve ever seen. It was at least four inches long. To be perfectly honest, I just looked them up on Wikipedia for that length. My eyeball estimate was going to be 8 inches but Wikipedia says they grow to 2 to 4 inches. Perhaps my estimating skills can be forgiven seeing as they are HUGE!
Moving on from the cockroaches, we saw this turtle and a buddy of his relaxing near the entrance. It looks like someone got him some reading material. I’m not sure if it’s ironic or not for a turtle to be reading the "Race Day" section.
This fella (or ma’am… I really couldn’t tell) was on top of his cage. I had to lift JSL up so he could see him. I couldn’t tell if we were more fascinated by this spiky lizard or if he was more fascinated by us.
Then, there were the snakes. They had small snakes and large snakes. Each of these, at some point, was able to be touched by kids (and grown ups) to see how they feel. By the way, I assumed that snakes would feel slimy, though in hindsight I’m not sure why. They don’t. Smooth, yes, but not slimy.
JSL was hesitant at first, but finally decided to try petting the small one in the photo to the left. I didn’t get a good photo of that, but, luckily, JSL decided to pet this larger snake as well. He did a great job on both. (And, yes, Reptile Adventure provided a station for you to clean your hands afterwards.)
All in all, my only gripe about the Reptile Adventure room is that I couldn’t spend more time there taking photos of every creature they have. The nature photographer in me can get frustrated by the lack of wildlife in my day-to-day life. (Though the boys can be wild enough.) We left wanting more (and JSL left wanting a stuffed snake). Hopefully, we can see more of Reptile Adventure soon.
More about the Kidz Expo in general and the Radio Disney book specifically in the coming days.