Adventure Science Center

Once we were done at the zoo, we moved over to the Adventure Science Center. It was MUCH cooler inside than it was outside at the zoo, so it was a nice change of pace. Ruston decided it was naptime, and THANK YOU to Dayna for having her Ergo so I didn't have to lug him around. He was so peaceful in the Ergo, which just strapped to my front and I didn't have a hurting back at the end of the day!

There were a ton of different exhibits at the ASC, I would liken it to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. Anyway, one of them was letting you feel what is was like for someone in a wheelchair, so here is Jason practicing his wheelchair skills.
Thea practiced this too, and did pretty well for her little size! Dayna followed and supervised behind her.
Once Ruston woke up from his nap, he found this large keyboard. Danelle was also in the back pushing the keys.
Ruston enjoyed making music with this.
Thea and Ruston also go a kick out of the rolling chairs... who cares about the wheels and buttons on the wall?!?!
While the littler ones were pushing chairs around, the older ones were getting ready for something major.
A trip to the moon! This simulator hooks you up to assist in changing gravity for you (basically), so you can feel what it's like to be on the moon and jump really high without much effort. Danelle and Shane are below...
Danelle and Jason...

I think they enjoyed that, although I hear the harnesses weren't the most comfortable!

Once again, Ruston found the strangest thing to be the most interesting: a ramp. Since he hasn't been walking for but a couple of months, he decided to practice his walking on uneven ground... up and down... up and down...
...up and down... up and down...
I also think Jason had as much, if not more, fun than the kids did. He LOVED the ball pit and the huge crane to practice picking up the balls. :)

Either way, at the end of the day, we were all exhausted!!!!!

Nashville Zoo

My sister's family (The Halls) came to visit us, and we had a bunch of fun! Dayna, Shane, Danelle, and Thea had never been to Tennessee, so we tried to introduce them to a couple of places.

We took a day to visit the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere as well as the Adventure Science Center (in another post). The kids had TONS of fun, although it was a very hot day! Ruston enjoyed some stairs he found at the zoo, and yes, his head is shiny and his hair is messed up because he has sunscreen in it.

We visited the petting zoo where there were goats throughout. Ruston didn't really want to touch them, but he was willing to sit next to them.
I think he had some sunscreen in his eye here, but like I said, he sat by them, and that's about it. Haha.
Danelle and Thea took turns brushing them too.
We also saw flamingoes...
...zebras...
...more zebras...
... and Dayna and Thea! Oh wait, those were the meerkats!
Ruston, however, was not very interested in the animals, but rather enjoyed climbing on this alligator. Don't worry, it's not real. :) Danelle and Thea were running around in the rest of the large play area that was nearby.
Proud of himself... king of the alligator!

More Tight Spaces...

As stated in a previous post, Ruston loves his tight spaces. Here are a few more examples. He has decided that it's best for him to squeeze himself in Great Papa's rocking chair like this:

Usually he's able to get out... except sometimes he gets stuck and asks for help:
So he's also decided that the ice cream tub is fun to stand/sit in. I think this one is about to retire though...

Even Tiki is enjoying his small spaces, sitting and cuddling into the basket that Ruston also likes to sit in.