Adventure Thursdays (and Wednesday)

Adventure Thursday couldn't be contained into one day this week, so it oozed out onto Wednesday and then carried over into Thursday.

First it began here...

At the Philadelphia Zoo and...

...the incredible dripping tree.

Have you ever seen anything like this? Since my MG novel has a lot to do with trees, I think this was my favorite visual at the Zoo.

But then these were also very cute too...

Thursday brought us back to Philly to this thrilling place...

The Franklin Institute.

Just in case you wanted to know, my body presently holds 20 cups of blood...

The Franklin Institute was chock full of fascinating facts and hands-on touch-me exhibits that made learning an adventure for kids (and adults). After all, it was Adventure Thursday (still wish I could have an echo machine when I type that...)

On display was a real automaton like in Hugo Cabret - one of my favorite books. (But in real life the automaton was a little creepy looking.)

They had so many things to see and do there, I couldn't name them all. My youngest daughter's favorite was the space prep ride - can't recall the real name, but it twisted and turned and spun and I felt sick just looking at it. But screams of joy and jubilation were heard from within the capsule.

The coolest visual to me in the Franklin Institute was the Pendulum Staircase....

Where will our adventures take us this Thursday? Can't say for sure... You'll have to stay tuned to find out.

Hey, check out my cool poll, above to the right... Vote for your fav Harry Potter book. And after, leave a comment to tell us why...

My fav is the sixth book - The Half Blood Prince. I haven't yet read book number seven, so that might change, but for now it is the HBP. Why? Well, it might be because it is the first HP book I have read BEFORE seeing the movie... But I think it is the most well written, the fat has been trimmed, so it feels like every page moves the story forward. I am LOVING it.

When commenting, please don't spoil any endings for those of us whom have not read any HP books yet.

Thanks and Happy Adventures!

Adventure Thursdays

Rebecca reminded me in one of her recent posts that I had made promises. I make the same promises every summer, in fact. And every summer comes and goes and those promises are left as best intentions that paved the way to... well to a very uneventful summer.

Let me explain... we usually can't afford to go away on expensive vacations and we can't afford luxury camps - OK most camps - for our kids. But that's OK. We like being home. However, every summer I say to myself, this summer will be different. This summer I will go where ever my kids want to go (within reason, of course!) and we will take day trips to Philadelphia and go to museums, and to the creek, and the beach... and where ever their hearts desire.

But the summer just kind of takes a momentum of its own and before I know it, there are little more than 3 weeks left and we have done none of those things. So....

We have established Adventure Thursdays (cue echo machine) here at the Oshins' household. There are 4 Thursdays left so each child gets to be the boss of two of them.

Yesterday, we went here...

I always say 'no' when my kids ask to go here. But it was... Adventure Thursday... and Adventure Thursday is all about saying 'yes.' (again, within reason). So, they climbed and jumped and scouted and did all sorts of things.

And then they went here...

And did this...

And this...

And this...

This was so cool! It was a virtual jump rope. A lot harder then it sounds. I didn't do so well on it, but I laughed hard trying!

And then they they bought these with the tickets they won....

I'd say all in all, it was a very fun and adventurous Adventure Thursday. So, give it a try, pick a day out of the week that is a 'yes' day and try to say yes to all the things we tend to say no to. After all, we certainly can't write about Adventures if we don't experience them...

Happy Writing (and Adventures!)