Dinosaurs, Gold Panning & Good Friends

Caleb & Hayden outside of the Arizona Natural History Museum

One of my best friend in the whole wide world and her family came to visit me and mine a couple of weeks ago. For the most part we just lounged around the house and spent many hours languishing in the sun and playing in the pool. It was wonderful...I LOVE staycations. Just getting to take a week off of work and relaxing while getting to spend time with people that I love...it doesn't get any better than that!

We did manage to get out of the house and go on a few little excursions. One of which was visiting the Arizona Natural History Museum in Mesa, Arizona. Or better known in our house as "The Dinosaur Museum." Caleb, just like every other little boy, loves dinosaurs and we try to go to "The Dinosaur Museum" about 3 or 4 times a year. And he thought that it would be fun to introduce his new best friend Hayden to his favorite place.

A dinosaur in the lobby of the museum

An animatronic T-Rex

Caleb thought this was really cool! He was able to compare the size of his foot to that of a dinosaur!

Hmmm...which one is bigger?

There was a really cool exhibit at the museum about being able to see in the dark. Caleb and Hayden had so much fun with these cool light boards that you could "write" on. They also thought it was pretty cool how the white on their shirts looked under the black light.

Caleb using the "glow-pen" at the museum

There is also an exhibit dedicated to all of the movies that have been filmed in Arizona. Some of the most famous are Star Wars, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Raising Arizona, Jerry Maguire, Can't Buy Me Love, and at the Old Tucson Studios just about any western that you can think of!!

A stagecoach used in many westerns filmed Arizona.

The last exhibition that we visited at "The Dinosaur Museum" was the very popular gold panning area. This is always one of my favorite parts of the visit, but it is usually packed to the gills with kiddos trying to squeeze in and get some "gold." Not for our visit...probably because it was 110 degrees outside and everyone with some sense was inside the air conditioned safety of the museum. The kids (and Brian) didn't seem to mind the heat at all. They took their little plastic bags and filled them up with their gold.

Brian, Caleb & Hayden panning for gold

I really love taking my little one to this place. He always has such a good time and it's a great way to get out of the house when it is too hot to go anywhere else!

To the Campbells...Thanks for coming to visit! We had such a wonderful time. You are always welcome in our home!