Presenting:
The boys were good for the first hour and half of the ceremony but then we took turns staying with them outside. Courtney’s portion was already done and we just had to wait out the awarding of master’s degrees. They did a great job. Donna brought horns for the boys to blow for Courtney. I confiscated them until we were outside after the ceremony.
And some more formal shots:
And the goofy….
We finally (in Alec’s eyes) arrived in Albany around 4:30ish. Donna, Ed and Noel had already arrived in town for an afternoon ceremony for Courtney. After the ceremony we all decided to meet at the hotel and wait for Hilary and Tom to arrive and then all go to dinner together. Alec was beyond excited waiting for Leo. He was doing the jump from bed to bed act in our room so I finally caved and took him to the pool early. He shocked Erik and I by swimming off by himself. No bubble, no water wings, no noodle. Just paddling around the pool. FINALLY! :)
His swimming isn’t pretty yet but I am relieved to know that if he fell in a pool at this point that he could get himself to a side and hang on.
To continue with Springfield- since we were making Alec’s life horrible by not heading straight to Albany – we decided to to drag the day out a little longer and actually go into the a couple of the museums. You pay 1 admission and you gain entrance into 4 or 5 different museums that are all right in that area. Very convenient. Full disclosure, we did give Alec the choice to directly to Albany or to go in the museums and he chose the museums once he heard there were dinosaurs. (Dino’s sucked).
Erik did point out to me that once you have been to the Museum of Natural History in NY and the Smithsonian..it should not be shocking that dino’s in a museum in Springfield MA might stink . It pretty much it went “ What did you expect Beth? Quit being so critical, shut up and enjoy this”. Understood.
But here are some things that were really cool.
Alec really enjoyed this display. He still has an obsession with tidal waves. Endless questions. He was trying to figure out how a 3 foot wave in the ocean can turn into 100 foot waves on land. This display put it in perspective a little for him. Until he no longer cared and really just wanted to see how many times he could push the button and try to wipe out the little house.
And this little dude brought back the years of owning our turtle. Nope –still don’t miss him. He was a good pet turtle even if he did misbehave the times my parents watched him.
All of that was in the Science building. They also had a pretty decent section on Space with a Planetarium. This was the building that had the majority of people in it. Tons o’ kids.
When we were talking with the person at the admission desk he recommended that we walk over to the another building and see the old cars and Indian motorcycles. There were only 4 other people in the entire building and we thought it was much better than the Science Museum. We never made it to the Art Museum or History Museum.
It was a museum of all things significant in Springfield. Cars were built here….a whole section on guns (apparently some where made here), Friendly’s Ice Cream. All sorts of neat things.
Alec ‘schooled’ Erik on the coordination game. :)
Erik, for some reason, told Alec he would give him $1 if the he spun the wheel and it landed on the number 10. It was Alec’s lucky day. :)
And in lobby of the building they had all these billboards that explained the significant ways that Springfield was represented in many of the Dr. Seuss books.
We had a great time in this museum.
All in all I would say if you have a day to spend in Springfield the cost of admission is a bargain for the amount of museums you are granted access to and parking was easy and free (bonus!).
Now off to Albany.
To say that Alec was excited to go to Albany is a gross understatement.The word excited does not do justice –euphoria might be a better word.He has been awaiting this weekend for months. On Friday morning I got up to swim before we left – I was home by 7(am)- I walked into the house and in the entryway were 5 or 6 different bags that Alec had already packed – he was bouncing around the house exclaiming he was ‘ready for his journey to begin’. What was in the bags? Just about everything but the kitchen sink. In one I found puzzles, shaving cream, a bookend and a candle. In another I found books, a brush, a set of coasters, sunglasses and a truck. No kidding. I think he walked around the house just grabbing things. Erik does not seem to have a solid alibi during this free-for-all. :) Less I sound too crabby about it..Alec’s energy was absolutely contagious and he was hilarious to watch.
After a little shuffling, negotiating and downsizing of bags – we were off. We, meaning me, Erik, Alec, doggie, blanket, Jaguar(who is really a cheetah),snakie and some other random blanket. Others not in attendance (the rest of his stuffed animals) were downsized from the traveling group and left to manage Shania and the fish because –ya know- according to Alec only 50% of the family got to go on the trip and that’s not fair. Erik and I were cruel parents for not bringing the cat and fish. He did not let us forget it.
And speaking of cruel parents..how could we even think about stopping somewhere along the way when there was a cousin to play with and a hotel with a pool waiting at our destination. The horror!
But we did. I wanted to stop in Springfield to see…
Erik’s grumpy face? Nahh…. I see that expression often enough. I wanted to see the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden. He’s from Springfield, MA you know. Dr. Suess..not Erik. We planned it so well that we showed up exactly at noon. On a Friday. Field trip Friday. Gazillion bazillion kids having lunch in the garden. oh my. But we got to see it and it was cute.
We gave Alec the little camera and this is what he saw:
I am not sure what I expected but this wasn’t it. I guess I expected more gardens. It is behind the library which is a beautiful old building and in more of a courtyard than gardens and is surrounded by museums. It was free which was good. If you have an extra 10 minutes next time you are in Springfield – it’s worth a stop.
