An Easter in Milwaukee

On Easter weekend in April of 2004 (April 9 - 11), we took a trip to Milwaukee.  Scott, Lee Ann, Gabe, Noah, Emily and Isaac all went along.

We left on Friday and decided to just leave when we got ready.  Sometimes getting out of the house with six people can get stressful and we traded not having a set time to leave for less stress.  It was a good trade.  We were sort of aiming for noon and we finally did get out of town at 2:00.  Along the way, we stopped at a Culver's for dinner and then arrived at the hotel.  For some reason, the younger children were bouncing off the walls, so Scott took them and basically drove till they were quiet.  Scott lived in Milwaukee for ten years and given a choice and the right circumstances, he would be back there.

On Saturday, we went to Discovery World, which is a hand-on science museum.  Scott, Lee Ann, Noah, Isaac and Emma Lee all made a pretty cool video tape of a mock newscast.  We also went to two IMAX films - "Everest" and "The Mysteries of Egypt."  We walked around the Milwaukee Public Museum as well and saw some neat exhibits about American Indians.  As an adult, it can be a challenge to be in a museum because it would be nice to be able to regularly stop, read and ponder the exhibits.  The children look, say "Neat" and run to the next thing.  It's pretty clear that the children could blow through any museum in less than an hour.  Milwaukee has a pretty neat museum center and Discovery World, the IMAX theater and the Milwaukee Public Museum are all in the same building linked by a big hallway.  It is a bright, pleasant setting.  We bought a museum pass at the Chicago Children's Museum in the spring of 2003 that covered many museums nationwide and both of these museums were covered under the pass.  We've used it several times over the last year and will renew it. 

On Sunday, we saw the Milwaukee Brewers play the Houston Astros.  Unfortunately, the Brewers lost, but it was an entertaining game and we had fun.  The kids got to run the bases after the game and Lee Ann even got a ball from batting practice.

All in all, we had a great weekend!

Pictures and short descriptions follow.  Click on any image to make it bigger
 

The day started with Lee Ann spending over an hour on Emma Lee's hair.  She didn't really want to spend this time, but if you don't, you pay later.
Isaac made a video at the TV studio at Discovery World.  He's singing the ABC's.
EmmaLee also made a video - just like Isaac
The whole family made sculptures out of wire and nylon.  They also got to use permanent markers and color these neat little plastic pictures.
Isaac was coloring a very cool picture and absolutely refused to smile
Lee Ann wanted to prove just how tall she was.  If you look carefully, you can just barely see her jumping and wearing 3" heels.  How tall is Lee Ann?  No one really knows.
They had a pulley system.  What you do is sit in a chair and then see if you can "pull your own weight."  Isaac did.  The display on simple machines is a repeating theme at many children's museums.  It is always a favorite in that "hands-on-physics" is really cool.  To actually see and feel the effect of a lever, a wedge, a screw or a pulley is really nifty.  Sure we have big machines that can leap tall buildings in a single bound, but to see a five-year-old lift a hundred pound rock with three fingers using a simple lever is still sort of astonishing.
So did EmmaLee
And Scott
And Lee Ann
Even Gabe!
These are the sculptures that Isaac and Scott made.  Clearly the work of master craftsmen.
Noah with his just found Easter basket
Isaac with his
EmmaLee found her basket and more eggs than anyone!
The four kids we had with us and their baskets
The three boys after an exhausting run around the bases following the Brewer's game
Another shot of the base run
Lee Ann with her hard-fought-for baseball.  The ball narrowly missed hitting her while she was taking a picture.  She was so into the shot that she never even knew the ball was in her vicinity.  Fortunately, the security guard was nice enough to hand it to her.