After a nice visit with Max and Cheryl, we hopped in the car and headed back to downtown Ft. Worth to visit the Ft. Worth Botanical Garden. I could tell from the quirky, little pond outside the visitor's center that we were in for a treat!
We opted to check out the "Rainforest Garden" first. It was warm and misty and full of crazy, viney plants. The kids LOVED this part!
We saw plants with amazing roots...
And vibrant colors!
Ainsley found a plant that had leaves bigger than her head!!!
We made our way out into the main garden, it was lovely! However, it seemed to me that the loveliest things in the garden were my children!
Well, I suppose this water lily was pretty nice too! ;)
Once we had our fill of the traditional garden, we headed over to the Japanese Garden which was HUGE! Japanese gardens definitely aren't as colorful as the more traditional garden, but they are SO peaceful. I love them!
The koi pond was a BIG hit!
They, of course, had to master the stepping stones! Ainsley was pretty scared at first (and technically so was I with her wearing that sweet , white, ruffle-y shirt) but she did great and didn't even fall in once!
We had to get the obligatory pic on a bridge!
And then I managed to get a really nice one of the kids! I know... more kid pics, but what can I say? They are just SO cute!
And leave it my kids to completely disrupt the calm, peaceful vibe of this beautiful garden! ;)
After we explored every bit of the Japanese Garden, we headed to the little cafe and had a nice lunch, well, as nice as a lunch can be with a picky, whiny girl! At least the boy was happy with his Reuben!
There was still a lot of garden to see, but we had to move along as I had promised to take the kids to the Museum of Science and History and we needed to get through it before rush hour! Thankfully, the museum was just down the road and was easy to find.
Ian was not entirely enthused with this particular museum, and I have to agree with him, it was definitely geared toward the younger crowd (not to mention the fact that it was overrun with hordes of school kids).
Ian spent most of his time in a room where they had blowers and vacuums and books and books on how to make paper airplanes and hovercrafts made out of plastic cups. Ainsley, on the other hand, opted for more artsy fartsy stuff. She made a giant Lite-Brite picture.
And doodled under a black light!
Then she discovered a room with infinite amounts of paper, crayons, chalk, pastels, you name it. And she was happy.
I would show you a picture of the boy, but as it turns out, 9 year-old boys are quite elusive! We enjoyed the 4-D theater, at least until the part that it sprayed water in my face and all over my camera! They should warn people to stow them away! Luckily the lens cap was on, so no harm, no foul, but it WAS a surprise!
The dino room was pretty lame except for one thing. Their main dinosaur on display was something called a Pawpawsaurus campbelli.
It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside as "Paw Paw" is what I called my dear grandfather! It was just one of those unexpected, little things that made me think of him and smile. I sure miss him!
After we had our fill of the museum, it was time to pack up and head to Wichita Falls to see my mom. It was a mellow drive, traffic wasn't too bad getting out of Ft. Worth and the scenery was pleasant. Wish I could say the same for Wichita Falls!! Stay tuned for our adventures there!
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