Apartment 1004: The Glory of the Children's Museum

Part 1: The Children’s Museum

Meet Lorna Chisholm, a friend of mine from days of yore. Lorna, who is just completing a fellowship at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, kindly invited our family to the Children’s Museum to experience the glory of the best toys, cars, and activities of cultures from around the world and throughout history!

One of the best things about being “invited” by a person like Lorna is that not only do you not need to pay, you do not need to wait in the colossal line to get in! We simply had to walk up to the visitor information counter and inform them that we were Lorna's guests.

In front of us was a lady with kids desperately complaining about the length of the line in a rather shameless attempt to have the staff member sell her family tickets, allowing her to bypass the monster line. While she was politely rebuffed, we were given special treatment by an employee that came over, greeted us, and stamped each of our hands, giving us full reign of the museum. It was awesome!

Here are Chrissy and the kids, in front of the colossal line. (We were feeling pretty smug here!!)

There were dozens of mini-exhibits for the kids to see. One of the first was the theatre, where the kids were able to put on costumes, present little shows, control the sound board at the back, and so on. It was really cool!

Here is Jesse pretending to be the teller at the box office.

Jesse trying out his acting skills. The clown costume was a natural fit!

Jesse’s favourite part of the museum was probably the “ambulance,” as he called it. In reality, it was a large Indian-style bus (not sure if it was actually from India or not).

He loved this because he was able to sit in front of the bus and “drive” it, which is probably his biggest ambition at this point in his life. Ask Chrissy – he is always telling us about how soon he will be sixteen and will drive us all to work. To Jesse, that is currently the pinnacle of human existence.

In a random hut along the way, Janna fell deeply in love with this outfit. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. It was good because she looked very cute and regal as she donned her blue robe with a solemn and dignified expression. It was bad because of the inevitable meltdown that ensued once it was time to leave the robe behind.

Thankfully, there were plenty of other activities to distract her: like running in endless circles around the pyramid!

Jesse clearly understands the dignity and respect that must be afforded the role of xylophonist. No smiles were cracked during the sounding of this sacred instrument.

The motorcycle, on the other hand, unleashed his wild side!!!

Ah, a beautiful chance to sit down and enjoy the beautiful landscape. Sounds relaxing, right? However, if you’ll note the sly smile on Jesse’s face, that’s the smile that says, “You’re about to find out that I just peed my pants.” Touché, Jesse.

Our last stop on this adventure was the giant water fountain at the top of the steps. We kept telling Jesse that we were going to the big fountain, but he was hopelessly perplexed since the word “fountain” sounds a lot like the word “mountain.” He kept on saying, “Are we climbing the mountain, Mommy?” to which Chrissy would respond, “No, we’re going to see the fountain.” Irritated, he would pause and reply, “Now are we climbing the mountain?”

Turns out, Jesse is terrified of fountains. This was the happiest photo we could produce. Momma is enjoying herself, at least!

As we left the museum, Jesse was heartbroken. He cried all the way back to the van, which we took as a sign that he had really enjoyed himself. Thanks so much, Lorna! Have a good break in Winnipeg!

Part II: Rain

I just need to say, yesterday we had a great thunder/rainstorm. The sky grew dark, we lost our power, and the rain came down. It was much needed. Here’s are before/after shots: