This past weekend didn't start quite as expected. Our daughter had invited us to come over for dinner on Friday evening...her first time cooking for company. She called me on my way home from work and UN-invited us. Seems the pork roast she prepared in the slow cooker using a recipe from Pinterest didn't turn out quite as expected. She said we could still come over, but should eat first. Ha! We ended up ordering Chinese take out and Hubby decided to stay home.
I woke up Saturday to a huge pain in the neck. No, I'm not talking about Hubby. I had a literal pain. In the neck. The coughing from the virus/bronchitis/creeping crud that I had is still going on. It's not quite as intense or as often, but once in a while a bad attack sneaks up on me. The mother of all coughing fits woke me up around 12:30 Saturday morning and I felt a "pinch" in my neck, but didn't think much of it. What I found upon getting up in the morning was that any jarring or sudden moves or just zigging when I should have zagged resulted in major pain.
I put up with the pain all day because we had been planning a day with the grandkids for weeks, but by the time we dropped them at home at the end of the day I was ready to head to Med Express. It turns out I sprained/strained my neck with my coughing....basically, I gave myself a mild case of whiplash. I came home with muscle relaxers and orders to put heat on it. It's taken until today for it to kick in and the pain to have let up some.
We had a great day with the two oldest grandkids in spite of my neck issues. We gave them a few choices of what we could do and they chose the Carnegie Science Center. It had been years since I had last been there. My has it changed and grown! There was so much to see and do.
We started out with a tour of the submarine that is docked outside on the river. Our grandson was NOT a fan. We couldn't convince him it wouldn't move, he hated the metal floors, the steep ladder-like steps, the little doors, the grates in the floors....pretty much everything about it. However, he was very brave and made it all the way through, refusing to be carried on the steps or helped through the doorways.
The rest of us gained a new appreciation for just what a sacrifice sailors who are assigned to submarine duty make. We are in agreement that we wouldn't like to spend weeks or months at a time confined in one.
Back inside, the kids insisted on going to the robotics exhibit first. I'd have to say that was their favorite part of the whole museum. Here they are working the controls on a giant robotic hand.
This reminded me of those claw games outside of every Walmart and pizza place in the country, but there was a lot more control as it had 3 "fingers" and a "thumb."
This life-sized robot was our grandson's favorite thing. He spent the longest time just leaning on the railing watching it. He didn't realize you could actually control it. When I showed him, he was just so amazed and thrilled. I didn't think we'd ever get him away from it.
Danger, Will Robinson, danger!
Alien lifeforms detected!
Can you guess what my favorite exhibit of the day was? LOL
We saw a great program in the planetarium about the stars over Pittsburgh. The photo was taken when we were waiting to be let in. Just goes to show that waiting in line is no fun no matter where you are.
The space exhibit was very cool. The kids got to explore a model of the space station. All those buttons, knobs, and switches move.
The bunks in the space station were much roomier than the ones in the submarine. There was room for both kids and a new friend.
Our granddaughter even had the chance to harness up and get a small taste of what it's like to be weightless.
One floor of the museum was devoted to the human body and how it works. The science of farts was without doubt the most popular thing there. You sit on the stools and bounce up and down. The intensity of your bounce determines the kind of fart sound you produce. The kids loved it....as you can see from the bouncing blur that is our grandson!
There was an earthquake simulator in the weather exhibit. You sat in a big open box that looked like a booth in a restaurant. There was a panel on the wall by the table (where a jukebox would be) and you could choose between a 6.8, 7.1, and a 7.8 magnitude quake. The whole thing shook and rocked back and forth and you heard the rumbling sound, the screams, and the panicked goat. Yeah, there was a goat in the soundtrack for each quake.
It really was an awesomely fun day with the kids, but man, I am getting old. I was exhausted by the time we quit for the day.
Yesterday Hubby worked on the bathroom remodel. He got quite a bit of the shower framed in and the new wall board put up. Maybe by Easter we'll be able to use it?
I went to a basket bash fundraiser for a small local library. Mom and I go nearly every year. They get close to 200 gift baskets donated plus gift certificates to local businesses and some really big prizes that they sell special tickets for. It makes several thousand dollars for the library. This was not a lucky year for me, though. I came home with nothing.
Today I am having lunch with a friend to celebrate her birthday...just a little late.
Have a blessed week, friends!
That sounds like such a fun place to go. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete