The Gift of Experience

Well we officially have a 5 year old in our house.  She is generous, giving, funny, caring & silly and we couldn't be prouder.  This year we decided to forgo getting Lilly something material for her big day, but instead decided to give her the gift of experience.  The gift of spending the whole day as a family doing something we've never done before and that is completly about her and fun.

We started out her birthday bright and early and hopped in the car to take her to the Impressions 5 science museum in Lansing.  Before we got there we had to stop to get a special birthday lunch.  We ate at this really neat Irish pub.  The decorations were so cool and very medieval and the food was nothing short of awesomness. 

Nolee was showing off her "look ma no hands skills with the straw".

And Lilly had a perma grin on her face all day long....which of course meant I did too :).

After our bellies were full we made a quick stop at the book store next door and each girl got to pick out 1 book.  Actually I told Lilly she could get two, but she decided that she wanted Nolee to have one too, so she only picked out one...awww :).

Then it was off to Impressions 5 and all the hands on science experiences we could handle.

The construction zone was a hit and the girls had a great time building their own little city

I have a ton more pics from the museum, but apparently they are on the other camera - doh!

After the museum (which didn't have air conditioning...and it was over 90 that day) we decided it would be a good idea to cool off.  So we headed to the Lansing Aquatic Center's spray park/pool to cool down for a bit.

Nolee was literally so excited and happy every few minutes she would stop what she was doing to squeal with joy and jump up and down.

Lilly's absolute favorite thing was the frog slide.  It was the perfect size for her and she must have gone down it at least 50 times while we were there.  She even got Nolee to do it :).

After the water park we headed back to town...and the girls took a snooze in the back.

Nolee lasted all of about 5 minutes before she fell asleep behind her book.

Lilly lasted a bit longer, but finally gave in.

Once back in town we finished off the day with a trip to Coldstone Creamery for a fantastic ice cream supper.

These pictures crack me up.  I am holding Nolee's ice cream and you can totally tell where all her attention is.

After ice cream we headed home and ended the night with a movie and some popcorn for desert.  Scott and I completely agreed it was one of our best ever family days to date.  The grin that was on Lilly's face the entire time pretty much assured us she agreed :).