Visit with Gwen

Last week my 11-year-old niece, Gwen, flew out from California to spend time with my parents.  Luckily since we live close by, we had the privilege of spending time with her, too!  

Wednesday the kids and I met Gwen and my mom at the Children's Museum.  We all had a great trip to China!

Clara loved the music of China.  She enjoyed participating in the music lesson that was taught.

Practiced Chinese writing

Ate at a Chinese restaurant

Chinese tea time

The other exhibit we spent time in was the "Lights, Camera, Action!", where Eli spent a while playing and laughing while testing  out a video camera on some older kids.

He spent a good amount of time "driving" this stationary golf cart out in a hallway.  :)

My group didn't have a ton of time to spend at the museum, so after we left Mom and Gwen stuck around to check out more.  Thankfully that wasn't our only chance to be with Gwen!  The following day we met them at Conner Prairie, which my mom is a member at, so it was another good day that'd already been paid for!

The best part of Conner Prairie for little kids is definitely the tram ride!  We made it on just in time!

We all loved watching the balloon sail in the sky during our visit.  We almost took a trip up!  Maybe next time!

Eli had the awesome opportunity to be a soldier in the Civil War.  He had to carry this large rifle and got to march around the road with his fellow soldiers.  He took it so seriously and was very solemn-faced the entire time.

Here's a video of him marching--

So cute watching the sheep and goats stay cool!

We also saw the pigs, chickens, and roosters on this trip, as well!

Finished the trip canoeing in the Indian village.

Gwen was such an awesome helper with Clara at both places.  Always chasing after her when Clara would run off, helping push the stroller, etc.  She and Clara became great buddies.  We loved getting to spend that fun time with her, and wish we could see her more often!