Spring Break

Now that Spring Break was three weeks ago, I need to document what exciting events occurred before I completely forget.  My family also had spring break so they drove out here Wednesday night and then we all went to Indianapolis on Thursday and Friday. It was so fun to hop in my family’s van that I have been riding in since I was ten years old and embark on yet another adventure.

We started out at the Natural History Museum. There were dinosaur footprints at the entrance and Andrew started off walking like a dinosaur to experience his vacation (Snow family that is for you).

Brian, Christine, Andrew, Emily and I started out on our own and explored the entrance of the museum and an exhibit featuring furniture built out of a variety of materials from carbon fiber to ornate hand carved wood. Andrew and I took this opportunity to reminiscence about our own furniture building and admire joints and different types of wood.

Emily loved chewing on the tassels of her hat all day.  It was just the right amount of entertainment for our little traveler.

My parents joined us at the exhibit about mastodons found in Indiana.  Brian and Christine took Emily through the exhibit and helped her get as involved as possible.

Emily touching mastodon bones, photo credit Christine (next two).

Andrew and I got a good kick out of this bit of trivia and were grateful that our county isn’t known for its mastodon excavations.

Andrew and I thought it would be cool to have Emily ride her very own mastodon…

The Jacksons were from Indiana, so naturally we had to stand by our shared name for a family picture. Emily’s face says it all.

Emily is a Hoosier (someone born in Indiana) and Andrew studies creativity. What a winning combination.

So this is a picture of the entire family standing on a scale to weigh as much as a bull moose.  In case you couldn’t tell…

We spent all afternoon at the museum and then took a short walk along the canal that runs through the city.  After dinner at pizza hut, we settled in at the hotel.  Emily thought the beds were a pretty fun place to hang out. Christine shared a room with Andrew, Emily, and I and was a trooper with all of Emily’s waking up at night.

Brian took care of Emily during breakfast.  She was in heaven playing with that plastic cup. It’s the little things in life.

We spent Friday at the Indianapolis Zoo.  It was a beautiful, warm day and the zoo wasn’t too crowded so it was fun to move at our own pace and look at all the animals.  One of the coolest parts of the day was touching sharks!

Andrew took Emily around and talked with her about all of the different animals.  Emily just stared in her usual curious manner, but didn’t really react to any of the animals.

The penguin exhibit had a glass floor and the penguins could swim underneath our feet, but Emily was content at just looking at them on the rocks.

The bats are bigger than Emily!

Emily hanging out with her grandpa inside the viewing bubble in the dolphins tank.

We stopped to feed Emily and Christine and Brian decided that there weren’t enough turtles at the zoo so they happily volunteered themselves to represent while they took a break.

We grabbed some grilled chicken sandwiches for lunch and then went to the dolphin show. The circular structure in the middle of the water is the dome we stood in earlier in the day.

The zoo’s antique carousel.

Hanging out with Grandma at the end of the day with only one short nap in her stroller.

And then we drove home and the vacation was over. But it was such a wonderfully needed break and really helped me recharge for the rest of the semester.