Given Grace: Indiana

Somewhere a few years back, I read about a family that made it their goal to visit all 50 states before their kids graduated from high school. They research ahead of time and visit the "top" sites for that state and then document it in a journal or scrapbook. We loved the idea and decided to give it a try. We wanted to start once the kids were old enough to remember and appreciate it, so we thought this summer would be a good time to start. We decided to start somewhat local and spent the weekend in Indiana. We went to the Indianapolis Zoo on Friday, the Indianapolis Children's Museum on Saturday, and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Sunday. We had a GREAT time!

We drove to the zoo Friday morning on July 11th. As we were driving we saw a sign for a Seven-Eleven and Drew remembered hearing that you could get free slushies on 7/11, so we pulled off and picked some up for the kids and us. You can't beat FREE!

Family picture at the zoo - ready to begin our adventure

There was a shark pool where you could "pet" sharks. We waited and waited, but the sharks apparently didn't want to come close enough to be touched. This was as close as Jenna got, and although it looks like she's petting it, she just missed it. But it did touch her as it's tail flapped back and forth.

Grant got close to them, but never got to touch them.

They had a new orangutan exhibit that opened a few months prior. We were able to get really close to this guy.

Hannah's sweet, happy self.

The kids searching for the animals.

Baboons sitting in the shade in the background.

Grant watching the elephants.

They have a dolphin show at the zoo that you can go to as long as you get (free) tickets ahead of time. It was really neat to watch the dolphins jump out of the water, splash their tails, and interact with the trainers. The kids loved it, as did we! It was the highlight of the trip for me.

Waiting for the dolphin show to start.

There's also a butterfly house just outside the zoo that is included in the zoo admission price. We were told if we held still and put our hand out, butterflies might land on you. Jenna waited and waited for the butterflies to land on her and then got frustrated when they didn't. :)

Friday was also "Dress like a cow" day at Chick-Fil-A. If you dress like a cow, you can get your whole meal FREE. So of course we had to participate. We packed our white clothes and Hannah's cow sleeper that she got from Brian and Natalie. I cut black spots out of construction paper and printed cow heads that we made into hats. Success! Two free combo meals, and three free kids meals - yum!

It's always such a treat for the kids to stay in a hotel. Drew had some free hotel nights from all his business travels and so we stayed in a Springhill Suites hotel. Jenna and Grant had a blast talking to each other on the two phones in the room.

Hannah enjoyed some play time on the bed.

Saturday we went to the Children's Museum. The building is so cool with some dinosaurs crawling into (and out of) the building!

We got there right around the time it opens at 10am and stayed until it closed at 5pm. It was amazing! We could have easily stayed longer and didn't even make it through the whole museum by the time it closed. We were dragging the kids through some of it trying to keep them moving so we could see it all. It's a great museum. I'm sure we'll be back at some point.

Smiley girl!

There was a slide just inside the entrance. Since we got there early, there wasn't much of a line, so the kids went down the slide a few times before we headed on into the museum.

Hannah (and I) even got to go down the slide.

There is a carousel on the top floor that only costs $1, so the three kids (and Drew) rode the carousel.

Grant and Drew assembled this archway. So proud!

They got to sit in a race car.

There was an area for kids 5 and under that we spent the most time in. In that area was a space for babies and toddlers. It was PERFECT for Hannah with lots of sensory input. She loved getting out of the stroller and being able to stand at the bench seating.

Grant spent the most time at the sand table. There was a rotating disk in it for the kids to put sand on, and then scrape off and make designs as it rotated.

Hannah and I spent the most time sitting in front of this "Push and Whoosh" board. When you push a big red button, air blows all around inside the case and makes the flowers fly around. Hannah LOVED it! So much so that I was pondering whether Drew would be able to build one. Ha! Some therapy benefits of it were that it caused her to lift her head to look up at the flowers, it allows her to practice her sitting, it teaches her cause and effect, she had to open her hands to push the button, plus she had to reach to push the button. Although she never pushed the button on her own, I would take her hand, open it up, and push the button, while saying, "PUSH."

They had a China theme at the museum, so there was an area where you could dress up.

And a restaurant with Chinese food. Jenna and Grant loved "cooking" the food for us and then serving it to us at the small restaurant tables there. Jenna was completely in server mode and even carried the tray on her arm. She'd bring us our food and then come back a little later with the tray to clear our dishes.

Then she spotted the veterinarian area where you could care for the pandas and she rushed over there.

This sculpture is the centerpiece to the museum and it's amazing! It's all blown glass and is four stories tall.

With only a few minutes left we made it down to the very bottom where they had the dinosaur display. We didn't even know it was down there and so we missed out on really getting to enjoy it, so I guess we'll just have to go back another time! The kids did dress like dinosaurs and give us their scary dinosaur faces.

After the museum we went to a local pizza place that my friend, Angela told me about.

What's so unique about it is that you sit in booths next to a train track and your drinks are delivered on the train. You just lift the glass and get your drinks out. Needless to say, we had to get a few refills! :) Thanks Ang for telling us about it! The kids LOVED it too!!

Me and my baby girl

Me and my big girl - I love how she put her arm around my shoulders. :)

The boys

Of course we had to enjoy the hotel pool while there. This hotel even had a "hot pool" as the kids called it.

All three of them love their swimming time!

Hannah took a nap Sunday morning before we headed out.

Post nap beauty. I just love this picture of Drew and Hannah!

When I was looking up things to do in Indiana, practically all the sites said to visit the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the center of the city.

It's 284 feet 6 inches tall and was the first monument in the United States to be dedicated to the common soldier. It's also the largest outdoor memorial. You have the option of climbing all 331 steps or taking an elevator to the top. In our opinion, you can't go to the top without a sense of accomplishment in climbing all 331 steps! So we climbed all the way to the top.

Grant led the whole way up! I don't think he stopped once to catch his breath. The rest of us took a few breathers along the way. It wasn't too bad of a hike, but we definitely felt it the next day!