We took Michelle’s advice and checked out the Helix science store at Los Altos this morning.  It was a nice place, small in scale but it had many fun exhibits for the kids.  The boys were fascinated with everything and enjoyed the hands on experiences.  We sat down briefly at the activity hour to watch videos of “animals that spin” too.  We were at the store for over an hour and we bought a couple of toys to take home.  We then stepped out to enjoy the nice downtown area; the boys sat for a little bit to have a snack and used the provided chalk to draw on the designated street area.  We also checked out a small adoption area at a bookstore to see the dogs and cats.  We then finally met up briefly with the Kaos, after their lunch, at another bookstore.  Afterward, it was our turn to eat and the boys were excited to have pancakes for lunch.

       As the kids took their naps in the car during the ride home, it felt that we had a long and productive afternoon.  When we got home, Stuart and I worked on the backyard while Connor constantly asked “What can I help with now?”.  He helped me cleaned out some old mulches, laid down some liners and then new mulches in a couple of areas.  After Logan’s game time, he joined Connor and played together for awhile.  Stuart opened up the “half tent” for them to play inside too.  After almost three hours in the yard and a short walk while Connor rode the bike, we were tired.  However the boys still had lots of energy; they played with the new purchase from Helix this morning, “Indoor boomerang”, and had a great laugh and run around with them.