The first week... Its time to quit!

Here is where it all begins. Giving up after 14 years.

Monday

 It's the first day of quitting smoking for me, so far it hasn't gone too bad. The worst part of it is waiting... The cravings aren't too bad though, I am able to manage it pretty well actually. I have been trying to keep busy when I feel like I want a cigarette and that in itself has helped tremendously. The worst is when I am sitting at the computer with a nice hot cup of coffee like right now. I want one, I guess because it has become so natural to me to smoke at these times. It had become a habit that when I was drinking coffee I would also be having a cigarette. But my willpower is stronger than my habit and I will stop smoking. There is no question in my mind about it, it has to happen not just for myself but for the rest of my family.

The Numbers

  I figured while the kids were taking their naps I would go over some of the numbers of my habit. These figures are based on smoking a pack a day, sometimes I smoked more sometimes less but I figured averaging it out would make it a bit easier to figure out the math.

14 years of smoking a pack a day turned out to be 102,200 cigarettes. WHAT!!! Oh my god that is a lot!

If you figure about five minutes per cigarette and smoking 102,200 in the past 14 years... I have wasted 511,000 minutes of my life smoking, roughly 8,516 hours I will never get back... Which turns out to be almost 355 days, that is close to a year of my life thrown away from smoking. 

14 years is 5,110 days and figure the average cost per pack is say $4.50... Wow that is $22,995.00 I  am honestly astounded... That's enough for a car or a house somewhere, and all of it just went up in smoke...

Those are some of the numbers, I am sure I could come up with some more. But right now I need to get back to my duties as a stay at home dad and get some chores done. 

Tuesday

The second day is almost over and I am going strong, keeping to my routine only smoking once every hour. Unlike yesterday I have noticed little cravings once in awhile between hours. Though they arent that bad, I have a feeling they are going to start getting worse though but I am going to fight my way through them no matter how bad they get. I am on the path to quitting and I am going to keep following it until I have smoked my last cigarette.

Wednesday

What a day it has been, the kids think it is a day to run rampant and try and test how far they can push the parents buttons. As far as quitting smoking goes I am still rocking it out only smoking one cigarette a hour. The cravings aren't going away between cigarettes actually I think they may be getting a little worse but it's kind of hard to tell right now. I have been thinking about this coming Monday, I will start smoking only one cigarette every two hours. I am not sure how it's going to work out, I haven't made it that far when I tried quitting like this in the past. Though I am going to succeed because it is time to quit and be smoke free. Positive thinking is my best friend at the moment!

Thursday and Friday

Things got off track.... Seriously off track, I had been doing so well with sticking to my quit plan. Unfortunately I had run out of cigarettes during the middle of the day while Anna was at work Thursday, It was seriously hard the kids had seemed to be doing every little thing they could to test my limits. Though honestly I am not sure it may have been the fact that I was craving a cigarette so bad when Anna had got home. In the end I had failed, I smoked 2 within 45 minutes of her being home. Friday wasn't any better, I was back to smoking on a regular basis and not the once a hour I was trying to keep to. 

The end? No not really.

I had failed yet again, it has taken me awhile to bring you up to date with this blog. I think part of it is because I was ashamed of myself. It's a really sucky feeling to know you have failed at something you want to do so bad. I want to quit and know that I need to but it is so hard. Life has been so stressful and smoking only adds to it. I am fighting a mental war with this, and I have lost this battle. But in the end I will end the war, I have to re-organize and strike out again. attacking the problem head on, I am going to try again and succeed no matter how many times I have to try. My allies are there for me to help me through this, and together I know we can win! So today I will begin again and as I said before no matter how much I have to I will keep trying to quit until I am victorious!

To those of you out there who are also trying to quit and having a hard time, you are not alone and there are others who know just how hard it is. If anyone has fought this war and won please feel free to comment below about how you succeeded, things that may have worked for you and may work for someone else. If you know anyone who is trying to quit please feel free to share this with them so that they can know they aren't alone! Thanks for reading I hope you all have a wonderful day!

A stay at home dad giving up after 14 years

My Affair

  I've been having an affair for almost twice as long as I have been a father. For 14 years of my adult life I have been cheating not only on myself but on everyone I have loved. It all started when I was 18, I was working for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I was young and impressionable. I wanted to fit in with the rest of the guys around me. I didn't really think it was cool or anything, it just sorta felt more like I belonged. Most of the guys I knew were doing it and I honestly didn't see anything wrong with it. I do know there were many times when I had trouble finding the time, there were countless wasted moments....

 But they were always there when I needed them, No matter what the trouble was I could count on them. When I needed someone to listen they didn't say a word, just listened to my problems and we came up with quite a few solutions together. Over the years it has become more than an affair.... It has become more of an obsession. It has become an absolute need, the 5 minutes that I was able to steal away from my wife and kids. But it isn't just 5 minutes, The time adds up 5 minutes here and there doesn't seem like much but it really is. five minutes at a time 20 times a day is almost 2 hours I have been cheating us all out of everyday.

And do I feel guilty stealing this time away from us.I absolutely do, but I really didn't realize I was doing it. I don't think anyone really does. It controls us telling us we have to have that time the 5 minutes whether it is raining or shinning, it doesn't matter if it is 101 degrees or 11 degrees. I have sacrificed my time in all manner of extremes. And all just for a cigarette.

It's been a long time coming

 The thing about it is that I have been trying to quit on and off for a few years now, most of the time without any success whatsoever. It maybe easy for some people to just up and quit, and there maybe things out there who have helped others quit successfully, but none of that has worked for me. I've tried the e-cigs, the patches, the gum, and pretty much everything else you can think of short of getting a prescription for something. All the ways I have tried hadn't worked, be it because there was someone smoking around me or simply because I had easy access to them. One of the ways I had tried and had the most success was a design of my own, The basic idea was one cigarette per hour for a week, Then changing it to one cigarette per two hours the next week. And basically continuing on from there slowly kicking the habit.

  I had started out making myself wait to smoke, I would only allow myself to smoke  one cigarette a hour. and while by myself without anyone else smoking around me it worked great. however when I was around other people it was quite hard to make myself commit to the only one per hour rule. Especially when I would be sitting there waiting on the guys I was working with to get done smoking before we got back to working. I had fought through 3 weeks of this and did pretty well, however in the end I was still smoking.

Losing the control

 I would be willing to bet that every single person who has smoked or smokes now knows just how bad it can be for them, I knew and there were quite a few times it had crossed into my thought's while I was smoking. And even when I was sitting there thinking about it I would still be taking another drag off my smoke. The thought didn't phase me, I knew it was bad for me and what kind of stuff it could do to my body. The thought of getting something like cancer didn't even really concern me when it came right down to it I wanted the nicotine from that cigarette. No it was really more the feeling that I had to have the cigarette. My willpower had been beaten to a pulp over 14 years and I was no longer in control of my smoking habit. It had control of me. 

 Normally I am a strong willed person and when I put my mind to something I get it done. But I had become a slave to the cigarette. Which is most certainly not something that is easy for me to admit. However it is the truth. My smoking had stopped becoming I want a cigarette and turned into I need a cigarette, when it wasn't there I craved the next one, even to the point of not being able to wait. I would get antsy and fidgety craving the next drag off of a cigarette.

The thought just occurred to me...

 When did I lose control of smoking.... Was I ever really in control of it? When I was younger and had just started smoking it wasn't really a problem to go a few hours without a cigarette, I know I didn't feel the need to smoke like I do now when I go a long time without one. Then again it could possibly be a situation where the longer you smoke the more you want it... Regardless it's something that needs to stop.

But where to start?

 I know cold turkey isn't going to work, I have tried it more than once without success. The first day wasn't so bad, I had some cravings I wanted to smoke but I didn't have to have it. The second day I really wanted a smoke with my coffee like REALLY wanted it. I made it through that part of the day without too much difficulty, but by the end of the day I was craving a cigarette so bad I could taste it. My hands were shaking, I was grinding my teeth, and getting snappy with everyone in the house. It wasn't their fault and I knew that but it just seemed that every little thing would set me off. I felt like a real... Well there are quite a few very inappropriate words I could use to describe how I felt about myself afterwards. Which we won't be mentioning here but I am sure you can figure some of them out. The third day well, The third day was torture it's really incredible how something so small as a cigarette can have such a major impact on you and your outlook on life. 

 The cravings were so intense and it wasn't just short little bursts of cravings like the first two days, no these lasted all day from the time I got up to the time I went to sleep and laid there for a couple hours wishing I had a cigarette, feeling that I needed that smoke had to have it. The need to smoke kept me up for a couple extra hours that night. I couldn't get my mind to stop telling me I had to have it. 

 Of the countless ways out there to quit smoking I think the best way is to use my quitting method. The first week, start out with only letting myself smoke one cigarette a hour, and only allowing myself to smoke outside. Then the second week only one cigarette every two hours, the third week every three hours. until I get down to one cigarette a day, then the week after NONE! 

  I think I can do it this way. No wait I KNOW I can do it this way I have to have the mindset to quit as well I need to program it into my mind to unravel the need to have a smoke.  Just coming up with a plan to quit isn't going to work. There is a need for the will power as well. The want, need, desire, and ability to quit, it's here and I will do it. Not just for myself, though that is a very valid reason. I have to do this for my kids and my wife. 

Stay tuned...

There will be more to come, I will be keeping up with this blog and updating everyone as the weeks pass. I honestly hope that this may help someone else with quitting smoking, I know just how hard it is to do. Even if it only helped one person that would be amazing. So please feel free to share with your friends and comments are always welcome below. Thanks for reading, Have a great day.

This is my entry for the first week.... I know it has been awhile since I had originally posted this, and the explanation is in this thread. The first week.
  

Fish Tails

 As the stay at home parent its also my job to take care of the four legged animals and the fishy ones. We currently have a full blooded Chihuahua, a mixed Chihuahua \ Miniature Pinscher, a full blooded Miniature Pinscher, and a Shiba Inu Mixed with something else. Those are the four legged hooligans we have running around. In the fish tank we have two fantail goldfish and a black moor goldfish, as well as 14 ghost shrimp and three snails.

 Recently one of our goldfish started showing signs of distress black coming in on his fins and a couple little patches on his side. Since he had just got over a case of Ich and Swim Bladder Disease. I know poor guy has had it rough lately. I had just assumed it was coloring showing he had gotten over a sickness like they do sometimes. last week I was watching Doctor Who (Which is what rebel decided to name her fish.) Though I do really enjoy the show as well. 

 I noticed his tail fin was showing signs of coming apart, for a week there was no change. I had been keeping a close eye on him and it wasn't getting worse it was staying the same. just two little bits missing out of his tail fin. I decided to put him in a hospital tank and start a treatment with him, this way I'm not medicating the fish who are still healthy and showing no sign of illness. 

There was a problem with this idea though... I didn't have another filter I could use for the hospital tank. After doing some research and some thinking I came up with a idea for a impromptu bacteria filter. I gathered material I had laying around the house. 

-An empty fish food container.

-Some extra fish tank rock.

-A bath Loofah

  And naturally any chance I get to use a power tool I will take it so I also broke out my 18 volt drill, and a 1\8" drill bit.

Bottom of the food container

Bottom again to allow
for airflow

Side with holes drilled

I started by drilling a hole in the middle of the bottom, since the drill bit I was using was too small for the air hose to go through I had to made it a little bigger with a knife. Then I made the holes in the side this way the water can come into the filter at the bottom. I added the holes at the top for letting water and air escape. the filter. As a after thought I pulled the filter back out and added some holes in the screw on cap to increase water flow into the filter.

Added rock into the top

And the loofah sits in the bottom

After all the drilling and cleaning off the spurs of plastic (sandpaper works great) and don't forget to rinse it. I added the rocks into the top for weight and put the loofah in the bottom around the air stone. Which is where the bacteria will be living in theory...

The whole concept

After watching the filter while writing this blog I discovered putting a little rock in the bottom as well helps to stabilize the filter, the filter had kept flipping on it's side but now it seems to be standing upright like I intended it to.  I hope you enjoyed this small blog about my homemade filter and you found it useful in some way. Please feel free to share with your friends. If you have any thought's or comments please let us know. As always thanks for reading, I hope you have a wonderful day.

The P***ification of the interwebs.

 Here's the deal, more people than I can count are using social media to connect with others. Whether it is to connect with family, friends, even long lost relatives... Be it in a group of like minded people, a group of people who are in the same situation as you or I, and countless other groups on the myriad of social networking sites that are out there.

 There is a problem with this though, and that is that even joining groups with like minded people there are still going to be people who don't think they way you do. There could be things posted that you don't agree with or condone. Which is completely fine, we are all human... I think, if not would you please contact me. I would love to be the one to initiate first contact with an alien species.

 Being human is to error, no one is perfect and what one person may see as appropriate another may not. People tend to forget things like this though and think that everyone should cater to their thoughts and needs instead of trying to better the whole. One such incident happened not too long ago, a post was made and one person did not agree with it. He had voiced his opinion on it, not only did the poster apologize to him but many of the others in the same group had also apologized.

 But instead of leaving it as it was and blocking the thread this person completely left the group and went on to write a blog demoralizing the group as a whole, as well as the network affiliated with the group. Which in my opinion was completely wrong to do seeing as how it was not the entire group or the affiliated party who was responsible for the post.

 This type of behavior in my opinion is what contributes as George Carlin puts it, to the complete pussification of america... Not just america though but also the world, I completely agree with free speech and the right to voice ones opinion, which would have been fine. But to sit there and whine about a post and and then turn around after being apologized to and write a blog bashing the entire group and its affiliates...

 There was absolutely no need in it, yet this person did it anyway. There could have been many reasons for it.

 1. He could have genuinely been insulted and did not want to see that kind of content. There is a block button for that and no one has super glued your eye's to the computer. 

2. To make themselves look better in the eyes of another... 

3. To get more clicks on their blog... Which would be the worst reason in my opinion 

 I am sure there could be other reasons for their actions, whatever the reason the action they took could have been a much better one, and not include bashing of innocent people or the inclusion of them simply because they are in the same group or affiliated with them in any way. 

 As I said earlier I completely agree with being able to speak your mind on whatever it is you want. But there is also a line there, and when it is crossed you are not speaking your mind. You are bashing people and destroying the work of others who have busted their butts trying to make a good name for themselves and others. Simply because of not agreeing with something someone said or posted.

 In the end it boils down to this there are countless people using the same social media sites as you and I there will almost always be a time when we see something we don't agree with. But do not blame everyone for the actions of one person. Not only is that wrong but is also hurtful to those who had no interest in the post simply by affiliation.

 As always thank you for reading, I hope you share this with your friends. Even more importantly I hope you have a wonderful day!

One fish two fish red fish SHARK!!!

Batman Up!

Originally we had planned on going to the Zoo on Sunday... However it was a little colder than it was supposed to be, so we decided to go with our contingency plan The Dallas World Aquarium.

  We got all suited up, packed all of our luggage, and headed to IHOP for breakfast, they were packed so we went back to Denny's. Had some breakfast and headed to the aquarium.  

I loved the entrance, except for the fact it felt like we were walking on a snake with as mush twisting and turning as we did, and it went on for what seemed like a mile. I kinda felt like Dory in Finding Nemo. "Just keep swimming." I was excited to get there but I had to keep repeating to myself just keep walking. 

They had big cages setup for animals, we seen some birds in a couple of them. It would have been nice to be able to actually look at the habitats they had setup but the walkway was really skinny and people were about pushing each other to go up the ramp. It felt like walking into a forest, then out of nowhere the ticket counter appeared. Almost 80 dollars to get into the place

It was pretty cool walking in and around the corner is this waterfall, The atmosphere was great, a wide open area with birds flying around and monkeys hanging out in the tree's.

 I counted at least 6 monkey's jumping around in the tree, these guys here and another smaller monkey I wasn't able to get any pictures of.

This area was pretty cool, but like the entrance the only path through it was a tight squeeze. It was also over crowded with people it was hard trying to get up to the railing. I really didn't feel comfortable letting Ryder walk around even holding one of our hands. There were just so many people it was crazy.

 these guys were hanging out by the bottom of the waterfall, and granted they are not fish... they do spend a lot of time in the water.

It would be interesting to see how well the ducks and monkeys got along over a extended period of time. I would be willing to bet the monkeys give the ducks hell.

Though the ducks would probably have the protection of the birds.

For instance fluffy here looks like he could probably take a chunk out of someone. 

                          

  Are you kidding me look at the size of these beasts, we found them as we made our way around a lower level near the bottom of the waterfall. I was thinking it must be nice to be a gator. Nothing is going to mess with you except humans. you can chill out where you want, and if something see's you coming it Shits itself and gets out of the way real quick... Even a lot of humans.

 "Happy" was downstairs near the gators, just look at the grin on him. You know he's been eating the good greens. It put a smile on all our faces to find such a happy turtle.

 We had been in the aquarium for over a hour and still hadn't seen any fish... They did however have some sloths up near the food stand cafeteria area.

I caught this guy out of the corner of my eye so I snapped a picture, 

I'm not sure what he was supposed to be doing. I do know however he is most certainly not a fish.

interestingly enough they had flamingos as well. Anna wouldn't let me take any home for yard decoration, 

so I didn't even bother to ask. But if you ask me they would look a lot better than the plastic kind. It just came to me, what is the deal with the plastic flamingos anyway what kind of person would it take to put something like that in their yard? I would be willing to bet there are some people out there with whole flocks of flamingos in their yard.

check it out the second pair of hooters I was able to take a picture of on our trip. Aren't they beauties.

We came around a bend to see these uh animals standing in the middle of the walkway right before the entrance to see the fish. Ryder wouldn't take his eyes off them for fear of having his soul eaten. Rebel was much braver to turn her back upon them. But you can tell she isn't happy about it.

Yay Fish! Unfortunately the tank areas were even more crowded than the rest.We tried for a photo with mommy and the kids, but Ryder had seen a fish, and Rebel was also hypnotized by the tank. 

Seahorses how cool is that, you can also participate in classes at the Aquarium 

to learn underwater equestrian skills and techniques.

 Me and Anna had a spirited debate about this fish. She said it wasn't an Angel Fish. I say it is, It's obvious of the left angel where it's mouth is. If it had been swimming the other direction it would have been a right angel fish.

So far the whole aquarium aspect of this building isn't looking too hot. they had a few fish and a few different tanks. But the tanks were all small and didn't have a lot in them.

The big tanks they had were filled with a good bit of river fish. We did catch a glimpse of a manatee but it was only after someone had already shouted manatee and everyone started rushing to the glass.  They had two tunnels where you could walk underneath the fish. The first one wasn't all that great. There were a couple big fish in it but nothing spectacular. However the second and obvious crown of the whole aquarium trip was the sharks!

This tunnel made the whole trip in my opinion. It was awesome seeing the sharks and stingrays gliding around the tank. There were some sawtooth sharks as well. Though it was crowded if you stayed in one area it wasn't too bad and the fish were swimming all around us. There was also a outdoor penguin exhibit. we didn't check that out though due to the cold and the crowds.




After the shark tank we came out and seen this leopard looking cat.It wasn't a leopard and I can't remember what it was, but it wasn't a catfish either.

We had a great time at the aquarium even though we were fighting through crowds to see the little bit we got to see. The aquarium may be worth the 80 dollar admission if it weren't as crowded but I still wouldn't call it an aquarium there were more birds and other animals than fish. And not a place you want to go when it is crowded. the walkways were way too small, it just felt like there were too many people in there.  

  We walked out with smiles on our faces and at the end of the day that's all that matters I can see us going back, but I will most certainly trying to find a coupon or something to get in with, and it will most certainly not be on a weekend.  

  This wraps up the three part trilogy of  Family Trip 2014. If you would like to read more check out: 

     Were goin' to the big D and I mean Dallas.

       Which is about our trip to dallas and back

      Science is the poetry of reality

        About our trip to the Perot museum.

 Thanks for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to share it with your friends or comment below. Have a wonderful day.

Science is the poetry of reality.

The title of this blog is a quote from Richard Dawkins. Our trip to the science and nature museum, was one where my reality had turned to poetry. One of those that really tug on something deep inside, and though only words. It can release in you emotions from laughter to crying, bringing them to the surface. Where you can feel the author's pain or joy. Over the weekend my reality had turned to poetry, Flowing beautifully from one incredible moment to the next. I felt as a kid again running around with our children, laughing, playing, and gazing in wonder at some of the things we seen.

 We had agreed to get up at 7:00 am on Saturday to get a good jump on the day, however when the alarm went off it got shut off. We ended up sleeping till about 8:30, when everyone had gotten ready.

Everyone ready to go!
Captain America shirts, check!

 We tried for a nice family picture three different times. This is the best one even if Rebel had her tongue sticking out. You can see the excitement all of us are ready to go, we had breakfast at Denny's then headed to the Perot Science and Nature Museum. Parking sucked because there was nothing close. The museum had signs up saying it was sold out until noon. We had to walk about two blocks so it wasn't too bad.

Watching and waiting they were both so anxious. 

 After we got our tickets it was just a matter of waiting in line for 10 minutes because they weren't letting in the 12:00 crowd yet. They had some pretty cool stuff set up in the waiting area. A fossil dig to keep the kids entertained. They also had  a couple of small exhibits in the waiting area. They also had a place that give's you a tablet to take with you through the museum. We didn't try it out because we didn't see it till we were on the way out. On our next trip we'll be getting one for sure. 

   For every action there is a reaction... The action we slept till 8:30 and got a late start, the reaction was us getting to the museum 10 minutes before they opened the gates. If we had left out on time we would have waited over a hour to get in. I love it when a plan fall's into place, and yes I did plan it right after the alarm went off at seven I planned to sleep some more. 

"The fourth floor"

  The highest Ryder had ever been, We took a escalator train to the fourth floor. I say escalator train because it was three different escalators which you had to take straight to the top. and there was none coming down either. The layout was designed to start your tour at the top of the building then work your way down. Going through all the exhibits as you go.

First up was our trip through space. In the Expanding Universe Hall. Our trip through the final frontier!

Mommy teaching about Gravity.

 
 We learned about gravity and how a ball spinning would affect gravitational pull. and the staff was awesome there was alw

ays someone close by who was glad to help you or talk with you about the exhibit.The kids got to do an experiment with two steel balls where turning the wheel would bring one of the steel balls to the top and it would slide down a ramp onto the other one which you put a piece of paper over. After the ball dropped and hit the other one you could pull out the paper and smell a burnt smell from the transfer of energy. Pretty frigging neat if you ask me.

Rebel and Ryder seeing how kinetic energy works.

They also had many other thing's to see and do, including a little planetarium. It looks like a command post on a space station with  all of the other exhibits floating around outside. My only problem was they didn't have a whole lot of stuff to do or see in this area, and it was so crowded from everyone being let into the museum with even more coming up the escalators constantly. 

After the space exhibit we made our way to the T. Boone Pickens, life then and now hall. 

Dinosaurs!!

That turtle was HUGE!!!

Look we found bones

 I think this was Ryder's favorite exhibit, Rebel was also staring around at all the old fossils and bones. It was awesome to watch the new discoveries in their eye's, and the shear size of the dinosaurs boggled Rebel's mind. She couldn't believe how big they were. Ryder even tried climbing into the exhibit, no fear in that boy.  

   An amazing assortment of prehistoric skeletons, from Wooly Mammoth to a huge T-Rex, an Alamosaurus. The Alamosaurus is the really big guy standing next to the T-Rex. We also had the chance to see some pretty cool sea life skeletons as well, but this side of the hall was pretty crowded so I wasn't able to get any good pictures.

Velociraptor foot print

 The Fossils were incredible, from Nautilus shells to Velociraptor foot prints. Just look at that and tell me you wouldn't crap your pants if you came across a fresh foot print like that, it's almost bigger than my son. 

Reindeer, Gophers, and Cougar.

Walking around this hall was great, alot of stuff to see and do. We got up close and personal with quite a few exhibit's. Included with all of the bones and fossils are taxidermy of living animals. the mountain lion who is waiting for one of the children to run away from their parents so he could have a snack. Tell your kids that and they will stick close to you! I wish I would have thought of that when we were there. 

 A Reindeer, we now know what they do when they are not pulling santa's sleigh. Apparently he doesn't pay to well and they have to come stand in a museum for a supplemental income. 

 
 The teenage partying gophers were there as well. If you notice just like teenagers the gophers have a lookout, usually the youngest of the group gets bullied into such a job. While the other two lay around and have a good time.

   The layout in this hall was bigger than the expanding universe hall, a lot more open and freedom to move. It was still crowded though, It would have been more enjoyable if it hadn't had so many people in there. I would have been able to get more and better pictures as well.

Next stop Rose Hall of Birds:

  Where you can fly like an Eagle! No not really but almost, They have a exhibit that has multiple stations where you can create your very own bird. Choose the body type, what kind of wings your bird will have. Even the feathers, what your bird will sound like, and what they like to eat. Then you can stand in front of a big monitor and you can fly with the bird you created. We didn't do this but there was plenty of other things to see in the hall. We didn't spend much time here though. It was a small hall and quite crowded. 

Ryder: "BIRDSSS! See it? see BIRDS!"
Rebel tried the bird maker but got bored waiting in lines.

We fought through the crowds to get to the elevator, it was time for mommy and daddy to take a break from walking. Yeah like that's going to happen, but we headed down to the Moody Family Children's Museum. To let them get rid of some of that energy.

These are for you daddy.
Crossing into the Fun.
Climbing to new height's.

Me & Rebel

 The children's museum was mainly for smaller children, but bigger kids were allowed as long as they watched out for the younger ones.  There were places to sit inside the the climbing area, as well as outside of it. A truly wonderful place even though we never got the chance to actually sit down. We still had a blast.

Daddy & Mommy

Me & Ryder

   It also had a little grocery store for the kids to play in and some sort of water activity. I wasn't able to get a good look at it though. All of the kids in the children's museum were running around like a bunch of wild apes. It was kind of scary, I noticed the kids outnumbered the adults. They could easily overtake us tying us all up and leaving us in the play area. Taking over the museum and then the world...



The impending doom of us being over thrown by some temper tantrum tyrants averted, it's time for a movie.. Not just any movie though, a movie in 3-D. Titans of the ice age !!! We even got the goofy glasses. Neither Rebel or Ryder had ever seen a movie in 3-D before.

All of us decked out in our cool 3-D glasses...
well almost all of us. Ryder didn't want anything to do with them.

 Rebel was absolutely blown away trying to grab the snowflake that seemed to float right in front of her face. I even seen her jump back when the Owl swooped toward our faces. Ryder however wasn't so interested in the movie and we spent most of the movie playing, up and down try to get around. I love that game... He was interested though when they showed the Woolly Mammoths. He missed out on a whole other dimension though poor guy. The movie was about the discovery of a baby woolly mammoth found in Russia almost perfectly preserved.  How they migrated across the land bridge that formed during the ice age. What areas they lived in and how they survived. It also showed the eventual down fall of the woolly's.

 The movie was cool and the 3-D effects have come a long way since the last time I put on a pair of blue and red 3-D glasses. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. To make it even better, we finally get to sit, YAY! After the movie we went to have lunch in the museum cafeteria.  I had expected the food to be over priced, but  it was a  little on the ridiculous side. Trip planning tip, if you plan on eating and don't want to spend $30 on two pieces of pizza, a burger, sweet potato fries, dessert bar, a drink for the kids, and a warm coke. Then pack a lunch, which is what we should have done. On our next trip I am going to be packing lunches for us. I figured we spent well over $200 just on food, Which don't get me wrong I loved not having to cook or wash the dishes, but I think it would have been worth the hassle of packing our food. 

  After lunch we played outside for a little bit Rebel and Ryder jammed out with the musical instruments in front of the museum. Quite surprising was the fact that the outside exhibits weren't crowded, there were a few people out there with their kids. It was a little on the chilly side which probably had something to do with that.  In front of the museum there was a music exhibit, there was a area for the kids to play in water... I'm still trying to figure out why they would want kids to play in water then go into a museum, that doesn't make much sense if you ask me. And they also had a area filled with frogs. Not just any frogs, these things are frogzilla's. 

Ryder and Rebel playing the rock chimes
Rebel rocking out on the xylophone.

Rebel was into the Xylophones, they both thought the rock chimes was the coolest. They both stood there putting rocks in the top and listening to them fall down over the chimes.

Playing with frogzilla!

When I let Rebel go she was all over the place. running and jumping, climbing all over the frogs. Ryder was running around but he didn't like climbing on frogzilla. but he did like climbing the frog heads that were sticking out of the ground.

 I love being able to sit back and watch how they act when playing. You can see the shear joy on their faces when they are running and jumping. I often wish I could get that excitement back. I have a wonderful life with a great wife and two amazing kids. We always have fun, but there is something about being a kid, so carefree, having the ability to see beauty and wonder in everything. Which we lose as adults. It would be nice to have that freedom again. We have those moments when we "feel like a kid again" and I get the excitement associated with it, I had quite a few of those moments on this trip. However I don't think it felt the same as it would have if  I was a kid, is it something we could get back or is it lost to us adults forever...

  Children's energy levels now down to a manageable level, and a little reflection on life contemplated. We head back inside to finish the rest of  our museum experience. Next stop Discovering Life Hall.

"Run away from your parents kid we dare you."

The first thing we see when we walk in are the big cats on top of the display. Another missed opportunity to explain to the children that they are on guard to make sure kids don't run too far away from their parents. Also while exploring this hall I also learned a lesson. Don't tell your daughter to crawl inside a log to take a picture. Then turn to your wife and say "where's Rebel?" and just assume she seen you nod your head to the log... I am really sorry about almost giving you a heart attack my love.  When the miniature heart attack was over and Rebel was "found", we got to look around. There was all different kinds of wildlife. Foxes, bears, peacocks, possums, and a lot more.

What did the Fox say?
"bow-ties are cool.!" 

Look Guys HOOTERS!!

 There wasn't a whole lot of hands on stuff here, almost all of it was enclosed in display glass. but it was still pretty cool looking at all the taxidermy and reading about all of the animals.

pretty close to the same face he made
when the bear was going to eat his head.

A great hall to visit it was open and even with a lot of people in there we were able to move around without bumping into too many people. I am really starting to notice a trend going here, it's seeming to me that almost every hall is packed.

  When we had learned all that we could, we made our way around to the Being Human Hall. This one was pretty cool, from being able to see things on the microscopic level to slices of the human body!

Rebel looking at bacteria under the microscope
and a slice of the human body

  There was a lot to do here, a biology lab where you could put on a lab coat and take part in actual experiments. Testing household germ fighters, and examining cheek cells from inside you mouth are just a couple of things you can do in the bio-lab. But it's hard to stay and look at human slices and germs when the Texas Instruments and Innovation Hall is right next door!

Oh the trouble I would get into.

 I mean really you have the chance to build your own robot's and learn about structures. A lot of interactive exhibits. We also got to see this remote control fire fighting helicopter! I would love to get my hands on that bad boy right there. No one would be safe, I'd be dumping water on everyone I seen

Giant robot bugs of DOOM!

These giant robot bugs of doom combined with my water soaking helicopter and I would be unstoppable! Wait ok back up a minute Ray and lets bring it back to earth... Atleast earth's orbit.







We got to build a tower and see if shaking the round disk it was connected to would make it fall. Shaking the disk didn't make them fall, but you can bet our two year old could tear it down!

Building our tower

The disk ain't got nothing on the destructive power of a toddler

A great layout in this hall, we were able to get around really easy, and lots of great stuff for the kids to touch and do. Even stuff for the bigger kids to do too. The robot building and racing was pretty cool to watch.

Bathroom break

Just goes to show you to keep your eyes open. I didn't notice this till our bathroom break near the end of our stay. All of the benches and etched into the glass on the building are little tidbit's of information. There are also over 700 steps in the museum. I would be willing to bet we hit each and every one of them.

Our last stop and one of my favorites, was the Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals hall. We didn't get many pictures in this hall and there wasn't too much hands on stuff, it was all behind display glass. But we did get to see the biggest geode I have ever seen my entire life! 

The Geode is over 5 feet tall!
And a cool Nautilus fossil.

Some more cool rocks.

 All the walking and fun we had was finally starting to take it's toll and we decided to call it a day and head to the gift shop to get the kids their souvenirs. Of all the stuff in there our son picked out a fire truck for his souvenir...

 Are you serious? we could have went to the dollar store and got you 10 fire trucks for the price of the one at the museum. 

But at least Rebel had the right idea, she opted for a gyroscope!  Our trip souvenir was a salt lamp that was on sale for $15.00 but hey its cool with me. We needed a nightlight anyway.

  We had an absolutely wonderful time at the museum and learned a ton. My only real complaint is that it was crowded in every hall in the museum. Though the crowds were moving, it was hard to do any of the hands on stuff because there were such long lines at them. All in all it was most certainly worth it, next time we go it will be on a weekday so it won't be so crowded hopefully 

 I also wanted to show you the end result of our trip to the museum. In my opinion one of the best views of the day.

Super tired after a super day 

I hope you have enjoyed reading about our trip to the Perot museum. I would love to hear any comments you may have. If you enjoyed my blog please share it with your friends.

You can also check out the other two parts of Family trip 2014.
  Were goin' to the big D and I mean Dallas
 A blog about our trip down to Dallas and back again.

 One fish two fish red fish SHARK!
 Our adventures at the Dallas Aquarium.