Last Hurrah

We had one last week of summer break before heading to the beach and then to school, so I decided to use that week as our last hurrah- fitting in all the fun things we hadn't gotten yet! 

Don't they look ready for some fun?

First stop? The Museum of Life and Science in Durham. We never take the time to drive to Durham to go to this museum, but that has been a mistake. It is awesome! Their outdoor exhibits really impressed us like this unique climbing ropes course... 

the super cool "tree house" adventure area...

the creek area where you were encouraged to take off your shoes and play...

and the dinosaur trail!

Don't know if was all the climbing or walking or the extreme heat, but we were worn out after a couple of hours and ready for lunch. Thanks to my old Duke days, I knew just where to go...the Mad Hatter Cafe! Love this place, and now thanks to the complimentary "decorate your own cupcakes", the girls do too.

Later that week, we headed to Three Bear Acres for some fun with the Flynn family. We arrived early and had the place to ourselves. The kids had a blast!

The jumping pillow is a must...

but this time around, the sleds were by far the most popular attraction. Those kids wore us out going up that hill over and over and over. Even Walker and Addie were completely game- shrieking happily as those sleds tore down that giant hill. The only thing that slowed them down were tired legs and when Collins accidentally got bumped off one. It was a scary moment, but she was lucky and only got a bruised knee.

We had never done the paddle boats before decided to give it a try...

A lot of work for Mom, but got to hear the funny commentary of my cute boating companions...

We finished our morning with a picnic lunch and just a few more jumps on the pillow before heading home. The girls love Three Bear Acres- even more so that day sharing it with Charlie, Bennett and Walker. 

Other fun stops that week? The Rainbow Room and the History Museum. Think we officially checked off our summer bucket list!