Day Off in Raleigh

Luke and I have been working really hard and haven't had the blessing of going off to a vacation all summer. So we decided to take a day off last Friday. We had no plans to go anywhere, we just had plans not to go to work. Luke surprised me and took me to the Museum of Natural Life and Sciences in Durham. We love going to the museums together and what a fun day we had!!!

Here's Luke playing the a man-made cloud bowl in the weather center.

And the man-made tornado. This was a tough picture to get because kids kpet jumping up and sweeping the tornado away, but hey, that's what kids are for!
Me playing the drums in the sound garden in the outside part of the museum.
Here I am pumping water. It was all really interactive and fun. I got that little wheel turning.
We're about to go into the bug and butterfly pavilion.
The butterfly garden. There were butterflies everywhere, like birds flying around. You didn't have to strain at all to find them and they were all so beautiful. Luke was the photographer in here.

Can you find the bug in this picture? yes there is one in there. Keep looking. It's at the bottom, in the middle just above the bowl. No really, it is a bug! God created a bug that looks exactly like a leaf. Talk about stealth!

I didn't know this museum had bears but they did. There were two and they kept fighting eachother. Talk about National Geographic Live! I though it was cute how he was sticking his one paw in the water as he drank; just like a dog.

And the little alligator in the nature section. There were three of them lying right on top of eachother. Luke took this picture and was very proud of it. And the "Catch the Wind" section where all the animals and activities had to do with the wind. See the hummingbird. So cute, little, and FAST!!! We were so excited about this that we immediately went out and got our very own hummingbird feeder and have been enjoying many hummingbirds of our own. What a great day we had!! Luke and I were the only adults there that didn't have little kids with us, butwe didn't care. It's one of the things I love about Luke, that we can go out and do kid things like this and completely enjoy ourselves. So, whether you have kids or not, and enjoy going to museums and playing, go to this museum, it was a great time!!!!