Night out!

Spaulding: Mommy didn’t feel well yesterday, so we didn’t get to update our journal, but we did decide to go to The Franklin Institute, because it looked like it might rain! Teddy: For those not from around Philadelphia… Spaulding: Or even from the United States… Teddy: The Franklin Institute is a science museum in Philadelphia named after Benjamin Franklin… Spaulding: Founding Father of the United States, statesman… Teddy: which is a nice thing to call a politician… Spaulding: an inventor, a writer and a philosopher. Teddy: He’s the guy who figured out that lightning is really electricity, so invented the lightning rod! Spaulding: He invented a metal fireplace and called it the Franklin stove. Teddy: On a trip to France, he took measurements all along the way and discovered the Atlantic Ocean current, and so found a way to make the trip much shorter…. Spaulding: Information still used by the United States Navy! Oh, and he wrote “Poor Richard’s Almanac” Teddy: And helped write the Declaration of Independence…. Spaulding: declaring the United States was free from Britain… Teddy: And the Constitution…. Spaulding: The United States’ main body of law… Teddy: And, well, if we keep telling you all about Franklin, we won’t have time to tell you about our trip to The Franklin Institute! Spaulding: Now the information we just told you about is stuff Mommy and Daddy told us. Teddy: Daddy’s brother’s birthday—January 17th, is the same date as Ben Franklin’s birthday! Spaulding: Although—Daddy’s brother wasn’t as old as Ben. Teddy: In case you aren’t good with numbers, Ben Franklin is a little over 300 years old, so he’s dead. Spaulding: Sadly, Daddy’s brother, Neil, died long ago too. He would have been as old as Mommy, but he died back when he was in his very early twenties. Teddy: We didn’t mean to sound so sad. Spaulding: And both Ben and Neil have been dead for many years, so we don’t cry over this, although we wish we could have met both. Teddy: Oh, we almost forgot to tell you…if you want to learn more about Ben Franklin, The Franklin Institute has a whole section about him. Don’t forget to check out his Armonica! It’s a really cool musical instrument that makes the same sounds as those people who play glass goblets! Click here to go visit it! Spaulding: But we didn’t go to the Franklin Institute to see Ben Franklin stuff! Teddy: Mommy told us about it a while ago when we needed new places to go see. Spaulding: She went there long, long, long (Mom stops typing the “longs’ at this point) kehehehehehe ago, when she was in grade school on a class trip. Teddy: She told us about the heart that is big enough to walk through—and we did climb through it. (What people consider “walking” is often climbing for stuffed animals.) Spaulding: And the glass ball that, if you put your hands on it, makes your hair stick straight out. The only stuffed animal in our group who had long enough fur to see it work was Lady, and even then, only her fur on her ears stuck out! Teddy: But, we picked…. Both: kehehehehehe Teddy: PICKED a good time to go! Did you know the scientific name for picking your nose? Rhinotillexonamia! Honestly!!!! Both: kehehehehehe Spaulding: Seriously though, we went to visit when a beary cool exhibit was showing—“Grossology!” Teddy: That’s really not the scientific name for it, but it shows us about why all the gross noises and smells come from our bodies! Spaulding: Sure, we fart, but they don’t stink since we are just full of stuffing! Still, it is fun to have someone pull our paw! Both: kehehehehehe Teddy: We had a lot of fun as we learned why we fart, and belch, and blow our nose, and throw up and all the other gross things people’s bodies can do. Spaulding: Our noses are always stuffed, but we don’t blow them or the poor noses flatten out without any stuffing left! Teddy: We also found out why we smell dirty feet, although our paws NEVER, ever get dirty. :::::::::Teddy peeks around to see if Mommy is getting out that Teddy Bear spray to clean him---he hates baths::::: Spaulding: Most of the stuff we looked at had fun things to do, like a pinball game, and buttons to push and fun things like that! Teddy: One of the places we went to, I secretly didn’t want to do! How boring can it be to sit in a seat in the dark and watch stars and planets and junk flying around on the ceiling above you, but then again Lady wanted to go, thinking it might be a good place to cuddle Spaulding… :::::::::::Spaulding blushes::::::::::::::: Spaulding: You KNEW why she wanted to go?! Teddy: Oh, noooooooooooooooo, Bwuder, you two are sooooooooooo subtle! Both: kehehehehehe (but I can still tell that Spaulding is a little embarrassed) Spaulding: But, didn’t you like it too? Teddy: Well :::::::::::blushing a little:::::::::: actually, Valentine suggested maybe we could do a little cuddling too, so I started liking the idea more! Spaulding: Did you two ever get to cuddling? We got so interested in watching the show all about “A Date with Mars” that we forgot to cuddle. We held each other close, but didn’t cuddle! Teddy: Same here!!! Whew, I feel better! Both: kehehehehe Teddy: To bad we didn’t go last Wednesday! It was the night that Mars was closest to the earth in several hundred years and they were letting people used their telescope to see it! Spaulding: And being on Axlerod’s magical time, we wouldn’t even have had to pay the $10 to see it! Teddy: Yeah, that was a crock, wasn’t it? Making it sound like they were doing a community service on the news, but charging $10 per person! Spaulding: As John Stossel always says, “Give me a break!” Both: kehehehehehehe Teddy: Doesn’t Mommy always say that? ::::::::::::::::Both look at Mommy as she tells them how she let Mr. Stossel take her line::::::::::: All: kehehehehehehe Spaulding: We can always see it the next time it happens in a couple of hundred years! Teddy: Boy, we’ll never live that long if we keep using Axlerod’s special time abilities! Both: kehehehehehehe Spaulding: I don’t know which the kids liked more---“A Date with Mars” or “Pulse,” that noisy but cool movie about the international language of rhythm! Teddy: You were dancing so much I was afraid your paws would fall off! Both: kehehehehehehe Spaulding: Everyone was dancing, even Axlerod! Teddy: I like the way he dances too! Spaulding: And the kids think he’s a new ride after climbing onto his back while he was dancing. Both: kehehehehe Teddy: I sure was tired yesterday though! Spaulding: Shhhhhhhhhhh, we’re beary young and Mommy isn’t supposed to find out that something tires us out. Both: kehehehehehehehe Teddy: Anyway, if you ever happened to come to visit Philadelphia---well, OK The Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross House and Independence Hall should also be seen--- make sure you go to the Franklin Institute. Spaulding: It really is fun for the whole family!!! Teddy: And if your kids hate seeing “educational junk” just don’t tell them that they are learning! Spaulding (whispering loudly): WE WON’T TELL IF YOU DON’T TELL! Teddy: To find out more, check out this link! Spaulding: But Mommy is ordering delivered dinner, so we have to go to make sure she gets the order right. Teddy: So, until next time….