Little paleontologists

The "local" dinosaur in Rochester Hills is a Mastodon. While digging up the ground for a new Wal-Mart a Mastodon skeleton was found a few years ago. Mastodon lived in green, marshy areas, unlike the dry rocky areas some of the better-known dinosaurs lived in. There is a little nature center in Troy, the next city over, that has some fun rocks and casts of the bones kids can dig. It was perfect for kids Ava and Violet's age.

Ava was a fearless climber and climbed all over these huge (fake) boulders. It was probably at least 10 feet up. I would have never done that.

I really wanted to get a picture of Violet's face because lately all you can see is her head as she moves quickly from one place to another. So here she is with her brush, ready to discover some bones!

After we were done inside, there are some short trails in the back. We walked all around, and Violet got her first official bee sting. I had to pull the stinger out of her finger. Yuk! She seemed ok though her finger and a small part of her hand were swollen.