Blanton Art Museum & Whole Foods ~ #101PreschoolDates

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I have 10 weeks left with my 4 year old until the big kids come home for the summer.  And you know what happened next fall? My baby goes to kindergarten.  So in an effort to make some memories with him, I am instituting #101PreschoolDates  Follow along as we count down this list and find some really cool places in the Austin area to take your preschoolers! 

Blanton Art Museum

I have lived here almost 6 years and still have not visited the Blanton Art Museum and both my older kids have - multiple times.  Now granted, viewing art is not at the top of my list when it comes to finding ways to spend my free time.......

However, looking for a fun date with my preschooler, I wanted a quiet walk through a museum.  Ha. Did I say quiet? 

As you walk in, you encounter "Living Waters" - this gorgeous room is covered in marble that shimmers as if it's a waterfall - pictures do not do it justice - and it provides such a sense of calm as you walk in into the building.  However, it did the opposite to my son.  He wanted to jump up and down the stairs and shout "yee-haw" at the top of his lungs.  No, not calming at all.

The Blanton has several rooms to visit and as I get older (ahem) I have learned to appreciate it more.  I wanted to take my time, but my preschooler wasn't having it and we rushed from room to room. Until we encountered this exhibit:

You are invited to touch this exhibit and we spent a good 15 minutes here counting the pennies and making piles out of them. It's a magnificent piece that has a very deep meaning, but I don;t quite think he cared too much what it meant. The nice thing about the Blanton is that there were excellent plaques next to all the pieces that helped explain what they all meant. 

As we moved into the modern room, my guy headed straight for a pile of blocks on the floor, thinking he could climb on them....NOOOOOOOOO! No wonder the museum docent looked so nervous when we walked into the room.

So, the Blanton for a rambunctious 4 year old?  Maybe not.  The nice thing was, we visited on Thursday, where admission was free, so we didn't feel too guilty when we spent less than an hour there.  I think I really would like to visit again - it's a tremendous museum that deserves much more time than I gave it - just might visit alone next time. 

Whole Foods Downtown Austin

Knowing my little guy was full of energy, we headed to my personal favorite for lunch in Downtown Austin - Whole Foods.  The creme de la creme of grocery stores - ok "markets" -  they have an amazing area of prepared food to take to go. You could honestly eat every day for a month at Whole Foods and never have the same thing twice.  

Little man always gets a slice of cheese pizza and a special cookie, but I always build a big, fresh salad that always seems to weigh a ton (and yes, you pay by the weight).  It's delicious and unique and the reason we love it the most? This guy:

The rooftop of Whole Foods is a beautiful urban park with green spaces, picnic tables, and big a playscape.  I love the picnic-y feel our lunch has to it when we dine on the roof.

This last week, we noticed a new building - the Hemloft is a recreation of the original Canadian Hemloft.  Next time you are there, go inside and read the story and check out original notes that were left in it.  Doesn't mean much to kids, but it's pretty cool.

The quiet time we spent together made me realize how important these dates were going to be.  Can't wait to see where the next few months take us!  Follow along on our social media channels with the #101Preschool Dates.

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