We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art today. I haven't been there since high school so it was really new for me as well. We started out on the packed subway which always makes me nervous with 3 kids in tow. I just have this vision of one of them falling onto the tracks or being left behind on the train. Irrational, I know. Anyway, we amazingly made it to the 11am Family Program. I mean, everything that could have slowed us down today, did. But, we got there just on time. First our group went to a gallery with African bronze plaques. The guide asked the kids questions about the art pieces and J answered a few. W had his hand up for every question but wasn't really paying attention and just liked being called on. LOL. The group went on to South American art made of gold and after a brief lecture about the pieces, the kids got to go around the whole exhibit and sketch their favorites. The guide has paper for everyone but I brought their new sketchbooks and colored pencils. The girls enjoyed that a lot. W found a water vessel shaped like a cat that he liked and drew it. Finally the group ended up in a hall of European statues. By this time the kids were getting restless and wanted to see the rest of the museum. We all got a handout of how metal is cast in a mold and then went on our merry way.

We headed straight for the cafeteria and ate a quick lunch before hitting the rest of the museum. I wanted to buy a disposable camera in the gift shop but they were out. I always forget my camera (later on at home I discovered it was in my bag the whole time. Grrrrrrrrr.). K's favorite exhibit was Modern Art. She especially liked Matisse and Georgia O'Keeffe. J's favorite was the Egyptian Room. She was sketching so many things. She loved the burial linens and the papyrus with heiroglyphics on it. From one of the large halls we could see into Central Park and had a great view of the Gates. They were letting people onto the museum roof to get a nice view of them, but we decided it was better to just go right to them.

We left the museum and went around the corner into Central Park. The Gates were along every walkway. It was so cool to walk right under them and see them go on and on. We ended up walking through about 20 blocks of Gates. The kids were chasing each other along the paths and took long running jumps to touch the Gates fabric. We actually got pieces of the fabric from park guides who were giving them out. We passed the duck pond and the zoo and came to a nice playground. The kids played there for over an hour. I met another mom and her kids from Long Island and we all walked together until we got to the Plaza Hotel. K bought a hot pretzel and we got on the subway to go home. It was 4:30pm, our legs were about to fall off, and W hadn't napped all day. I was dreading the subway, but it was pretty enjoyable - and quick. I'm glad we left when we did. It started getting so cold by 4pm. It's supposed to snow 5-8 inches tomorrow. I hope it's early so we can get out and play in it! And I won't forget my camera.