Five Questions with Molly Paige

After Daddy tucked Molly in tonight, I got Molly Paiged...

"Mommy, I have 4 things to tell you about dinosaurs and one thing to tell you about me:

- The first thing about dinosaurs, were they ever pink in real life?
- The second thing about dinosaurs, did they have hair?
- The third thing, did they fight lots of times for real with the Wooly Mammoths?
- And the fourth thing about dinosaurs, did they live in houses?"

(Of course, I answered each of these... which prompted lots of "Whys?" But I tried to move on...)

"Oh, and the one thing about me... I really like the new pool Daddy got me."

Move Over, Ross Geller

SUE returned to the St. Louis Science Center on Friday. So, like the SUE groupies we are, Molly and I went to welcome her back to town.

Molly remembered EVERYTHING about the exhibit -- including the video clip where it looks like the T. Rex eats the TV.

She loved "digging" for bones, then cleaning off real fossils.

Thanks, Beth, for the tour! I'm sure we'll be back :)

Memory Like a T-Rex

Note: The following conversation took place last night. We originally saw SUE the T. Rex in Chicago in February (four months ago) and saw her again in St. Louis two months ago.

Scene: Molly's bathtime... in the bath tub. Molly coloring on the sides of the tub.

Molly: Mommy? Do you remember when we went to see SUE the T. Rex?

Me: Yes, Molly.

Molly: No, not the first time we went to see her... in Chicago... at the Field Museum. The second time we saw her. In St. Louis. With your friend there.

(Ed. note - I have a friend who works there who met us and showed us around.)

Me: Um, yes, Molly. I remember the second time we saw her. With my friend.

Molly: Do you remember how they had the coloring areas? Where you could color dinosaur pages?

Me: Yes...

Molly: And do you remember how they had the area where you could dig for dinosaur bones?

Me: Yes...

Molly: And how they had the movie? In the tent? The one with no sound? The one that was all about how you could go on vacation and dig for dinosaur fossils?

Me: Yes, Molly. I do remember that movie. You have a very good memory.

Molly: I'd like to go on vacation and dig for dinosaur bones one day - just like Sue Hendrickson.

Me: Sure, Molly. Maybe one day we can go on vacation and dig for dinosaur bones.

Molly (Worried sigh): But we don't have any palentologist clothes.

Me: Hmmm.... where could we find some palentologist clothes?

Molly: I bet we could find them at the palentologist store.

Me: I bet you're right.

Last Days of the Dinosaurs: Molly's Version

Here's the story I got tonight, as Molly was taking a bath.

"Mommy, Brooke brought in a book from home about the dinosaurs and how they really DIED."

"Really, Molly? What happened?"

"Well, the pterodactyls... you know, the pterodactyls -- the ones that fly in the sky? Not the ground dinosaurs but the sky dinosaurs? Well the pterodactyls were flying and flying and flying and saw a HUGE fireball comet. And they warned all the other dinosaurs to get in a cave. But all the ground dinosaurs didn't listen. And Sue the T-Rex didn't listen... because they were all eating other dinosaurs. And so all of them died because they didn't go into the cave. Except for a few. But when they came out of the cave, there weren't any more dinosaurs to eat. The only thing to eat was dirt! So then they died. And then their bones went into the ground and became fossils and Sue Hendrickson and the other fossil hunters dug them all up."

So glad I asked. :)

(Editor's Note: I spelled pterodactyl correctly on the first try. Woo hoo!)