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Announcing the return of The Children's Museum Blog Ambassadors—this time with a legendary twist! Throughout the year we'll hear from eight bloggers as they share about their family's time in the brand-new Riley Children's Health Sports Legends Experience® and how it inspires them to explore these sports back at home. We'll get to know four families during our "spring line-up," and another four families during our "fall line-up." But first, let's get to know our legendary team!
This post was written by Children's Museum Blog Ambassador Jeanine Bobenmoyer. Follow her posts on the blog and follow her on Twitter @themomista.
I have always lived in a family of adventurers. Growing up, my mom fought valiantly to find close-to-free fun for my brother and I, stretching her teacher's salary as best she could. Summers were our favorite since she was off from school to enjoy the lazy days with us. We would pack lunches and lounge in the air conditioned library for hours. We'd track down the free admission days at local museums and explore {shout out to the dinosaurs at the University of Michigan's Museum of Natural History!}. We loved hiking and camping for their carefree ease.
One year, my mom packed my brother and I into our rust-colored Chevy Suburban and made the 4.5-hour drive to Indianapolis. We pulled off the freeway, rounded the corner and... my little 9-year-old heart skipped a beat. Splattered in signage outside this large, colorful building were some of the greatest words I had ever seen: The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
A museum! Just for kids! What would they have? What would be here? Were adults even allowed inside? And how did we not have this in Michigan?! I quickly made a note to petition the governor when we returned home. {Hey Jim Blanchard, I'm stillllll waiting for your reply.}
For all the exploring and adventures we did in my youth, our visit to the magical Children's Museum still sticks out. I never imagined that I'd be living in Indianapolis 25+ years later and honored as a Blog Ambassador for the same revered organization.
Friends, we are going to have so much fun over the next few months and I'm thrilled that you're coming along for the ride. Let me intro you to my fam:
Hunter is my precocious 10-year-old. As the older brother of our family his hobbies include driving his sister absolutely bananas, playing with his sister, chasing his sister and participating in literally any sport I'm willing to sign him up for: Flag football, tennis, swimming, basketball, volleyball, and primarily soccer. But really his talents lie in all-sports-knowledge-of-any-sporting-event-stat-or-player-that-has-ever-existed. He knows everything. And he'll happily corner you with stats at your first meeting. Hunter's favorite exhibit at the Children's Museum is Dinosphere.
The future Broadway star {or first female president of the US} of our family is Emerson, our 7-year-old. For every quiet moment in my day, Emerson gleefully replaces it with a 4 minute long performance, fashion show, snuggle session or monologue on how wonderful something as mundane as a leaf is. She's literally the happiest person I've ever met. And I'll be frank: She isn't as much a sports nut as Hunter but she wields a mean tennis racket and I'm fairly certain will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics backstroke race. Em's favorite exhibit at the Children's Museum is Take Me There®: China.
My husband's name is Brad. He's super camera shy so please accept this photo of Ryan Gosling in replacement. It was a tough decision on who to marry - Brad or Ryan - but ultimately my husband is pretty great so he won out.
And I'm Jeanine Bobenmoyer—a proud University of Michigan graduate, part-time employee with the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation {the nonprofit organization that supports the Indiana Department of Natural Resources}, wife to Brad, mom of Hunter + Emerson, and the founder/Chief Mom Officer of the largest social/support network for moms in the Indianapolis area, theCityMoms. Fun fact: I spent a summer in college studying geology and digging up dinosaur bones in the *exact* area as The Children’s Museum Wyoming Dinosaur Adventure. If you decide to go, I'll loan you my rock hammer.
