Field Trip to the Utah Museum of Natural History

I don't normally sign up to go to field trips. I told the kids I would go to one and only one. They are a little much for me to handle. Gabbi wanted me to go to the Utah Museum of Natural History. I was okay with this one because I had never been there before. When we got there I was also happy to hear that we were assigned to a group of kids. It was a pretty much explore on your own. We had two things that we did as classes then you could go where ever.

Gabbi's class was first to just go and explore. We wandered all over checking out all of the different exhibits. We had 40 minutes to do so and then we were to meet back up again for a special presentation in their new exhibit.

The new exhibit had to do with gems and stones thorough out the ages. They were each given a questionnaire to fill out as the walked around the exhibit. It was pretty cool to see all the different gems and formations inside rocks.

After the special exhibit we were released for lunch. When we were done with lunch we had our last scheduled activity in the hands on lab. They each got to see, touch, hear, etc all the different samples they had in the lab. They again had a questionnaire booklet to help them during the activity. I was impressed at how well the class behaved and grasped in this hands on activity. Gabbi couldn't stop talking about it when we got home.

4th set of 100

That boy is consistent. Like clock work he has earned a level award every two weeks. This time was no different. Another 100 words down and only 100 left to work on. I wonder how long the last set will take him. 

Thanksgiving with Annie

It's been hard to find a place that really fits us all comfortably for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We've bounced around to a few places and this year I think we've finally done it. Beth was able to reserve her church building for us to do Thanksgiving at. It was nice that the kids were able to play in the Nursery with all the toys that were already there, they just had to clean up when they were done and if they got board with that, they brought a basketball and were able to play basketball. Even the big boys got in on some of that action.

When we were finally able to stop the game we all gathered for our Thanksgiving meal. We each brought a side while Annie and Greg provided the main dish. Everyone always goes above and beyond and everything tasted fantastic. Some years it has been questionable, but this year it was very yummy. When we were done eating it was nice to just sit and visit while the kids went back to playing.

When everyone was done, we all pitched in to clean up and it went by fairly quickly. We were done in no time at all. We all voted to shoot for the church again next year. We'll see what happens.

Winterizing the backyard

Yard work is never my favorite, but this time around the kids actually wanted to help. I made the work go a lot faster which was nice. We were raking up leaves, trimming some branches on the remaing trees, and even putting away the yard furniture before the snow started to fall.

The kids had a blast helping pick up, stuff bags, and clip branches. It definetly made the work load go by quickly. When we were done, to thank the kids for helping us, we went out to dinner. 

Thanksgiving

This year was an off year (in-law) year for my family. Everyone had some sort of plan and we parted ways. We were invited to spend Thanksgiving with the Bodily's. We went over there around noon, but the meal wasn't until 2. I was helping Christy put together a birthday cake for Brooklyn. The men folk went in and watched T.V., the kids went downstairs to play, and us ladies finished the meal and started on the cake.

When everyone was there and all the food was ready to go we sat down and enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch/dinner. Everyone pitched in and it all tasted really good. I missed not being with my family, but this was a nice substitute.

When we were all done, we cleaned up a little and then played some games. Sadly when it was time for pie, it was time for us to go. We had plans with Ben's dad that evening. So we hit the road, but with plans to come back and go shopping later.

When we got to Nelson and Deann's we were the first ones there. We set out the munchies and pie that each of us were bringing to share. When everyone else got there the snacks were a free for all and come and go as you please. After the kids had had their fill they sat down and played some games with each other. When the adults were ready to play we skedaddled the kids to the toy room while we sat down and played a few games.

After a few rounds it was getting late and we wanted to head out. We still planned on doing a little shopping. Before we left Grandpa had promised that he'd show the kids how the train worked around the tree. They sat there and watched for what seemed like forever. They loved the train and I think Grandpa really enjoyed sharing that with them.

Boy's Room Remodel

The next room on the remodel list was the room that was becoming the boys room. It was originally the office, but we decided to bring the boys back upstairs. The room hadn't been redone since Owen was first born and we only used the brown because that's what we had left over from the front room remodel. I was really excited to change it. 

After purchasing the kids beddy's blankets, we decided to go with Navy and white. So it would look similar to the office, it would just be navy on the bottom and white on the top. Once we got all the big stuff taken down and cleared out, I got started.

It was really easy too compared to some of the other rooms. Since the room had been done recently there wasn't much patching to do which jumped us ahead of schedule in not time. Once we were done patching we got going on the painting. Ben helped when he was home, but I was pretty antsy, so when the kids were in school I got going on the painting.

I was really surprised by how fast it was coming. I dried quickly, quickly enough that I was able to do both coats in one day. The second day we did the Navy and again it dried really quickly and we were done painting the whole room in two days.

We gave it a day to dry and then moved the boys' things upstairs. I couldn't wait to add the decorations.

Once we got all the furniture set up I went about getting the decorations done. I made two pennant banners with fabrics in the colors of their beddy's, we found some fun artwork, and then last but not least, we changed the color on their name signs to match the rest of the room. I was so happy and loved the end result. I think its my favorite room that we have remodeled.

Thanksgiving Charlie Brown

The kids had been really good lately and for some fun to reward them we thought we would do a movie night. Not only would they get to watch a movie, they'd get to have a drink form FIIZ and some movie popcorn.

We saw some commercials saying that Thanksgiving Charlie Brown would be showing and as I kid I remember watching it many time. We thought that the kids would love it and it was be a great movie for their reward.

When the day came, we hopped in the car to go and get their drinks and popcorn. It's not very often that we let them pick a kids flavored drink from the menu because they are more pricey, so they were really excited. The excitement kept building as we got the popcorn, but then kind of died when we headed home. We confused them as to what we were doing.

Once we got home we turned on the T.V. and told them about the movie we were watching. They all screamed and jumped up and down and finally once they calmed down they found a good seat on the couch and awaited for the show to start.

The kids absolutely loved the movie. I have to admit that I enjoyed watching it too. It had been a long time.

Coco

We were going about our normal Saturday routine and out of the blue I got a text from Christy. She was wondering if we were busy. We weren't and she asked if Gabbi and I would like to go to a show with her and Brooklyn for her birthday. She told me that Brandon was willing to watch the boys. So we all got dressed and headed out the door.

After dropping the boys off, we girls headed to get a few treats and then headed for the show. Brooklyn wanted to go see Coco. Gabbi was so excited. Ever since she saw the preview, she was begging to see it.

When we got there we walked past the giant display and they girls couldn't help but stop and pose for a quick picture.

Once done, the girls practically ran to the theater door. You could tell that they were both really excited for this show.

I was a little hesitant, thinking that it would be a lot like Book of Life, but surprisingly enough I really enjoyed it. One that I'd be willing to buy when it comes out on video. We both had a great time and were grateful that to be invited.

Anniversary

If you haven't figured it out by now, we are huge movie fans. We watch all sorts of movies at home as well as watching them at the theater. For our Anniversary we decided to take advantage of a few movies that all came out at the same time.  We dropped our kids off with Mom and Dad and then headed for the 1st show, Justice League. I couldn't wait to see it. I really enjoyed Wonder Woman and was hoping that this would be just as good.

When the movie ended we headed to dinner. We had reservations at Long Horn. I was looking forward to their fried cheese curds. Sadly when we went to order them I was informed that they no longer had them. I was bummed that they didn't have it anymore. They truly were the best. We split a Prime Rib dinner and that was pretty good as well. I still wish they had the cheese curds though.

After we were done eating we had some time to kill before our next movie. We decided to go walk around the mall. It had been a while since we last walked through the mall. We even found a few things that we decided to purchase. We then took them back out to the van and headed back to the movie theater.

Our next movie was Thor Ragnarok. We got there early enough to get some popcorn, drinks, and get to our seats. I think I was more excited about this one then I was for Justice League. I guess you could say that I am more of a Marvel fan than I am a DC Comic fan. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Justice League and Wonder Woman, but I enjoyed this one even more.

I was sad when it was time to go pick up the kids. I wanted the night to keep going. It was a great Anniversary.

3rd set of 100

Two weeks later he has done it again. Passed off another 100 sight words and is working on the next.

Veteran's Day at the Aquarium

We don't normally go to the aquarium because its so far away and the cost is a little high for the trip, but when they have an event that makes it free to servicemen and their families, its worth the trip. Sadly we weren't the only ones with the same idea. We actually had to wait in line that was out the door and half way back through the parking lot. It felt like we were in the lines at Lagoon. It took us an hour to get inside. Once we finally got inside, the kids were really excited.

The kids first ran over to the giant jawbone from the Megalodon. Owen is fascinated by the Megalodon and couldn't believe how big it was. He tried to tell me that this was new, but I'm pretty sure it was there the last time we came. After waiting in line to get a picture, we moved on to the next exhibit.

One of the kids favorite exhibits is the Otter Exhibit. I was surprised how lively the Otter's were. William was laughing like crazy as they would run and jump into the water and then slip back out again. He was so assumed by them. We stood there for quite a while, but then the Exhibit started to fill up and decided that it was someone else's turn to watch the Otters.

As we walked out the kids noticed the Killer Whales. Gabbi wished they were real, but the replicas would have to do. They all hopped on and had a lot of fun pretending to be given a ride just like in the movie Free Willey.

Once we finally pried them off the Whales we continued our exploring of the aquarium and went into the Deep Sea Exhibits which house all sorts of underwater creatures.

Once we were through with the underwater creatures, we headed to the Penguin Exhibit. The Penguins were just as lively as the Otters. The bonus part was that there were so many more Penguins than Otters. The kids eyes were glued to the Penguins. It was hard to pull them away.

Once we had our fill of the Penguins we headed over to the Asian Exhibits. This included many animals plus their new Leopards. They had two inside the exhibit, but we were only able to find one. The other was either really good at hiding or it was in the back of the enclosure. The kids weren't as entertained by the Leopards, they didn't do much, but the rest of the Asian exhibits drew in their attention.

Our next exhibit took us to the South American Exhibits. As we were walking to the doors we passed a worker who just happened to have an Owl with him. There were a few times that we could actually hear it hoot. That surprised me with how many people were around. 

After walking in the doors to the South American Exhibit the kids ran straight over to the giant rope bridge. The didn't really care what they passed on the way; like the tree frogs and salamanders. They just wanted to take a stab at the rope bridge. They were a little worried that they would fall through, but Ben reassured them by going with them. I'm pretty sure he only offered to go with them so he could scare them. He would shake the rope bridge every once in a while to scare them a little.

When they finally made it to the other side, they all had big smiles on their faces. Then they quickly ran over to the tree frogs you could sit on. They actually had two, but they weren't close enough together to do what they really wanted to do, jump from one to the other.

When we were finally able to get them away from the frogs, we walked through their rain forest. It was full of free-flying birds, exotic fish, reptiles, and even a 17 foot waterfall. They even had a sloth. The kids weren't as entertained by the birds as they were the rest of the Aquarium. We walked through it rather quickly.

We saved the best for last, the Shark exhibit. This was the one exhibit that the boys were actually looking forward to. They couldn't wait to see how many different types of sharks the Aquarium had. They were so fascinated by all of them. It was fun watching Owen try to name them all. He was correct of a few of their breeds, but still has a lot to learn and I have no doubt that he will one day know them all.

After spending the majority of our time in the Shark Exhibit we were finally able to convince the kids we had seen all of the Sharks. As we were finally headed towards the exit we made one last stop to snap a few pics of the huge animals hanging from the ceiling. One of course was a Great White Shark with an uncanny resemblance to Bruce from Finding Nemo and another was a Humpback whale. They also had a Whale Shark and some Manta Rays.

After what seemed like the entire day, we were finally heading home. When we left they still had a line out the door. At least it was considerably shorter than when we first arrived.