Aurora Borealis

As membership holders at the Clark Planetarium,

we received an e-mail inviting us to an "exclusive" event.

There was going to be a lecture about a recent trip taken to document Aurora Bourealis.

The lecture was going to be held at Red Butte Gardens and would be followed be a star show.

It sounded awesome.

I was surprised that they could only take 35 people.

But I RSVP'd and waited to see what would happen.

As it turned out, over 350 people RSVP'd.

Instead of just cutting it off, they changed venues back to the actual planetarium.

Honestly, this didn't sound as exciting to me.

We almost didn't go - it started at bedtime and I didn't want to be out that late.

But in the end we decided to just do it.

We are SO glad we did.

The presentation was awesome.

Ammon, especially, was completely fascinated by the Northern Lights.

Katy and her kids were there as well.

After the presentation, Kylie was feeling sick.

The star show was downtown and it wasn't even dark out yet.

We decided to skip that part and just head home.

We promised the kids that we would schedule a "private" star show with Grandpa Derrick.

(A promise we have yet to follow through on.)

We still had sparkler's that we hadn't used on the 4th of July.

We were getting close to the 24th so they were legal again.

So when we got home, we went ahead and let the boys play a bit longer.

As per normal, Peter was cautious, though not as scared of the sparklers as he has been in the past.

He is definitely getting older.

And Ammon was a maniac who scared us as he ran around with his sparklers,

flames shooting at the bushes and plants all around him.

Great memories.

Seven Peaks

Knowing that we wouldn't be doing much in terms of summer vacation this year,

I decided to invest in the "Pass of all Passes".

I spent about $32 a person on them, but they also each came with a $20 gift card.

(We got one card to Target, one to Wal-Mart and two to CostCo.)

So really, we paid just over $10 a piece.

The card is issued through Seven Peaks, which is a water park.

But it includes lots of other venues.

We have loved attending various sporting events.

The guys even went to see Motor Cross one evening while I was studying for finals.

We have been happy to find that the passes have more than paid for themselves many times over.

And with all the use we were getting, it wasn't going to hurt my feelings if we never hit the water park.

For some reason I was really scared to take my kids there.

Neither of them are super strong swimmers and I just envisioned inevitable drownings.

Then I got lost in a world of morning sickness, and it wasn't really a consideration anyway.

And just as I started to feel better and think about the possibility, Ammon got stitches and couldn't swim.

But I finally decided it was time for us to try it out.

I wasn't brave enough to take the boys by myself, so I asked Andy to take a day off work.

And it was SOOOO fun!

I felt like the boys were really safe the entire time.

The only place that makes me even a little bit nervous is the wave pool.

And only the idea of them going into the pool without a parent.

We hit the kiddie pool first.

Then took our first turn in the wave pool.

From there we spent a good hour in the lazy river.

The kids just wanted to go around and around and around.

Finally, we headed out for some of the slides.

Andrew, Ammon and Peter got a triple rider tube and went down together.

It was such a great way to spend an afternoon.

I am looking forward to going back!

Manti Pageant

I started seeing Facebook posts popping up about people being down at the Manti Pageant.

I was disappointed that life got away from me and we forgot to plan to go.

We were engaged at the Manti Pageant on June 16, 2001.

The week of the 16th was over and we had missed our chance.

I wasn't thinking straight.

Yes, we had missed our anniversary weekend.

But the pageant runs for TWO weeks.

We still had time to go!

We turned it into a fun weekend getaway.

In a not so smart move, we started our "weekend" with a family sleep out on the trampoline.

That means that the adults headed to Manti on very little sleep...

We are definitely feeling our age these days.

The trampoline did not agree with us.

But it was fun to know we all slept out as a family.

The first stop we made was to see the Payson temple.

It is currently under construction and we could see straight through it in some points.

We were amazed at how big it is.

Next, we stopped in Nephi.

We had lunch at Wendy's and then played at a park.

In the future, we might try to remember the fun water park we saw.

But we didn't want to spend the extra money and we didn't bring swimming clothes anyway.

We got to Manti around 3:00.

I think we were practically the first people to get to town.

In the future we'll probably aim for closer to 5:00.

Just as we were getting out of the car, there was a huge thunder.

Andy insisted that he had checked the weather tons of times and there was ZERO chance of rain.

I argued that the clouds overhead seemed to disagree.

Almost immediately we were feeling drops of rain.

But they were few and far between.

We explored the temple grounds.

The boys looked down at the graveyard and wanted to know what it was.

We took them to it and they were completely fascinated by the tombstones.

But then the rain REALLY started.

It came pelting down in sheets.

We ran to the pavilion for cover.

The storm probably didn't last more than about ten minutes.

It was a fun adventure and cooled off the day just enough.

And eventually our blanket dried out...

After the storm, the boys wanted to go back to the graveyard again.

Then we spent hours waiting for the pageant to start.

(It begins at 9:30 PM)

We played games, at the food we brought for dinner, and took naps...

The boys loved the pageant, though Peter got tired and fell asleep before it ended.

Afterwards we raced to our car to try to get out of town before the gridlock hit.

It took us about ten minutes to get out of town - about eight of those minutes at a stand still.

I think the traffic out is the one thing that makes me not want to do this every year.

That, and just how late at night it is.

But we had a great time and were so glad we went.

The other thing that was nice is that we only had to drive half way home.

We had arranged with Andrew's sister to spend the night at her house in Spanish Fork.

We got there around 1:00 in the morning.

She had prepared bedding for us, and we went straight to sleep.

The next morning the cousins had lots of fun playing with each other.

We were there until well into the afternoon and the kids still didn't want to leave.

It was a fun visit.

(But we were SO glad to be back in our own beds that night!)

Halloween Cruise

This semester has found my children parent-less on Monday nights.

Andrew works until after bedtime.

And I was beyond belief frustrated when I learned that I had a class I needed to take during that time.

It has been hard on me to leave my children abandoned week after week.

So when I saw discount tickets for a "Halloween Cruise" I decided to jump on them.

And to celebrate Fall Break - my one week without a class - I took the boys.

I picked them up from school and we headed down to Orem.

After running a quick errand for my Grandma, we stopped for dinner.

(McDonald's - seriously gross, but it made me the coolest mom ever!)

My sister and her family met us at the cruise.

We were the first riders of the night.

The weather was pleasant and the boys had fun with their cousins.

The boys LOVED the pirate that "attacked" our cruise.

He asked if anyone knew any pirate jokes and Ammon immediately piped up.

"Why does a pirate have a hard time learning the alphabet?"

"Because he always gets stuck at 'c'!"

On the way home we stopped by to drop some things off to my Grandma.

Peter couldn't stop talking about what a great time he had.

The details of every moment just kept pouring out of him with so much enthusiasm.

(Ammon was busy "helping" Grandpa play a computer game.)

The next morning it was Ammon's turn to share the story of our evening.

He had the same unbridled animation as he told Andrew about our cruise.

It was a fun night!

I wish Andrew could have been there with us.

In the mean time, I think it was a good memory for the boys.

I know it was for me.

Natural History Museum

My mother-in-law decided to sponsor a trip to the Natural History Museum.

(She, Andrew and I were all free so it just meant paying for the boys.)

It was a fun activity.

It's a new building and even though it is so close to us, we'd never been.

The boys LOVED it.

There were so many things to see and explore.

Despite spending a few hours there, I feel like we barely scratched the surface of the museum.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Thanks Peggy!

Hollywood Connection

After our fun day last September at Hollywood Connection, I faithfully watched for another deal to come along.  My intention was to take a group of boys for Ammon's birthday party.  In the end, he wanted a more traditional party, and so we went, once again, as a family.  It was a blast!  My boys love miniature golfing so that was the first order of business.

Last time we went to Hollywood, we didn't even think to go skating.  This time we were there longer and enjoyed getting the skates on.  I was an avid skater in my childhood, so I still marvel that I have two boys who are so completely unstable on skates.  It's my fault, though.  They just don't get the exposure to it that I did.  I am always thrilled to see them on skates.  We've always done ice-skates in the past - I really think this may have been the first roller skating experience for them both!)

Of course we spent hours on the rides.  The bumper cars was still a favorite.  The boys loved the roller coaster too.  When we went in September, I was healing from my back problems and was overly optimistic about things.  For the most part it was OK, but I did hurt it on the roller coaster.  Six months later I still struggle a lot with my back so I was a lot more conservative with what I did.  Mostly I watched.  This meant that the boys ended up going on things alone sometimes if Andy was on a different ride with the other child.  I'm sad I couldn't sit next to him, but it was fun to watch Ammon ride the roller coaster all by himself.  He is growing up so much!  Later, Ammon and Peter rode together without either of us.  I love what great friends they are.  It was a really fun day!

Picnic Dinner

Pictures taken June 24, 2011

My mom happened to be out of town the week the kids were in swimming lessons.

We went to her house every evening and helped Grandma with dinner.

It was perfect to eat our meals there because lessons ended at 4:30.

Getting home and still needing to cook a meal would just be late into the evening.

We enjoyed our time with them, but were exhausted by the end of the week.

(Especially when one night turned into a visit to the ER for Grandpa.)

On the last day of swimming lessons, we had our own little dinner in the park.

We enjoyed the sun, and relaxed as our own little group.

Then we went home.

And it felt good.

Brothers in the Bounce House

Pictures taken June 11, 2011

On Saturday we went to the West Jordan City Park where the county library system was putting on a grand 'ol party as an opener for their summer reading party.  I emphasized to the boys that I wanted them to stay together, and they did a marvelous job.  My heart swelled with pride and joy as I watched my children standing in line side by side and sometimes hand in hand.  They waited to get on the bounce house where people were being allowed on one at a time.  In their most sincere efforts to be obedient, they arrived at the front of the line and told the person in charge, "We're brothers."  Fortunately she was able to translate their meaning and asked, "Do you two want to go together?"  They grinned really big and nodded that they did.  These two are so independent of each other in so many ways that it is just precious to me when I see them playing with each other so flawlessly.

We were later joined by my sister and her three children.  The playground there contains a really fun castle structure that the kids love.  They enjoyed running around and had a great time.  We also stopped by several booths, one of which provided us with some great coupons for Famous Dave's, where we had never been.  Since we had planned to go out for dinner anyway, we decided to use them.  We LOVED that restaurant and had fun trying something new.  It was awesome that Ammon and Peter both ate free and that our meals were discounted.

After dinner Andy dropped me off to do some clothes shopping (something I NEVER do) and took the boys home.  Peggy (MIL) came to pick me up and she and I headed to a Scentsy party at Rebecca's new apartment.  (It was the first time I've been there.)  I was planning to just ride Trax home, but Peggy insisted on driving me after the party was over, which was very nice of her.  It was a great day and the only thing that could have made it better was finding a shirt to go with the new skirt I bought.  But I'll work on that this week.

Visiting the Zoo

Pictures taken June 10, 2011

With the zoo being a simple half mile up the road, you'd think we would go all the time.  But we don't - not as a family anyway.  On Friday we decided to take advantage of the fact that we were all home at the same time and head up there.  We still split up in our travel arrangements.  Ammon was ready to go first and wanted to walk.  Peter was slower to get out the door (which is very unusual - it is typically Peter who is quick to leave and Ammon who is lollygagging behind) so Ammon and I headed up the road on foot while Andrew continued to help Peter get ready.  It was a pleasant day and Ammon and I enjoyed the walk (even though it is a pretty brutal uphill climb).

The zoo was very crowded and people were parked almost all the way down the street.  I wondered if Andrew and Peter would end up just walking most of it anyway, but as we got to the gate to enter the zoo, Andrew and Peter were right behind us.  They had been able to find a parking place with no problem and the timing of their arrival was perfect.

Ammon was excited to see the "spitting dinosaurs".  He had been to the zoo the previous week on a field trip and had seen some of the new dinosaur display.  Peter and I had been a few weeks earlier than that, so we new what he was talking about.  Andrew was just confused because he had never seen dinosaurs in the zoo.  The boys were excited to show them off.  Peter was braver than he had been the first time - having his big brother by his side seemed to help him feel a little more bold.  But he still didn't want to get too close to the dinosaur that spits water on the crowd of people to help cool them down.  He quickly passed that area clinging onto Daddy's leg and we headed to the Elephants, which is what he wanted to see most.  We got there during the elephant show and watched them do their tricks.

The boys got out their maps and studied them hard deciding where to go next.  The dinosaurs are scattered throughout the zoo, but have several of them clustered in one particular area, so Ammon wanted to head that way.  While we were going that direction, we passed by the gorillas.  There was one sitting just inside the glass and Peter and I stood a foot away from a full-grown gorilla!

Then we rounded the corner into the area that Ammon wanted to be at when we noticed that a show was going to start in about ten minutes so we got some seats and stayed for that.  Afterwards, we played at the playground and spotted more dinosaurs.  Soon it was time to head home for dinner.  It was a short trip to the zoo - just an hour or two, but we had a good time.  It was fun to have all four of us there together.

Celebration!

Pictures taken June 08, 2011

In honor of Ammon finishing first grade, we had a fun family night.  He requested Bagel Pizza for dinner.  Afterwards we went to our favorite ice cream shop, Leatherby's.

Ammon wanted to go BIG, so we let him order off the adult menu.  He and I both got banana splits - mine is from the kids menu.  The man sitting at the table next to us said that the ratio between Ammon and his ice cream was the craziest thing he has ever seen.  He even offered to give Ammon five dollars if he finished the whole thing.  As it was, Ammon only ate about one-third of what he ordered.  In fact, Andrew was the only one who didn't bring ice cream home to enjoy for days to come.

About the pictures:  both of the boys were extremely happy with their cherries.  They proudly held up the empty stem after eating the fruit.  Andrew also thought it was great that he went to take a picture of me just as I was sneaking a taste of Ammon's ice cream.  I am famous for eating off of other peoples plates - even if we have the exact same food.  (Although in this instance, Ammon had different flavors of ice cream that I was wanting to try.)

It was a great end to another school year, with more family memories made.  This will be our annual tradition, and I am already looking forward to next year at Leatherby's.

Summer is Almost Here

Pictures taken June 4, 2011

It has been a cold, wet spring, but the weather is warming up.

We made sure to enjoy our perfect seventy+ degree weather on Saturday.

In the morning we took a family bike ride to the local library.

As a child, I frequented the library often with my mom.

As an adult, I find the library too costly.

I don't go nearly often enough, and always end up with fines and late fees.

But I am hoping to turn over a new leaf.

With us being able to walk/bike there as a family, I hope we get there at least once a week.

We had a great time.

(And if you follow me on Facebook you know about the surprising book Ammon checked out!)

After our library trip, we headed down to say Happy Birthday to Gramma Peggy.

The boys really wanted cupcakes and I found this cute cupcake cake.

It was perfect.

We had a nice afternoon with fruit, veggies and treats!

We had planned to go over and use and abuse my parents grill for dinner.

(Something we do often.)

But the boys wanted to get some food from Panda Express.

Andy wanted something else, but when we saw that Cafe Rio was in the same parking lot, he was sold.

We went to the separate restaurants, ordered our food, and took it to a nearby park.

We had a great time playing and eating.

The park actually sits just East of the Jordan Parkway.

If you take a bridge over the river, there is a second park.

Ammon found a trail that followed the path of the river (although higher up).

He was so thrilled to explore.

After initially scouting it out, he came back to retrieve the whole family.

He was insistent that we all come explaining,

"Mom, the end of the trail is the most beautiful sight!"

I'm glad my boy is such a nature lover.

It was the perfect end to a nearly perfect day.

Family Hike

Pictures taken May 28, 2011

I have been interested in exploring the area around us.

I often walk with some friends in the evening and pass a trail head.

I've been dying to discover more about what is back there.

The Saturday of memorial day weekend was the perfect time to venture in.

Ammon, who usually prefers indoors, LOVED hiking.

It matches his adventurous spirit.

Peter, who is my outdoor boy had some hiking struggles.

He enjoyed it at first and I was really proud of how well he kept up.

But as we got further from home, he got more and more anxious.

He became really obsessive and controlling about keeping us all within about two feet of each other.

(Which isn't a very fun way to hike.)

I finally sent Andy and Ammon up ahead and Peter just had to deal with it.

While we were working through all that, we watched a hang-glider land - just feet in front of us.

I think that helped pull Peter out of his distress.

On our way down the trail, I received a phone call from my friend.

(I thought it was funny that my phone worked, but as I said, we were just minutes from our home.)

She had just been in a car accident and needed some help.

Fortunately no one was hurt.

I brought her boys home with me, and Andy stayed to help her with the car.

After our adventurous morning and afternoon, we headed down for a visit with family.

Andy helped my mom work on the loft in her shed.

My sister and her kids showed up so we played.

We grilled hot dogs and ate watermelon while visiting with my grandparents.

It was a great start to a fun weekend!

Heritage Park

As if my weekend hadn't already been great enough with a massage and date night, we spent the following day at Heritage Park as a family (plus two of our favorite neighbor kids).  Peter and I had been before, the day we bought our annual pass, but Ammon and Andrew had never been.  It was especially fun to have four kids with us.  I felt like they fed off of each other in their enthusiasm and it was just so much fun to watch!

We started out with the pony ride.  They had three ponies set up so the three older kids rode first.  Peter was allowed to go next, but for some reason he refused.  He wasn't sad or upset about not riding, but I knew he wasn't scared either because he's done it before and since.  I don't know what his hang up about it was.  But after the first pony ride they went and played with the goats then rode again.  Peter declined the second opportunity as well.

From the animal section, we headed over to the train station.  We caught the train and rode it to the boat and gold-digging area.  Peter was disappointed that his friend Digger wasn't there.  (Digger is the name of the docent who told us about that area last time we were there.)  Still, they had lots of fun playing in the water and enjoying the amazing weather.  (It seems like we've only been getting good weather a day or two at a time lately, so it was definitely something to bask in.)

We finally tore the kids away from the water and wandered down a path Peter and I hadn't visited before.  We saw some old homes and then ran into some handcarts.  The kids thought that was pretty fun and Andy helped each of them pull the carts.

We went back for another pony ride after looking at some other things, but the ponies were already put away for the day.  Then we stumbled upon a play area with miniature houses and a small wooden train for the kids on.  Peter and I hadn't noticed it the first time we were there.  The kids played endlessly until Andy and I were too bored and finally drug them away.

Andy suggested that instead of taking our two little friends home, that we go get the rest their family and have dinner in the park.  Unfortunately we realized that they had family visiting from out of town and had made dinner plans so it wouldn't work.  But we went and got some food and spent the rest of the evening enjoying the beautiful weather eating outdoors and watching the boys play at the playground down the road from us.

I decided that there isn't much better than following a couple date night up with a family date day.  Maybe doing it in reverse would work too.  Hmm... I might have to give that a try.

Block Party

Pictures taken September 18, 2010

Our housing area seems to have at LEAST one big party every month.

Last month we didn't get pictures, but we had a movie in the park.

The boys especially loved the endless supply of cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn and sodas.

All while we kicked back on the hillside and watched How To Train Your Dragon.

It was a really pleasant night.

This weekend it was more of a fair atmosphere.

We had games, bounce houses and trucks.

There were lots and lots of different kinds of vehicles all lined up.

And the boys just climbed in and pretended to drive whichever ones they wanted.

Ammon had the cotton candy in his hands before I knew what was happening.

We had pizza before they hit the snow cones.

Popcorn got picked up as we toured the trucks.

The boys finished their day by making and launching rockets.

And they both enjoyed the prizes from various games.

It was a lovely, if not gluttonous way to spend the afternoon.

Company Party

Andy's department had a fun carnival/BBQ party this past weekend.

It started raining HARD just before we left.

We almost didn't go.

But we're glad we did, because the rain stopped just in time for us to get there.

We ate hot dogs and hamburgers.

Our meals came with prepackaged silveraware/napkins.

Peter felt that the fact that he HAD a fork meant he must USE the fork.

So after some troubling moments, Daddy helped him stick his hotdog.

There were blow up slides, and carnival games.

The boys came home with a bag of "prizes".

There was popcorn, cotton candy and snow cones.

Ammon and Peter were in heaven.

And all of this took place at the lake behind Andy's work.

It was a delightful and beautiful evening.

Thanks DiscoverCard!