Two-Dollar-Tuesday: ROAR!!

During the month of August Thanksgiving Point has each of their venues open for only $2 per person. I had heard wonderful things about their Dinosaur Museum, but I wasn't willing to pay the $36 for our family to go. So last Tuesday I took the kids. It was worth the $6, but I'm glad I didn't pay full price. Of course the line to get in was crazy (I'm not the only one who loves a good deal). We got there 45 minutes before it opened and there was already a line of about 30 people. The line probably had a couple hundred people in it before the doors even opened.

Anyhow, all three kids loved it. Some of the dinosaurs were HUGE!! The kids took turns posing for pictures in front of the different dinosaurs. Sarah got excited every time I let her out of the stroller to take her picture.

Advice for next time: 1. Take the kids to go potty at the gas station nearby if you are going to wait outside a locked bldg for 45 minutes; 2.don't take any food or drink- they make you dump out your baby's bottle too; 3. try using a baby carrier instead of a stroller if it's going to be crowded; 4. don't go with a big group of friends/ family and expect to stick together-- there is just too much to see and do and not enough room; 5. warn David that they will want to stamp his wrist so he doesn't freak out; 6. Be okay with not seeing everything and going home after only an hour.

Where did those trees come from?

     We received a very generous gift from the Todd Family.  They had heard we were interested in some lilac clippings and they had a lilac tree they wanted to get rid of.  So, Saturday morning they called and asked us if we wanted to come and get some from them.  After a couple of hours of digging the tree out and a short trip in the back of a truck we had a large lilac tree in our driveway.  We borrowed a post-hole digger from the ReStore and spent the rest of the day digging, cutting, holding, watering, and tying our new lilac hedge along our fence.  

     We were hoping to put in a hedge over the next few years with one small bush at a time, but we were able to save hundreds of dollars and several years of waiting for them to grow.  Now we just have to make sure they survive the shock of transplant.  So, Thank You to the Todd's for the tree and free delivery, Dustin for the extra manual labor of digging it out, the ReStore for the free Tool Library, and the Cox's for helping us transplant even though your tree was blown over while ours were going up.  A special thanks also goes to Ganon for going along with my crazy plan and working hard even when it hurt.   It looks great!

Firsts

Here are a few pictures of some first-time events recently.

We went to the Veteran's Memorial Pool one afternoon while Ganon was working. Our friend Lisa met us there so I wouldn't have all three kids by myself. The kids loved it! For those of you who have been swimming with our family before, you know what a dramatic change this is.

David began Preschool this Summer. He is attending BYU's Child and Family Studies Preschool Program for seven weeks. He loves it! The only real problem we have is getting Rebecca to leave every time we drop him off and pick him up. She thinks she should be in Preschool too. I think David will transition to Kindergarten in the Fall just fine after this experience.

We haven't yet gotten a quality video of Sarah's first steps, but she has started branching out on her own this week. Her face lights up every time and she looks around to see if anyone is going to praise her. We are so proud of her! (This picture is of her after just waking up-- she had an overnight visit from Rolf the Night Hairdresser).

Hope

I took the kids to the park yesterday while Ganon did homework.  Rebecca voted for the Exchange Park because it has swings.  "I like swings now," she says, but I'd heard that before.  Anyhow, with some gentle coaxing and Sarah's help we got Rebecca into the swing with Sarah.  They both loved it!!   Today we went to Pioneer Park  and Rebecca again voted for the swings.  She still won't let anyone swing at home and she doesn't like the swings to move if no one is in them, but I feel like there is hope for a swingset in our yard eventually.  We'll see.
These are just some of the roses from our bushes and a few orange ones from the neighbor's.  Having flowers that grow without too much effort gives me hope that I may be able to keep my houseplants alive this summer.  We'll see.

Summer Vacation 2009

(Bryce Canyon)

We had a wonderful vacation at the beginning of May. We started out by spending a few days in SoCal with Aunty Pat and family. It was fun to visit with Chrissy, Ted, and Brandon. We were happy to see Aunty Pat doing so well.  We also made a stop at the beach (the kids' first time seeing the ocean).

(SoCal Beach)

Our next stop was Red Rock Canyon on the outskirts of Las Vegas. I thought it was a beautiful side of Las Vegas. After one night there we headed for Zion National Park.

(Las Vegas)

Located in Southern Utah, Zion is the middle step of the Grand Staircase made up of Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the Grand Canyon.  We were able to camp inside the Park next to Watchman Peak.  
(Bigfoot with our tent and Watchman Peak in the background)
Zion has a shuttle system that runs during the summer.  We got on a bus at the Visitor's Center (about 100 yards from camp) and it took us to all of the major scenic views and trails. 

After two nights at Zion we moved on (through a 1.1 mile tunnel) to Bryce Canyon.  This canyon was called Ebenezer Bryce's Canyon-- after an early LDS settler.  As the top step of the Grand Staircase, Bryce is 8,000-10,000 feet in elevation.  Following the advice of my father, we opted for the cabins instead of the tent for the two nights.  I think the morning low was about 27*.  Thank goodness for indoor heat.  As we went exploring David loved running from one lookout to the next.  Our campsite was fifteen miles from the Park, but it was only 3 miles from Red Canyon Park.  It was fun to let David look at the peaks from the ground instead of the cliffs.       

Ganon with the kids pretending to be mountains.  This is a shot of the Three Patriarch's-- Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from left to right with Jacob being the white peak behind Mount Moroni. (Zion)

Us at Zion with Gram, Papa, and Aunty Becca. Behind us is the Great White Throne (and something else with a name)... (Zion)

This is us in Red Canyon.  I love cameras with timers.

Sarah scoots again...

Grammie, this is for you.  I know I've been promising a new video of Sarah scooting.  I bribed her with a trail of smarties.  The next video of her will probably be First Steps.... Stay tuned.

Electric Company

So, we decided it was time to upgrade our electrical circuit breaker boxes.  I was tired of going to Lowe's with a repair question and having them give me a blank stare when I mention glass fuses.  An electrician who used to live in our ward agreed to help us out.  His crew worked hard and had everything back up and running by mid-afternoon.  We're excited to move on with the list of repairs that have been waiting for this day to come-- The joys of owning our own house...