Body Worlds Animal Inside Out

We finally got a chance to see this exhibit today.  We have been wanting to see this exhibit since it started in May, but this Summer has been packed FULL of adventures we have not had a chance till now.

At first we were not sure if the kids would want to see it, but we checked the website out, and it was kid friendly.  Liam is a sensitive boy, so he had a bit of a hard time at first.  We talked to him and explained that this is how doctors learn about animals, and how to help them...it is 'Medical Science', as Rowan always says.

After the Animal exhibit, we checked out the other exhibits that the Leonardo has...they really liked this  kid friendly area.

Dad told them they could wade in the water after we were done.  Then on the way back to the car we found a cool reflective sphere and decided to take a family selfie in the reflection.  It was bright out, so the kids were covering their faces.  The one I picked was best of 3 ;)

All in all it was a fun trip to SLC, and we will be taking them back to the next one that exhibits the human body.  Mike and I went to it last time it was in town, but they were too little to appreciate it...in fact, I'm not even sure Rowan was born yet. (Yep, I just looked it up-Liam was a baby, it was the end of 2008)

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR PICS FROM ANIMAL INSIDE OUT

Rest of July Fun!

July has been full of more swimming, parks, animals, and visiting Grandma Great in Idaho...

We met cousin Rainier at Creekside Park (7.11.14)

Visited the Hutchings Museum (7.12.14)

Then on July 18th we took the kids across state lines for the first time ever, when we went to visit my Grandma, their 'Grandma Great' in Shelley Idaho...that weekend we also visited Bear World, about 30 min. from Shelley.  We had a really great time visiting her, and her beautiful yard (which I will have to post pictures when I get chance to upload them to the computer)

The kids had a week off of swimming, so I took them to Hee Haw Farms (7.22.14)

Then on the 24th Mike took the morning off of work, and we went to Hogle Zoo to check out the new African Safari.

Then did fireworks in the evening, since we didn't get around to them on the 4th :)

Since I posted a swimming collage of Rowan last post, I wanted to make sure Liam got one too :)

July 31st was their last swimming lesson. Liam is now swimming across the length of the pool, and jumping off the side and diving for a toy, and swimming to the side. He's made vast improvements over the past summer, and we are so proud of him!!  Rowan has made good improvements as well. It took her some time to re-learn going under the water, but I'd say her best improvement has been her confidence which really turned around when she started swimming around on the swim noodle by herself.

Summer Fun!!

Summer is about 1/2 over, and we have been having a lot of fun! The kids are still in swimming lessons, and are making improvements. Liam is diving (not off the edge of pool), but swimming to the bottom of the pool to get toys.  He is treading water for 15-20 seconds, and getting better with his front and back strokes.  He also can float on his back pretty good!  Rowan had to get used to going under water again after learning it last Summer, but she is getting more and more confident with herself, when she's not trying to run the lesson ;)

We have done a few adventures since my last post...we have gone to a few parks, and we took Liam to Timpanogos Cave.  We decided that the hike would be too hard for Rowan, and neither one of us wanted to carry her up that mountain, so she had a fun sleepover at Grandma B's house.

 This park is right by our house.  It has been closed for a long time so they could clean it up.  They have cut down the weeds, and cleaned up some of the older trees that were dead.  There are still plenty of old trees left that provide shade and character.  They have planted new trees and plants, and are building a new pavilion.  It is still a work in progress, but we are very happy about the improvements!

This park is near our house too.  We actually were on our way to the library, but the Lehi Parade was going on, and some of the roads were closed, and I didn't think we could get a parking spot at the Library, so we ended up going to this park instead.

I was disappointed with this park.  They have a creek, and it's fun for the kids to wade around, but the water wasn't flowing for some reason, and the water was super low.  Also kids just love to throw rocks, mine included...but, at least I'm there to tell them to knock it off.  We saw a bunch of older ones throwing at each other feet?!

Rowan is such a snuggle bug.  Here she is giving us hugs before we dropped her off at Grandma's for a sleep over.

June 29, 2014-Liam did great on the hike to the cave!  We got so lucky when we got up to the top, one of the Rangers took us and 2 other ladies for the tour...so 5 people total...usually it can be up to 18 people, so we were happy for the small group.  Liam answered a bunch of cave questions right!  It was a very fun day.

These pictures were taken on July 3rd, the kids were outside throwing poppers, and I got a few pictures of them while dad went inside to get more boxes.

I had to go out to get cash for our landscapers, so I ran into Old Navy and got the kids flag shirts this year. They were mostly gone, but I was able to get 2 in size 5!

Our kids don't fare well staying up too late, but this year we decided to give it a try.  We were not sure where to go, we didn't want to go to the park everyone goes to because we are not fans of big crowds, and lots of traffic, so we decided to try a place that was nearby in hopes it wouldn't be too crazy.  We got there an hour before, and we were happy and surprised that it wasn't too crowded.  The kids got to play, and Liam got to use dad's old SLR to take pictures. I will have to post some once they get uploaded to the computer.  In addition to the fireworks that Lehi puts on,they got to see fireworks in all directions.  They both got pretty tired toward the end, but they held up fairly well, and didn't want to miss the finale.  The only thing to remember for next year, is to wear pants and shoes, since there are few mosquitoes.

This past weekend, we finally got to the Aviary.  We tried to get all our activities in before it got too hot, but the Aviary was one we didn't get to till later....and it was a HOT day!  But we got a deal on membership there, so we can always go back when it's cooler.

Brunch before the Aviary.

 Here is Liam helping with Ladybugs in our garden.  

Rowan's old swim cap broke, so here she is with her new one.  I couldn't find the same one, so I got something close.  She spent the night before playing little piggy with it on her head, and her hair hanging out, wish I had a picture, it was a funny site!!

 Almost forgot few things from before our camping trip in June...At the end of May, we took the kids on a hike to Cascade Springs.  Thanks to one of my friends posting pics of this place on Facebook, we thought it would be a great place to take the kids.  It's a long drive to get to, but it's worth it.  Not a huge hike, but very beautiful.  On the drive back, we stopped at Tibble Lake, and walked around a bit.

And here are some pics from our first trip to Jordanelle.  This is the other side of the park, where it's less busy with tourists, and has more wildlife.  The guy at the visitor center was very friendly, and let the kids touch all the animals on display, except for the porcupine. ;) 

And below are some pics of our 2nd hike to Battle Creek Falls, at the end of May.  We got a really late start on it, and the kids were pretty cranky, but we made it...and the dogs loved getting out too. 

Below are some pictures from Father's Day.  We decided not to do our usual, and went to Red Butte Gardens and let our butterflies go.  Sadly, one of them had a broken wing and couldn't fly, so we kept him till he died a few weeks later. 

Camping Trip to Jordanelle State Park

Well, I did pretty good on updating the blog for May ;)  Summer has started out pretty busy, which is really good because I have learned the key to parenting is keeping your kids as busy as you can.  The kids are in swimming 4 days a week, and they have also been spending a lot of time at grandma's which they love, and so do I since I get to have some time to myself!! Over the past weekend we went on our 2nd camping trip with the kids. We didn't drive very far, about an hour away, to Jordanelle State Park.  Back in March I had researched the campground, and found a spot that I really liked.  At the start of June I had got on the site thinking we could go visit the area and check out the sites.   It so happened that they were having a Sail-a-Palooza that day where the sailing club was offering FREE sail rides....so we made a day of it.  Then after we drove over to the camp sites, and we really liked the one I picked out online, but because we waited too long to make reservations it wasn't available on the dates we wanted.  As we drove through, I jotted down a couple other sites that looked good too.  Anyway, we ended up with one of the ones I took note of, and we actually liked some things better about it.  Like it had a water spigot right across our site, and the trip to the bathroom wasn't as long or steep as the original one we liked.  The website also mentioned that the site we booked didn't have shade, but it DOES (in the evening when you really need it).  Behind the site is a small babbling brook which provided a soothing and perfect out-in-nature ambiance.  I do have a feeling we will be returning to this site for many years to come!

 Sail-a-Palooza June 1, 2014

Camping at Jordanelle State Park

We traveled a short distance to Wasatch Mountain State Park, and asked the woman working at the visitor center if she could recommend a short family friendly hike.  She directed us to Huber Grove where they had a small nature hike, and some cool historical landmarks.  They also had a nice pic-nic area under a large shady tree by a stream....it was a perfect spot to have our lunch! 

 After lunch, we went back to the visitor center, and Liam and Daddy fished for a short time, he was pretty sad to not catch anything, but I think he still had fun.  The kids also got to feed the ducks there.

And after that before we called it a day, we stopped at The Homestead to check out the crater.  We didn't go in the water, but just walked in to see it, and then to the top to see it from above.  It was pretty impressive, and we plan to go back sometime to enjoy a soak in the water too!  

The whole trip was pretty successful, except one thing...I had got some kind of tummy bug a few days before we left, so Mike got sick shortly after we got there, so he wasn't feeling great most of the time.  Then around 4 am the second night we were there, Liam threw up on his sleeping bag. Thankfully it was just one time, and only on the outside!  But we decided to head home in the morning rather than doing more stuff on Monday like we planned.  Hopefully next time we will all feel good, but thankfully we still had a fun time.

Mother's Day

I posted our outing yesterday with the kids, but also wanted to share the sweet gifts the kids made at school.

Wrapping By Liam

Liam's Beautiful Plate

Rowan's sweet finger print picture

Back to The Natural History Museum of Utah

This morning we went to Sage's Cafe with the kids, and figured while we were in SLC we would spend some more time at the Museum up there.  We decided to start at the Chocolate Exhibit since we didn't get to spend as much time there last time.  I got a ton of cool pictures....

  

Waving Kitty at Sage's