Kids Kingdom

While I was in high school the entire town of Sulphur Springs got together to build a new playgroup for the kids. They called it Kids Kingdom. One of the citizens donated a very large majority of the money for the playground to be built, and it became a reality one weekend with the help of hundreds of people, who volunteered their time. I am happy to say that it is still a lot of fun for kids to play on. Our kids even enjoy it a lot. We try to take them every year we are back in Sulphur Springs and this year was no exception. They all had so much fun playing, climbing, and exploring the “kingdom.” I personally like the rubber bridge that you can bounce across, it is too much fun.

Fish

Fish, fish, fish and more fish, you can never come home to Sulphur Springs without fishing. I was really happy that this year though we had really great weather for fishing. Bear and Isa had so much fun and they each caught their own fish for the first time. It was pretty exciting. I even caught a fish, which really means that I finally had some fun. I usually don’t have the patience for fishing. It was great that the fish were really biting, and let me tell you there were so big fish out there. I think Jodi caught the biggest fish that came out of the water, so bigger ones got away. It was almost hard to leave but we had to get home and feed the kids before long, and even though there were lights, it was getting dark and harder to see where your minnow was going.

In home Compost

Thanks to my husband being a huge dork who watches the History Channel almost as much as ESPN we have now been introduced to a new earth friendly product that I think everyone should have. I absolutely hate to put things in the trash that I know can be recycled or composted, but we for one do not have a compost option. But wait we could have an in home compost machine that will take the majority of food waste items and turn them into great “food” for your garden. Much to my father’s dismay I’m sure I keep becoming more and more green. This in home kitchen compost product is provided by Nature Mill, their web site is naturemill.com, and comes with an air cleaner so there is none of that nasty compost smell in your home. Not only are you helping to reduce the amount of waste in the landfills you are providing your backyard with much needed nutrients that are natural and organic. I will encourage all of you to check this compost machine out and if you get a chance to see it in action on the History Channel you should watch it, Environmental Tech II is the series name, and the next time this series airs is Saturday, November 17th at 5pm. We could all be a little greener.

Gingerbread Houses

We have just seen some gingerbread houses that will put the ones we make this season to shame. But at least we tried, and anyway who has that much time to make such an amzing structure? Yes that is a Dragon.

Corn Maze Fun

We went to our first official corn maze here in Utah. Now while we did not do the big corn maze because the kids are a little young, we did have fun participating in many of the other activities. Since we went after Halloween we had so much fun and practically had the place all to ourselves. But first our exciting tale of what happened once we arrived.

Upon arrival at Cornbelly’s Maze I began the delicate process of getting the kids out of the car and ready for fun. Barrett was still sleeping when we arrived so I left him in the car while I got the stroller out and Isabelle out. Now this is a little different since I usually get him out then Isabelle but change never hurts. Before I started removing objects I placed my cell phone and keys in the side pocket of the diaper bag so that I could put the bag in the stroller. I had the stroller all set up and Isabelle was getting out of the car and I made my way to the front to grab the bag and instead I decided to just take out a diaper and wipes because that would be so much easier. Since I had gotten a bigger diaper bag when Bear was first born and it took up a lot of room. I told Bear I would get him out in just a minute and closed the front door. I walked around the other side to Bear and opened his door. Low and behold it would not open, so I was like ok let me go get my keys from the stroller. No keys!! Where could they be, oh yea still in the diaper bag on the front seat of the car that is now locked with my child still in the car. That’s right I locked Barrett unintentionally in the car. I could not believe I had done this.

Fortunately I was down at the maze with Mom’s Club so I had some people to help me call the police to get Barrett out of the car. After what seemed like forever but was really only about twenty minutes he was out and no worse for the wear. I should have taken pictures of the police officer unlocking the door but then I thought he would think I was crazy, so I didn’t. After he was out Bear was just fine, a little shocked that I left him in the car but he recovered well and had a great time at the Maze. He followed the older kids around great, and they each had so much fun. I think the coolest part was the giant “balloon” they had on the floor, one for smaller kids and one for big kids or adults. Even I got out on this one, I think it was even better than a trampoline; everyone should try it out sometime in their life.

Halloween

Here are a few pics of the kids from Halloween. Once Isabelle figured out that if she knocked on the door and someone opened it, that she would get some candy she was all over Trick or Treating. Bear thought it was great just knocking on the door, but got pretty excited about the candy as well. So you tell the kids not to eat the candy but then a "big kid" Dad eats some anyway. One house gave out Pop Rocks, and he thought that was great, so down one package went.

Fall Fun

October in Utah is a pretty exciting time. There is always something to do; a festival, carnival, trick or treating or just some witchy fun. We have picked out our favorite pumpkin, and carved them, we played and had fun at the Scarecrow Festival, and so much more. Barrett and I went the other day to check out the Witches that flew in to Gardner Village, a little shopping village close to where we live. It was a lot of fun to see the witches and try to find them all on the list. Bear really had fun getting out and looking at the witches up close and personal.

We even enjoyed a Halloween party with MOM’s Club, where all the kids dressed up, played games, and went on a trick or treat parade. They had so much fun! But wait there’s more, I keep telling Isabelle that we will get plenty of candy but she just seems to want it all now. Oh well I’m sure that Halloween Night will prove to be fun and full of junk. What more can you ask for.

Sink or Float

For Christmas Isabelle received a new magazine just for kids her age from Aunt Penny. She was so excited to get something in the mail just for herself and just loved the magazine. There were so many great ideas for projects and things to do that we just did not know where to start. So of course we had to read the whole thing in one day. The part that really excited her was the page on water, and the things you can do with it. With that in mind we did a little science experiment to see what toys we had that would float and what would sink.

I had Isabelle go around her playroom and pick out some toys. Then we went up stairs and filled up the sink with water and put them in one by one. I had my own thoughts about what would sink and what would float. The one item that sunk that surprised me was the waffle ball, it went right down. She had so much fun playing this game, and now knows a few items that will sink and float.

Our Silly Family

For our Christmas card this year I thought I would try to include a picture. It is really hard to get two toddlers to sit still for pictures with an actual photographer, but when you add in Mom as the photographer and object, it beefs up the challenge just a little more. So I thought I would show off some of our more funny pictures, at least funny to us. You never know what you might get when you mix kids and a camera. Plus add in a one year old who just wants to explore and get away from Mom and Dad. Don’t forget about the two year old who has to pick every flower within one hundred feet of where you are sitting. Needless to say we will have to try again. Maybe we’ll recruit someone to come along and hold the camera. Even with all of our challenges I still think we have some really cute kids!

Prayers Needed

I just wanted to send out a note to all my friends and family to send some prayers to a family from my MOM's Club. They have recently lost their three year old daughter at Lake Powell. During their vacation this past weekend, she and her brother were playing on the dock and she disappeared, this was on Monday. They were not wearing life jackets and she fell into the water and drowned. The authorities were able today to retrieve her body from the water. So I just ask each of you to send a prayer to her family during this tragic time.

Quick Update

I have finally finished the kids’ costumes. What relief for some reason I was worried that I would not have the time. Now I am glad that I did them when I did. Either way, we think they look too cute! Isabelle is a monkey and Barrett is a lizard.

We went to hunt for the perfect pumpkin the other day. Bear really just wanted to pick them all up. But he always seemed to go for the biggest one. Isabelle just wanted to run around. So mom pretty much picked out the pumpkins.

Then for playgroup this week, we all brought our pumpkins along to carve and make funny faces out of. Bear really thought it was great fun pulling out the stuff. Isabelle thought that it was messy but wanted to help cut out the face. We had so much fun with our friends playing in the muck.

Funny Boy!

Yesterday I had to take out the car seats for a Girl Scout field trip so I decided to wash the covers and let them have some fresh air outside. In true Barrett form, he climbed right into Isabelle’s car seat to finish his lunch. He thought it was great to see the seats outside of the car. Both kids enjoyed sitting in them, on the deck and in the kitchen the next morning.

Here are some of the fall colors we found on our color drive this past week. We had to go during the week, because last weekend it snowed and it is supposed to snow this weekend as well.

Oktoberfest

We went up to Snowbird, one of the ski resorts, for Oktoberfest over the weekend. We had a pretty good time. One of my friends from MOM’s Club went as well. Their kids are about the same age, which is great, because everyone has somebody to play with.

While we were up there we enjoyed, the music, food and of course the beer. Plus they had all sorts of activities to do with the kids or as adults. Ben and I tried to win tickets to ride the tram up to the top, by dancing with an egg between our foreheads. It was pretty funny; we made it until the very end. It was between us and another couple, and we had to do the chicken dance. Once we started to move a little more we dropped our egg and won a back scratcher.

Isabelle that thought was pretty cool, but I was bummed we lost the tickets. Oh well maybe next year. Isabelle and Barrett both really enjoyed the music and dancing. Plus Bear really liked the food, but when has he not liked food?

Roadway Family Day

Since becoming the Director of Regional Operations for the Salt Lake City Roadway terminal, Ben has tried to make some great changes. One of his major changes is having a family day given to all the employees by Roadway. This year he had to change venues because so many people were planning on attending. So instead of being at the terminal we went out to a local park and had a great time. Ben set it up so that there was going to be catered Polynesian food and dancers. I think that everybody had a great time. He even gave out Roadway t-shirts to all the kids who came. I think that was the best part. Ben put in a great effort to make everyone feel welcome especially the kids. He really wanted to show off what a great place his people worked at.

Isabelle and Barrett had a great time. They played games, ate food and made some new friends. It was pretty exciting to watch and see everyone outside of the facility. I think they all really enjoyed what they did. I hope that Ben saw and felt their appreciation even if it was not spoken.

Ben evne got to try out a little "crazy chicken" dance. He was not so sure as what to do but it was pretty funny to watch. He kind of just stood there and looked silly as people were shouting at him to move in a circle. Afterwards he came home and said Isabelle is not going to learn how to hula becuase it is too suggestive. I had to laugh.

Meal Time Prayer

I was not sure how the video would come through, I'll have to work on getting a better picture. I thought she was too cute!!

Red Butte Gardens

No Butte's here! But there are gardens of all kinds!!

Since Ben had the day off and the gardens were free we decided to go and visit the arboretum. It was very nice and all of the flowers were just wonderful. Isabelle had tons of fun playing in any water that we ran across and the kids really enjoyed feeding the fish. Bear could really see all of the fish in the water and was just point, signing and saying fish all over the place.

I really liked the herb garden, Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs and they had some wonderful bushes there. Plus they had flyers on hand to tell you more about the different types of gardens that you can make in your own home. We really enjoyed the one flyer on xeriscaping, we hope to do that with our next home for the area in which we live. Always try to be a little greener.

Hogle Zoo

Our playgroup went to the zoo today. Although a little small, still very entertaining for the kids, Bear just loves to see all the animals. He really sits up and tries to climb out to get to them. I let him walk around the reptile and bird house so that he could have a better experience; I think he really enjoyed it. The animals were all a little more active today, which was great, because then the kids got to see them when they weren’t sleeping. A good treat, especially when you go after lunch. Plus it is still a little warm so who wants to move around when it’s hot.

Ground Breaking

When we came to Utah we did not have a specific church to go to so we looked around until we found one that we liked. Only to find out that there is going to be a new Catholic church built very close to where we lived. After going to the new church for a year, they have finally had a ground breaking ceremony to celebrate the building of the school. The plans are to build a new school K-8th grade and then once funds are raised to build a church building. We are very excited to be apart of such a new process and growth in community. I can hardly wait to have the church built and see the project to the end; I just hope we will be here long enough to experience that.

Meet the Teacher

We are going to try Isabelle out in school two days a week this year. I have been very reluctant in this move but I think it will be the best for her. I think she will be more challenged at school that she would be at home, she seems to get bored with me, but I don’t know. So on Tuesday we went to school to meet her teacher. She really seemed to enjoy it a lot and I think she will do great. Unfortunately she won’t be able to officially start until the end of the September; the school wants her to be two years and nine months, so we will still be working at home. I figured that on the off days we would still work at home on school to help reinforce what she is learning and maybe pick up other sections that she might be missing. It should be pretty fun and a great new experience for each of us.