Matty's day out.

A couple weekends ago the three older kids were with their mom. When this happens we usually make sure that Matty's days are filled with some distractions and fun, he really misses his siblings. This particular weekend he got a trip to the Disney Store to get a new toy and just time with mom and dad. On President's Day I took him up to the Natural History Museum with Grammy and Poppa. Though he was rather excited to see the dinosaurs he found a lot to enjoy in the rest of the museum. It was funny, each display and activity I had to pull him away while he cried that it was "his favorite". Some of the few that he enjoyed were:

Putting together a puzzle of a cell, I think he would have stayed here all day if needed. 

 Deciding which Rock was the snow rock and which was the 'scary rock"

Climbing though the excavation pit, where he could jump and climb and discover things.

And peer at little things that were "so cute".

We finally got to the dinosaurs where I couldn't snap a picture of him because he kept moving around. I was able to finally snap a picture of him though at the dino footprint I loved as a little girl.

He had so much fun at the museum and still talks about it. I love that he is so interested in the world around him and exploring new things. What a cute little monkey and I am so lucky to be his mom.

Christmas lights

I love Christmas lights,  they just look so beautiful against a snowy back ground. This year we decided to take in some of the best that Salt Lake had to offer. We started by braving the bitter cold and headed to downtown Salt Lake.

A nice security man offered to snap this family picture of us!

The kids were happy to see all the candy windows at Macy's, I think the exact words were "wow, cool"

We took a moment to warm up at Deseret Book. They liked the machine that you could launch parachutes in and would have done that for the next few hours, if we had let them.

We did make them brave the cold though, mean parents that we are.

They didn't seem to mind too much though.

The lights really were gorgeous, we loved them.

We were even happy to have Kate and Aaron join us, even if it was too cold. 

 We also hit zoo lights this year something the kids were super excited to see again. 

Though not as cold as our visit to Temple Square it was still plenty cold so we huddled liked penguins to keep warm. 

The kids loved the lights and kept ewing and aweing over everything. It was a ton of fun to see their reactions.

Matty was very happy that he was the first on the rhino statue this time. That meant he got the top.

Then the other kids piled on, I don't think I can ever pass this statue without one of them saying "can we take a picture?"

James decided that it would be more fun to have a snow fight during our visit.

All in all a great time checking out the lights...even if it was a bit cold. 

Utah fans Sir, Utah fans are we

Growing up one of the greatest mysteries of my family was how I became a BYU fan. It didn't make sense and it was one of those great mysteries that didn't correct itself until the late nineties when I realized that I wasn't switched at birth, which was the leading theory in that mystery, nor did the fall on my head as an infant permanently damage me.  See it was about that time I became a Utah fan. The day I told my family still stands as one of the top ten moments in my brother's life. 

Fast forward ten plus years and I now have my own little family of Utes. They sport the Utah gear and they cheer for the U and it is good. They are still not quite sure while their mom yells at the tv when the people playing football can't hear her, but that will come.

To expand on our love for the Utes we attended the fan appreciation day with our neighbors. The whole family sported their U gear and we had Matty cheering "Go Utah" before we left the house. 

Fan day was fun. The kids got to sample some red snow cones, courtesy of the ski team...

Stand in many lines to meet players and try different activities.

Had super tall young men stand on tiptoes to help us make a basket

or get some encouragement from the players themselves.

Of course we weren't happy all the time. Matty has been getting his two year old molars and I guess he didn't sleep much the night before. Not even a bounce house could make him happy.

One things my kids could not wrap their heads around was why people pay so much to watch a football game. They also didn't understand why the suite tickets, which "are further away from the field, Mom." cost more than other tickets.

The one sport James has been asking us to play is golf. It was fun to give him a little preview and I loved that the team golfers took time to work with them.

So that's it. We are raising little Utes and so far their is no discord in our home, they seem happy to be Utah fans, even if they aren't sure what that means. 

Go Utes!

Fourth of July

The 4th of July is a favorite holiday in our house and this year it was just fun. The night before we went to our neighborhood's Cul de Sac of fire. They had bands playing all leading to a huge firework show. Have I mentioned that I love our neighborhood. It was so fun to get to see so many neighbors and meet so many more.  Laine has decided to the music was too loud and plugged her ears the whole time. 

Matty on the other hand decided to show his moves to the whole neighborhood while he was "rocking out".

The next morning the kids seemed unaffected by their late night out and were up and jumping on me in bed around seven. 

So I got up and started the flag cake...we were trying something new this year.

After the cakes were done we went and got pancakes at Village Inn- we are totally American in this house. 

Matty enjoyed his "giant pancakes"

Then we continued our tradition of seeing the latest Pixar movie...Monsters University was hit with our clan.

When we got home I decorated our flag cake...the picture makes it look more oblong than it really is. 

But it was patriotic in side.

We had one last swim party at Uncle Adam and Aunt Amy's

And the kids were good sports to pose for some tradition pictures.

They are good friends these kids. And love playing with each other.

They were having a great time and there were some great giggles.

We watched so fireworks that Grammy and Poppa bought while we waited for the Sugar House Park ones to start.

It was a great busy day and we had a fabulous time.

Fall Festival and Fair

There are so many things to do in the first weeks of September here in Salt Lake. The Downtown Farmer's Market is full of Fall harvest and because of it my pantry is now full of fresh peach and raspberry jam. The circus is coming to town again and the Utah/BYU game is Saturday. 

There are two things that I associate with fall kick off though and both happened this week- The Annual Greek Festival and the Utah State Fair.

The first time I attended the Greek Festival I was 23 and I went with my family and grandparents. We waited about two hours to get food....but it was well worth the wait. Now we go right when the festival opens Saturday morning. 

The girls were really excited for the festival this year. They loved the pilafi (lemon rice) last year and wanted to try a gyro this year. Laine also had a bowl of calamari to herself.  James is my timid eater, there are days I have a hard time getting him to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich let alone something that is new. He didn't want to try anything until I got him some tyropita (cheese in a phyllo pastry) then he was a happy camper. 

Matty, unlike his brother, is quite an adventurous eater. He loves Indian food, Mexican food, and anything with spices.  We had gotten him his own plate, but he decided he wanted to share Poppa's stifatho (beef stew) in fact Matty just ate it all. Poppa also gave him his first drink of coke, thus explaining why there was no afternoon nap that day. This might also explain why one of Matty's few words is Poppa.

We had a ton of fun and the kids loved the dancing, food, and touring the church after we ate. Laine even had a few questions she asked the Father.  Then of course we left with a box of desserts!

A few days later it was time to go to the fair.  The kids loved the animals and the rides, but most of all they loved the interactive physics center. I think it was the giant bubble maker that did it for them.

'

  This exhibit also had drums, a pitching machine, chess, blocks, and so much more. not sure what it had to do with physics though.

The girls then got footlong corn dogs...oh the joys of fair food.

 And of course we found the butter statue, this year it was a tribute to The Hunger Games!

Matthew spent most the time in his stroller looking at animals and asking dad for more dippin dots.

Then there were the rides. The kids loved them, Christian and I realized that we were getting old. After one ride each we were done and very lucky that the fair food we had just ingested stayed down. 

Eve decided to practice for Disneyland and be brave. I love the look of terror on her face there. She was brave though and tried several different rides.

 James was just a tad too short for most the "grown up rides" so he got to ride the trucks...

  Helicopters...

And this version of the adult drop down ride.

This was one of those moments I was very glad Christian and my brother Adam talked me into a smart phone. I had left my nice camera with Christian and the girls but was able to whip out the phone and use it's camera. If only James could have mustered up a smile for us. 

I was also proud of James for conquering the slide fun house. Two years ago when we went he decided to try this and eventually a worker had to go up and retrieve him because he wouldn't come down on his own. You remember that scene from a Christmas Story where the kids are screaming no as they go down the Santa Slide, yeah this is what happened then. He did really well this time. Got a little nervous crossing a rolling tunnel, but other than that he was a champion...and no tears. 

So welcome fall, I have missed you and the fun things that you bring to the city. Now do you think you could drop the temperature another -5-10 degrees?