I have been slacking off. A lot has happened in the last 11 days so here's the update...
Last week was Spring Break. I wanted to go somewhere, but things just didn't work out that way. We ended up doing a staycation instead. Monday we visited the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium down in Draper. It was busy, but we still were able to see everything we wanted. We started off in the South American part of the aquarium. Here's the kids checking things out:
We even got to see an Electric Eel. They had some buttons you could touch to feel what a shock from this eel would feel like. I was surprised--the shock was stronger than I thought it would have been.
There were some BIG fish. Don't ask me what their names were, though because I don't remember--haha!
All the kids had to try the rope bridge, of course!
The penguins were fun to watch. The kids thought it was most exciting when they saw them poop in the water. Oh the life of a family of mostly boys--sigh.
Daniel was super excited to see the rare endangered Japanese Spider Crabs. He made me take a few pictures.
We got to see the penguins swim from below as well. The poop was still pretty funny from that angle, too if you were wondering...
The jellyfish were my favorite. I could sit and watch them swim for hours. They were pretty relaxing.
The otters were another kid favorite.
The kids had fun posing in the Megalodon jaw fossil:
The touch pool with the sting rays was pretty cool.
Josh had the advantage of the long arms so he could really reach out and touch them:
I was surprised that Matthew really wanted to touch them, too:
The underwater shark tunnel was pretty cool:
They had another touch pool with starfish you could feel:
Long arms are really advantageous at these places--just ask Josh:
Noah kept asking of a picture with him on the turtle sculpture so I finally did just to appease him:
They got to pet a snake as well:
It was a fun night. We had all been to the aquarium before except for Aaron. He was glad to finally see it for the first time that night.
The next day was Noah's birthday. Instead of celebratory balloons he requested donuts. The kids all woke up before me that morning and chowed down. This was all that was left of the two dozen donuts by the time I woke up:
For lunch we went to Pizza Pie Cafe. Noah got his most favorite thing to eat--cherry tomatoes with ranch.
He was excited to get his Cookie Monster from Pizza Pie since it was his birthday:
Since he requested an ice cream cake we obviously couldn't bring that to Pizza Pie so we brought a donut with 7 candles. I did use trick candles, though. If you can't tease your kids who can you tease?! Noah wasn't a fan--haha!
We were glad G&G T were able to join us for lunch. Noah made sure to give them lubs:
After lunch I schlepped the kids up to Baby Animal Days in Wellsville (up by Logan). Aaron had to go back to work, so he couldn't come with us unfortunately. When we got there We first got in line to see the baby bears up close:
We weren't able to touch them, but we had fun watching them play. There were about 8 cubs in the enclosure:
Next we visited the baby turtles. They were tiny!
Surprisingly they were pretty fast, too:
Matthew loved them:
We next got to cuddle the baby bunnies. They were so soft!
I even got to hold one.
We got to touch a snake, too:
Next we visited and pet the calves:
Then we went into the petting ring with mules, goats and a mini horse:
Next we moved on to the baby ducks:
Matthew kept trying to give his duck squeezes, kisses, and snuggles:
Good thing ducks are pretty hardy--haha!
Next we got to hold the baby chicks. In Josh fashion he made the joke of saying those were the easiest chicks to pick up...
We got to visit a root cellar which was pretty dark and musty:
We HAD to ride the train, too:
Matthew and Josh sat in the regular seat. Sarah, Daniel and Noah decided to ride in the red jail caboose:
It was pretty squishy in the caboose so when the ride was over the kids were more than happy to get out of jail:
They had another area with calves that we stopped by as well:
They had a couple of stands where you could spin the wheel of prizes. The kids insisted on stopping and were reward with a few pieces of candy from their spins:
Next we went on the wagon ride. Interestingly enough the guide and the horses that pulled the wagon were the same ones that ran the sleigh up at Hardware Ranch back in January. The snowy mountains were so pretty in the background!
Of course I look down to see Noah's front pocket FULL of rocks he had collected during our visit. What a crazy kid!
Yep it's the same guide that we had up at Hardware Ranch back in January:
Last the kids got to ride the horses. Here they are waiting for their turn:
Noah:
Sarah:
Daniel:
Matthew was beside himself with excitement. He LOVES horseback riding!
Josh even took a turn:
After that the kids tried their hand at roping with lassos. They weren't very good, but that's ok:
When we got home we had G&G T back over for ice cream cake. Noah got to blow more candles out:
At the end of the night Noah curled up in my lap and promptly fell asleep. It was a good day!
The next morning bright and early Grandpa T took the three middle kids fishing.
They caught a bunch and cleaned them when they got back to our house.
Aaron smoked them for dinner and they were actually pretty good.
The next day our Smiths Marketplace was having a fashion show and requested volunteer models. I signed Sarah up and she was pretty excited. Here's the clothes and sandals they picked out for her to wear:
Here she is rocking the red carpet:
I am a bit biased, but she is a gorgeous model!!
The next day was Josh's birthday. Of course you can't get by the annual ear flips by Dad. Noah even got in on the action, too:
We went to Pizza Pie Cafe for lunch where Josh LOVED his cookie monster:
Opening presents:
He is so tall:
I know I always say how tall he is, but it is crazy. He has fully passed Aaron by as you can see:
After lunch we went to Lagoon for the first time this year. The kids were so excited. All the kids are tall enough that they can go on everything. It's pretty awesome. Here we are waiting to go on Cannibal:
We got to sit on the first and second rows:
Noah also got to drive his own bumper car which he was pretty excited about:
Since it was Josh's birthday we decided to let him and Daniel try out the SkyCoaster. Here they are getting suited up:
Getting ready to get lifted up to the top of the swing:
They lifted them up so high you could barely see them. They are the tiny black dot at the top of the tower:
Here they go:
Two thumbs up so it must have been good, right?!
When we got home from Lagoon we had some birthday cake. Josh had helped me make the cake. It was home made lemon cake with home made lemon curd filling and home made lemon cream cheese frosting. It was pretty good. Josh is turning out to be quite the cook!
Sunday Josh got interviewed and sustained to be ordained a Teacher. He was ordained by Aaron after church. Here's the brand new Teacher:
It will be crazy--by September we will have a Deacon, Teacher and a Priest in the family. Crazy!!
While G&G T were with us Sunday for Josh's ordination, Grandpa T happened to mention that he was trying to gather all the state quarters for his collection. He had gotten all of them except Maine. He told the boys if they could find a Maine quarter he would give them $2 for it. Daniel's ears perked right up. The next day at school Daniel mention he was looking for a Maine quarter. Tuesday one of his friends brought a Maine quarter to school for Daniel. Daniel just had to trade one thing from his lunch for it. He was so excited. When Daniel got home from school he had me take a picture and text it to Grandpa T to show him he had found a Maine quarter for him. It was pretty funny.
I started work this week and it is keeping me pretty busy. For the next 6 weeks I will be working as a Clinical Instructor for the high school CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) students. I really like this job. However, Aaron had to go on a business trip this week to Fort Worth, Texas which wasn't the best timing, but we made it work. There were a few days the kids got to school without hair being combed, but what can you do?! Tuesday after my morning shift was over I got to visit Noah's classroom to celebrate his birthday. Since his birthday happened over Spring Break it wasn't really his birthday, but that didn't stop Noah from wanting to celebrate. He got to be the leader for the day. He also got to wear his birthday crown, too:
When I got to his classroom I was able to tell the kids about Noah his likes, dislikes, about his family, etc. I then got to read one of his favorite books which was Gus and the Baby Ghost which is the same book I read when I was his age--haha! He then got to pass out his birthday treats which were Ho-Hos. I was glad I was able to go to the classroom for his birthday that day!!
The next day Daniel and Josh both had appointments with the Allergy doctor. Luckily, I didn't work that day so I checked them out a bit early so we could have lunch together. They were pretty fun lunch dates.
We got word a few weeks ago that Daniel's name came up on the waiting list for the Oral Immunotherapy for Cashews and Pistachios. Wahoo!! We have been waiting 14 months to start this program so we were pretty excited. When we got to the doctor's office they did a pulmonary function test since Daniel has asthma.
He passed with flying colors. We then got everything in order to start the OIT program next week. Wahoo!! Hopefully in the next 7-8 months Daniel will be able to eat cashews and pistachios without dying or coming close to dying which is always a good thing. To prepare I just picked up a whole slew of emergency medications to have on hand at home just in case something goes wrong during this whole OIT thing. I am just glad we have been through it before with the milk so we do know what to expect--phew!
Josh is doing great with his shots so we will be continuing them. His was just a 6 month check up to see how things were going which they are going great.
It has been a crazy 11 days. I was never so glad to see Aaron home as when I was when I got home from work last night. We really are a team and it is hard when one of us is out of play even for a few days! What was even worse is my cell phone died while he was gone. Ugh!! I tried to fix it myself, but I couldn't. Aaron tried when he got home, but it had really died. Too bad I REALLY needed it for work that night. Oh well what can you do?! Luckily, it was still under warranty so hopefully I will be getting my replacement phone tomorrow which will be great since my next shift is early Monday morning.
Sophie is a crazy dog. She LOVES to snuggle with you. During the day she will follow me around until I sit down and then crawl up next to me. She got so comfy the other day she actually fell asleep with her toy in her mouth. What a crazy dog!!
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