Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Kindergarten here we come...

We are FINALLY starting our Kindergarten activities this week. Big Man met with his teacher for his assessment today. Thursday is an open house activity and Friday is the first day of class. I think our school is the last to start of any in the whole state. Seriously, I feel like we've been waiting forever.

The assessment went well. He's such a little smartie. It was fun to listen to him answer all his teacher's questions. It was hard for me to sit across the room and not be able to help him. He did really well, but I felt like the room was a mile long and we were at opposite ends. I know most people are sad when their kids grow up and get big, but for me I'm excited. I love seeing him do new things. His excitement is contagious. He's an example for his brother and sister whether he knows it or not. Besides not having him home all day long will hopefully cut down on the teasing, fighting, and messes at home :) What's not to love.

Little Man starts preschool a week from Thursday. I'm excited about that as well. He's waited a long time to go to school. He misses the school deadline by a week, so he'll always be the oldest in his grade. I'm fine with that, but sometimes it's hard to wait. He's also be going to be part of a playgroup with some friends in our neighborhood. It'll be fun for him to have a playgroup of his own. He had fun last year with Big Man's playgroup when it was at our house, but this one will be all his.

I will post first day of school pictures later. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

I love these two...

These two have done nothing but fight today, but here's how we find them tonight.
They can be the best of friends, or the worst of enemies.

They've also been playing with the 11-year old neighbor boy the last two days. He lives at the top of our circle. He's such a good sport to put up with two pesky little kids. He's been really cute with them though. Apparently tonight, they arranged a 'playdate' with him for tomorrow too. They make me laugh.

Thanksgiving Point-Round Three

Today was our final day at Thanksgiving Point. There is another Tuesday this month, but Big Man has his Kindergarten assessment next week, so we won't be going again until next year. Today we hit Farm Country. We got there right after it opened, so it wasn't too crowded yet.



This was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. We bought some food from the machine to feed the cow. I gave some to Big Man, as soon as the cow came at his hand with his long tongue, Big Man dropped the food and was out of there. I ended up having to feed the rest of it to the cow. I got SLIMED. The kids thought it was pretty funny.

We went on the first horse ride of the morning. It was only the four of us. The nice man that was driving took us on an extra long ride. When he dropped us off, he said that everyone else had to go a different, shorter way. The weather was just perfect, it felt like fall-sunny, but nice and cool. I loved it.
We've definitely enjoyed our Two Dollar Tuesdays. See you next August Thanksgiving Point.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Horseback Riding

Today my boys went horseback riding as a last little hoorah before everyone starts school. The boys had a blast.
Little Man looks a little nervous by himself.


I love this picture. My handsome boys.
While the boys were down horseback riding in nice clear weather, Little Princess and I were at home enjoying the flash flooding. We ran to the store and by the time we came out it was a downpour. We ran to the car, but couldn't avoid getting soaked. The drive home was crazy with tons of water on the road and the rain hitting the car. Little Princess was a little in awe, but mostly giggled the whole way home. When we got home, there was a little pool in our backyard. I would've taken a picture, but my camera was horseback riding too. So much for having two cameras if one of them is lost.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Thanksgiving Point-Round Two

Today we hit Thanksgiving Point for the second week of $2 activities. We went to the Dinosaur Museum. This is our 3rd year in a row going to the museum and it was by far the best. I think that a big part of that reason is because the kids are getting older. They enjoyed it more and I was able to keep track of them better. (Last year Big Man was lost for a little while). It was fun.

I love this picture of Little Princess. The look of disgust on her face is because of the sand. She wasn't a big fan of getting it all over her hands. This kind of surprised me because she loves to get in the dirt and make a big mess.



I am learning that we need to wear water clothes to Thanksgiving Point. I didn't know this water feature existed. After we got ice cream, the kids wanted to get wet. Once again, we had to strip everyone down in the car on the way home. They had a blast though.


Next week we're going to the Petting Zoo.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The Gardens at Thanksgiving Point

I love Tuesdays in August, that means it's $2 Tuesday at Thanksgiving Point. Jeff suggested we move family night this week to Tuesday and go to the Gardens. None of us had ever been before and it ended up being a fun adventure. Right as you walk in there's the Ark, that the kids can splash around in. We did this on our way out so they could strip down in the car. They got really wet, but had a great time.
The Gardens are gorgeous. The whole area is 55 acres. It's amazing how beautiful and well kept everything is.
Big Man took this picture.

This is from the top of the waterfall. This was my favorite part. It was so pretty and amazing.


The kids loved the caves. So much to explore and see.

I definitely recommend this as a fun family activity. Next week we will hit the Dinosaur Museum and then the Petting Zoo. Good thing there are lots of Tuesdays in August.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Cousin Camp

Every year Jeff's family has their reunion the first weekend in August. It's held at the Hopcreek Hideaway up Nephi canyon. This year our family (Jeff and his siblings) was in charge. That only happens once every six years since there are six siblings in the extended family. It was a lot of work, but it was fun. My kids call the reunion cousin camp. There are lots of cousins to play with.

Little Princess and Cousin O were funny together. They're at the age where everything is 'mine'.
There's a stream that runs through the property, so there's lots of water to play in. Little Princess would only cross the bridge if someone held her hand.
For games this year, we decided to do a Bocce Ball tournament. It was a big hit. Everyone had a great time. I didn't get aa great picture of the winners-Scott and Annalynn, but they were pretty excited. They won a Lion Statue-the pride of the reunion.
We also played a bunch of Minute to Win It games. Everyone had a great time with this as well. This particular round was to pull tissues out of a box one at a time.
They also had to undo a roll of toilet paper with one hand. There were some very creative ways to get this done
My kids had a great time. It's such a peaceful beautiful place. Little Man was right at home being in the outdoors.

This was part of the obstacle course for the kids games. Little Princess thought it was fun to just lay in the tube.
Little Man playing the water toss game.
Little Princess doing the sack race. What a nut. She just walked with her sack. It was pretty cute.
More water game fun.
Another favorite part was sitting by the campfire at night. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but Uncle Keith put something in the fire to change it colors. It was all shades or blue and green. The kids thought that was pretty cool.
I loved this picture of cousin O. She got herself wet in the water when she wasn't supposed to. It was hard to keep the kids dry and clean all the time.
Cousin M decided it would be fun to roll around in the mud right before we were ready to pack up and go home. Too funny.

It was a fun reunion. We're already looking forward to next year :)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Summer Movie Club

We've been going to the Summer Movie Club every Tuesday. We've had a good time seeing some fun kid shows. Sometimes Little Princess comes with us, but today we invited a friend. Little Princess doesn't like to sit still that long. It's fun to see my boys growing up and enjoying kid stuff. They've been really good and it's been a fun (inexpensive) summer activity. I remember doing the same thing when I was a kid, going to the Starship theaters.

Happy (un)Birthday to Big Man

Big Man had a birthday party with his friends this Saturday. His real birthday is on Christmas Day, but we celebrate it in the summer. It was a little crazy with 10 4&5 year old kids, but it was fun. We played some water games,
Threw some water balloons,
Played in the water,
and the best part-opened presents.


The next day we celebrated with family.
It's Grandma Snell's birthday too.
It's was a busy weekend, but it was fun. So from now until Christmas Big Man thinks he's already 6. :) Close enough right?