a day out

We went to Zion National park on Tuesday. On the way there we made our boys very happy. They have been wanting us to take them to this mini town for years now. This was their lucky day. They got to run all around this little town and even feed some stinky animals.

Luckily the llamas didn't have any extra saliva to share with us.

As you can see - Genevieve wasn't a huge fan of the stinky animals. Especially this donkey.

After our stop we headed on to Zion. This was our best visit ever! We saw four deer, 4 squirrels, and 13 lizards. The boys love counting all the crazy things we see. We only hiked to the lower emerald pools since Genevieve was asleep in her stroller and to go further you have to hike up. But Wayne was kind enough to stay behind while the boys and I went a little further to the middle pools. It was a fun adventure. We then watched a 30 minute video about the history behind Zion. We've never done that.... it was kind of interesting and a nice break from the heat. When we got home we hurried over to cheer on Tyler and his team as they played baseball. Tyler did awesome! He got on base both times up to bat. By the end of the day we were totally pooped! But it was a great day!!!!

Dance like nobody is watching

We spent last Friday night at a medieval fair. Hayden loves to dance. He always has. Here he is dancing with his new sword......until some man came along and made a comment about his dancing. Then Hayden got all shy for a moment.

It didn't stop him from dancing for too long. Then Tyler decided to get in on the action.

It was a fun night hanging out with the Wood family, eating fudge and elephant ears, watching knights battle it out, spotting a double rainbow and ending with fireworks. It can't get much better than that.

Learning the basics

I love wood!

Hayden and I have a new addiction...... the scrap wood pile at Home Depot. All the wood is .51 cents. Sometimes they will even sell you all the wood you want for .51 cents. Then Hayden and I come home and get creative. We decided that the fort needed a mailbox. It also doubles for a good place to store all the potato bugs Hayden catches. yuck!
We then decided it would be cheaper to build our own flower boxes instead of buying them this year. An added bonus - the boys then get to paint them. Tyler also was able to sign off a cub scout requirement by building his flower box (the one with bugs is Hayden's and flowers is Tyler's) The boys really loved being able to use the saw and drill to make these. They drilled holes in the bottom to let the water drain.

Genevieve was a little jealous of Hayden getting his picture taken. So she stood where he was and smiled.

We also thought the fort needed a treasure chest. It also doubles for a potato bug house.......

The boys love that we added a latch and lock (not pictured) to keep their treasures safe.

I have also made a height chart and bow hanger from the super cheap wood, but didn't take a picture of them.

I love Home Depot!

teach them while their young

I've got the best helper in my kitchen.
Although, she has a different recipe in mind.....

Yeah - that is a banana in the soup.

I made sure to pull that out before adding the chicken stock.