Utah Fun!

We've already been in Utah for a week and have already had so much fun. Is every day at Grandma's house this much fun? Hmmm...I'll have to ask Andy, Bri and Tony. And if our daily lunch bunch so I can enjoy all my Bountiful favorites and constant playing wasn't enough, Grandpa and Grandma have gone above and beyond to make this trip special.

Wednesday, Grandma took us to the zoo. Hogle Zoo has made some serious improvements since I was little, making this a super fun experience. Grandma even purchased the "Grandparents Pass" to make her visit feel even more special. Included in the Grandparents Pass is a discount from $1 to $.75 for train tickets. What a steal! And if we consistently ride the train during our visits over the next 12 months as much as we did Wednesday, that pass will definitely pay for itself. Other favorites this time at the zoo were the elephants and the park. I love the picture of Max and Grandma going down the slide.

Thursday Grandpa took us the Discovery Gateway, the replacement for the Children's Museum. It is amazing. When you first walk in there is a maze of tubes that suction up balls and send them flying around and then dump them in a big bucket. Max loved it. He probably could have spent all day opening the doors and shoving balls everywhere, but we pushed him on to the Kid's Eye View Town. WOW. They had a gas station, post office, construction zone, house, farm, grocery store, and water area that was all kid size. Heaven. Max started out by putting all the potatoes and lettuce growing at the farm in the mailboxes. Then, he went to the grocery stored and filled his basket with cupcakes, salt, 2 bottles of ketchup (his favorite) and bananas. After that, was the water space, where he got soaking wet sending a toy car down the little river into a bowl at the end. Seriously--Max's heaven.

After that we took a break for a little lunch, conveniently at the exact time it decided to hail. Max was so confused--"Ow, Mom. Rain hurting Max." Good thing our lunch of Cheese on a Stick (dipped in ketchup, of course) made everything better. After lunch, we went back to the museum and Grandpa and Max played on a helicopter. Max loved it, pushing every button imaginable. Then, Max went back down to play with the balls. We were at the museum until 4, a total of 5 hours, with no naps and no breakdowns. It really is that much fun.

And Friday, wow Friday, Grandpa and Grandma took us to the Kangaroo Zoo. No, no. The Kangaroo Zoo is not a zoo filled with kangaroos, but a large warehouse filled with jump houses. I know. Grandpa really did his research for Max's visit. He wanted to find a place where Max could do lots climbing and jumping, and he definitely found it. Right when we walked in my dad said, "Man, this is definitely a place where we need Blake or Andy." And boy was he right. After the first time I climbed up that big ladder, lugging Max behind, I was beat. Good thing Max quickly found shorter slides that he could climb up on his own to be more interested in. And when he couldn't quite climb up by himself, he and Grandpa had a very precise system worked out--Grandpa grabbing his pants and tossing him up. Another very successful day followed by very successful naps. Max can now tell you that a kangaroo says "Boing! Boing! Boing!" courtesy of his Uncle Andy.


Okay, okay, I know there's not much about Baby Jack on this post. We dragged him along to all of these places, and like the good boy he is, he just smiled and played as much as he could. I love this little guy.

Well, I need to go to bed so I'm not dead asleep for the rest of the fun while I'm here. Oh wait. Andy, Bri, and I have been staying up all hours of the night getting me caught up on The Office. We're in the middle of Season 3 and I'm hooked.

Happy Birthday...TO ME!

Today is my 27th birthday. Old, I know. But to compensate for the oldness, Blake gave me an excellent birthday present. This morning, at 6:30 am, Max, Jack and I, boarded a plane to Salt Lake City. Yes, just the three of us. One mom, two kids. When we walked into our row, the people in the row in front of us stood up and moved. Smart. However, the plane ride was actually quite pleasant, with only one dirty diaper mishap. Other than that, Jack slept, Max watched Toy Story 2, and I did Sudoku. The rest of my birthday was absolutely perfect. Andy made Monte Cristos for lunch. They were oh so tastey--now if only we can find that lala berry to make jam with. We took naps and then the party started.

Family, food, food, presents, food, family, candles, cake, presents, food, GAMES. And to be more specific, family=Mom, Dad, Andy, Bri, Tony (only for a minute, he had better things to do), Grandma Myrtice, Dawna (also only for a minute, and also had better things to do), Geri, Cindy, Janet, Blythe, Vaughn, Gage, Max, and Jack. Food=humongously thick hamburgers, artichoke dip, cabbage salad, relish tray, chips and dip, and fruit. Presents=clothes, Anne of Green Gables Trilogy, $$, Portable DVD player, and Sprinkles Cupcake Mix. Cake=REALLY GOOD cheesecake. Games=Guitar Hero and DDR. WOW, I stink at Guitar Hero. Good thing I have lots of time to practice. Thank you for all the phone calls, emails, cards, and hugs. I had the perfect birthday. Now if only my husband will join me in the best state ever next year!

Zoo Firsts

Today marked a very momentous day in our zoo experience, with several firsts. First, it is the first time we've been back to the zoo since the tiger incident. So, we were happy to see this tiger sound asleep behind a nice big glass wall.Second, today was Blake's first time with kids at the zoo, his second time EVER. The last time Blake went to the zoo was back in 2003, during his first year of dental school, for the annual Halloween party. Luckily I have this lovely picture to remember the experience. I think it's funny. Look at his face. Can you tell he's happy to be in this picture?And we always have more fun when Blake is with us. Max actually spent time looking at the animals instead of splashing in the puddles and would kind of pose for pictures with Blake there.

Third, today was the first day Max pet the animals in the petting zoo. Usually he steers clear of the animals and either opens and closes the gate and pushes the soap button for everyone who exits or goes straight for the big pond. I guess this could have something to do with Blake being there, but still, a big first.
Fourth, even though it is Jack's second time at the zoo, it is the first time he's been awake and I've taken pictures of him. He loves being outside and looking around. And he especially loves when he gets nice little surprise "boos" from his brother. Also, today was the first time Jack rode the train. He loved chugga-chugga-choo-chooing around and smiling at all the people we passed. He was a perfect little puffer.

San Diego-Go!

Don't think that our trip ended with Sea World. Oh no! That was just the beginning. Friday Blake had meetings until 5, so the itinerary listed beach/pool from wake up to 1, lunch at 1, then naps from 2-4 then it was time to pick Blake up. Well, Baby Jack decided to make the most of Leap Day. We put him down for a nap around 9 and he didn't wake up until 2:45. That left a lot of time for Max to go on a walk with Grandpa, on the elevator with Nanny, and for me and Ash to watch High School Musical 2. When Jack FINALLY woke up, we headed over to The Fish House for some yummy lunch.Before picking up Blake, we had enough time to go to The Cove and watch the seals. They stop here to rest on their migration south. The setting is beautiful and Max had fun walking out on the bridge with both Grandpa and Nanny. He even went far enough out with Grandpa, that a wave came and crashed up on them. After we picked up Blake, he headed to Guy Flemming Trail to watch the sunset. No trip is complete without Blake and his sunsets. Even after the sunset we stayed and hiked a little more at Nanny's request. Can you believe that? It was so beautiful right along the coast.

That night's activity was Belmont Park. I guess the beginning of March is the perfect time to go since there was NO ONE there, including workers. We had to go find people to start the rides for us. Everyone had fun going on the rides, except Nanny, who chickened out, and Grandpa who was too busy pushing Jack around in the stroller so he'd stay asleep. While we were waiting for the Giant Dipper we talked to one of the roller coaster's engineers and learned all about the hydraulic brakes. He even confided in us that the back is the best ride. Ash and I didn't listen and went straight to the front, but that daring Blake headed for the back. Fun!

Saturday morning Blake had meetings until 12, so again our agenda was pool/beach. This time Grandpa took Max for a swim and April came to visit. It was so much fun to see April. We can tell she really loves us since she had to leave work to see us which only means she has to stay that much later. Ahhh, the life of an auditor. And Baby Jack really loved April. She put him right to sleep. After we picked up Blake we stopped by the San Diego Temple to take some pictures. Max had become a pro at spotting the temple after all the times we drove by it. We played a few "guess how old that bride is" games and Max ran up and down the big hill without falling once. Then, it was on to a gourmet lunch--In N Out or Del Taco. You could pick. It doesn't get better than that. (I chose tacos. They remind me of my first outing with Blake. Taco Tuesday in Provo. Three tacos for $1. He didn't have enough cash for his hefty order, so I had to pay. Man, was I impressed! For my birthday present he paid me back. That should have been the first clue of his thriftiness.) Next on the itinerary was Cabrillo National Park. We just wish the weather would have been a little nicer than the overcastness we experienced. The views were amazing and there was even a little tide pool that would have been a lot of fun.


Then Ashley had the excellent idea of going to the Mormon Batallion Visitor's Center. Luckily we had the GPS and our cell phones to get us there. And Ashley's idea turned out even better than she originally thought when we walked in the doors and Ashley knew the Sister at this Visitor's Center from her mission. While the two were catching up the rest of us watched a very educational movie. Max even got to do some dressing up. He loved holding the big gun almsot as much as his dad. Blake had to be the one holding the gun for the group picture. Perfect idea Ashley! That night we met back up with April and braved the 45 minute wait for Old Spaghetti Factory, an April and Addi classic. And the wait flew by since they had a game room off to the side of the main entrance where Max was in heaven playing the car arcade game. After I ate all the bread, salad, ravioli, mizithra, and spumoni (it's especially fun to go to OSF with Ashley since she can't have the ice cream), we called it a night!

Our last day in San Diego, the only day we had a few hours to spend there, was the most beautiful day. We spent the morning in the pool. Even Baby Jack went swimming for the first time and absolutely loved it. Max, Blake, and I walked down to the beach while everyone else layed in the sun and had fun throwing rocks into the water. Then we stopped by the Fish House for one last yummy meal and started the drive home.

It was the perfect vacation and we're so happy that Grandpa, Nanny, and Ashley came with us. And hopefully reading how fun the trip was will convince the rest of the family to come with us next time!