Rite Aid $5 off Coupon!

If you regularly shop at Rite Aid, then you know how valuable the $5/$25 coupons are. Go here to print one!

Enjoying the Zoo

We got a zoo pass this year and have already enjoyed going to the park. One of the perks of having a membership are the "Members Stay Late" nights where you can stay in the park until 9pm! It's so much cooler after 5pm and the crowds die down to almost nothing. Kory had to work late and Adrian was out of town, so Raz and I took the kids to dinner at McD's then over to the zoo to expend all their remaining energy of the evening. It was so much fun- for everyone this time!

We saw all the animals of course- some more up close than others. One funny part that I'm sure Raz and I won't ever forget is when we went to see the gorillas. It was getting a bit dark by then and the gorillas were inside their little cave. They built this U- shaped area where you can walk inside, see the gorillas, then come out the other side afterwards. We all went in and it was dark, so we had a hard time seeing them at first- then we saw them- in separate areas, both at the back of the enclosure.

Colin and Cameron were getting a bit uneasy because of the dark, so Raz and I both put them in the front of each double stroller, while we tried showing Hailey, Elise and Thomas the gorillas. At that point the gorillas decided to wake up, big time! One hurried up to the front of the enclosure and stood about 5 inches from us! Thank heavens for the dividing glass! It was still kind of scary, seeing him so close just staring at us. He stood up and then did the whole banging on his chest thing, and began running back and forth, across the front of the cave, right in front of us! At this point, both Hailey and Elise lost it, too terrified to move, they just screamed and cried! Raz and I started comforting them and about a minute later, we both realized other kids were crying. Wait- they're our kids. Colin and Cameron were both freaking out- we'd parked their strollers up against the other glass wall, where- you guessed it- the other gorilla was now sitting, looming over both of them! Colin was struggling, trying to stand up in his stroller to get the heck outta dodge, with his seat belt on! Poor kid! Raz and I just had to laugh. Actually, I'm sure we were a lovely site, exiting the other side trying to both push double strollers with our elbows while carrying 2 screaming kids each.

Thomas, on the other hand, thought the whole experience was immensely cool and didn't stop talking about it for days. This was the only pic I got...for obvious reasons.

Here are a few more shots of the kids and I riding the carousel, sliding down the snake slide at the park and of course, terrorizing the local wildlife.

Adrian Turned the Big 3-0!

Adrian turned 30 in July and we had a little party to celebrate. We talked about it and I gave him the option- either have a big party, or have a really awesome date with just the two of us to celebrate. Surprisingly enough, he chose the latter option! Oh how lovely that he wants to spend his birthday with just me, his dear, sweet wife! Ha. You'll see the real reason in just a sec...

So we had some family over to open presents and eat cake. Adrian was showered with gifts and enjoyed every minute of it.

Then about 2 weeks later, his real present arrived.

Yep, we bought a new car!

HA. Yeah, right! No, we actually rented this electric blue beauty for the day, got a baby sitter and spent the day up in Park City! We went out to eat at the Loco Lizard a really tasty little Mexican place there and walked around the outlets and did a little shopping. It was such a wonderful day, we almost forgot we had 3 kids at home! Happy 30th birthday honey!

More Summer Fun

Heavens, I'm not doing very well with getting caught up, am I?! At any rate, I'm determined to be ALL caught up by the end of this week! Wish me luck...

I didn't really want to dedicate a whole post to these random pics, so I thought I'd group them all together and call them "Summer Fun." It's fitting, really.

This was a rather cool summer, so we didn't end up going to the pool all that much. On the few days where it was unbearably hot, we got the hose out in the back yard and let the kids run around. That's much easier than hauling everyone up to the club house, believe it or not!

I got this Slip n Slide on clearance and we really had fun with it. I'm not sure who had the most fun though...what do you think?!

I wouldn't really classify this as "fun" but kind of funny nonetheless. Hailey went through this phase this summer where she got into the baby powder and literally covered everything she could until I discovered what she was doing. It drove me nuts! Cleaning up a fine spray of baby powder off the crib- each individual slat- get really old! This pic was after the first time, when I was irritated, but not enough to not take pictures, you know. I wasn't in the picture taking mood the other times...

The other pic is just Colin being his funny self. He is a serious jokester! Always trying to make others laugh, and most of the time, succeeding. It's so fun seeing his little personality emerge. He is just like his Dad!

We got a zoo pass and this was the first time we went. It was SO crowded, it sadly wasn't very fun...for me! The kids could care less if half a million other people were there. They had fun, as always.

In between our little vacations {info on those to follow shortly!} we just took it easy. this particular evening, we rode bikes up to the clubhouse and played at the park.

Hailey asked me to take her picture and posed quite nicely! Such a beautiful little girl she's turning into!

Thomas' Kindergarten Graduation

I'm horribly behind with blogging, but the only way to recover is one post at a time...so bear with me!

Back in early June, Thomas graduated from Kindergarten and actually will start first grade in less than 2 weeks! Even though we both started Kindergarten not really sure of what was in store, I have to say it went really well. Thomas loved it all- his teacher, the things he learned, going each day, etc. It was great to have him gone for a few hours as it gave me time to spend with Hailey and Colin too! It made me realize as much as I enjoy being home with my kids, they really do need other entertainment and stimulation as they grow older. He just did so well and Adrian and I are so happy he enjoys school!

Here are a few milestones Thomas reached over the course of the school year:

• Learned to read- at the beginning of the year he really didn't read much at all, save a few words here and there. Now he's plowing through step 2 and 3 books with chapters and everything! He loves to read about insects, animals and anything really science related.
• Lost 2 teeth!
• Moved out of the little boys section at the department store as he's now size 8 in everything! He's officially 4'2" tall and has grown roughly 3" since the beginning of the school year. Crazy!

Here are some pics from graduation. They had a cute little program where they sang songs, recited a few poems and of course, got their little diplomas.

Here he is accepting his certificate from the principal and posing with his teacher, Mrs. Wells.

A Walk at Bountiful Pond

We have this neat little pond about 5 minutes from our house and have tried a couple times to take a walk by it- only to be eaten alive by mosquitoes! Well, the stars aligned for us this weekend and we had a lovely time walking, feeding the ducks and enjoying the sunshine!

We finally came upon a few ducks and one in particular was going wild over our bread! Well, yeah, it was homemade- perhaps that's why he was eating out of our hands?!? Ha! As much as I'd love to pat myself on the back for providing gourmet crumbs for the duckies, I think this little guy would have eaten a shoe if we tossed it to him...

A Day in Farm Country

A few weeks ago we took advantage of Adrian's Friday off and spent a few hours in Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. I don't think the pics show just how freaking cold it was! Wow! We would have stayed longer had I actually brought myself a jacket! The kids- no, they were totally taken care of, it was ME who was frozen!

They all loved the animals though, especially the horses. I think this pic is hilarious- Hailey actually had a great time riding the pony. In every single picture though she looks terrified! Poor kid! Maybe she didn't have fun?!

We topped off the drive home {which is only about 30 minutes} with a family nap. Don't worry, Adrian didn't nap, he drove. But we both love it when family trips end like this! Ahhh- silence!

Love those Spring Snow Storms...

It's a joke here in Utah- if you aren't enjoying the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change. It's true though, especially in the Spring time. It's no big deal for yesterday to be 35 degrees and snowing and today to be 60 degrees, sun shining, birds chirping. The kids seem to love it. If they wake up and see snow outside, it's like a race to see how quickly they can get their snow gear on! Fun to watch...

Without fail, I always catch Hailey eating the snow. Even if she has to scrape it off the slide, or pick it up off the grass. Gotta love her!

There's something very wrong about this picture. Here are all my garden starts, begging to go outside. Yeah, not just yet...