Visiting With Grandpa

Princess and The Frog stopped by for a visit today. They enjoyed playing cards with the kids, but that's not what their boys wanted to do.

They just hung out with Grandpa in the backyard, playing in the sandpile, picking apricots, and helping in the garden. That can make boys so tired, right, Sweetie?

End of Summer, Part 2

You would think that when little kids stay up late that they would want to sleep in, right?

Wrong!!

The boys were up bright and early and excited to go to the Hogle Zoo. I called Bossy and told her to have Skittles here by 9:00 am. Yes, we were going to have 3 little guys; 2 3-year-olds and one that was 2. We were so excited! At least we would have been had we got any sleep last night...

We arrived at the Hogle Zoo just after 10:00, hoping to beat the crowds. After all, it was a Wednesday morning. But the main parking lot was nearly full with the promise of a big day. We started with the zebras and giraffes and then headed for the lions and monkeys.

The kids were having a good time with the addition of Skittles and we had them all riding in one wagon. After the apes, we headed down to the Carousel. 

It's one of my favorite parts of the zoo although today the polar bears were a close second.

The sea lions were awesome and we stopped by their house to eat a snack  before we headed to the splash pads.

After the boys were wet, it was definitely time to go. 

As you can imagine, they all fell asleep almost before we could get their carseats all clicked in. Loved our little trip to the Zoo!

End of Summer

Something must have clicked in The Beast earlier this week. He asked if we could watch his boys so that he and Beauty could get some yardwork done, but after we agreed, he must have realized that it is nearly the end of summer and time to make some memories. That's when he suggested that we make this overnighter fun from start to finish.

So as soon as the boys got here, we changed them into their suits and headed for the Rec Center. Swimming was the first thing on our agenda.

Our party included me, Crafty, Scout, Baby Doll, Little Warrior, and Little Squire. We had an hour and a half to enjoy the water before it was time to pick up Curly from football practice.

When we got home, we set up the sleeping quarters for the evening. The Beast had brought over their sleeping bags and a brand new tent. After we pushed the couches and the ottomons together just right, they had a soft and cushy place to sleep and a front door view for their "late" night movie.

We could hear the fun and giggles all the way upstairs. Just wait until you see our plans for tomorrow! 

Crafty's Farewell Party

We have had so much excitement lately that it is difficult to remember the order of things, but I wanted to tell you about our Sunday. Crafty was invited to speak in church and she drove me crazy during our New Jersey trip because she kept asking everyone to give her a topic, but no writing got done.

On Saturday night around 9:00 pm, she finally started stressing during the fireworks because she had only just started getting her thoughts together and she had been asked to speak for 20 minutes.

I don't know why I ever worry about her. She gave an amazing talk full of stories from the Philippines and her experieces from what she calls affectionately Mission 1.

After church, we made our way back to the house where we were treated to my sweetie's sweet pork burritoes.

Most of the family stayed until about 3:00, talking and laughing. My sweetie and I headed upstairs and took a wonderfully long overdue nap.

Another Fun Day at Lagoon

We got off the plane late Thursday and home around 10:30 pm. For us that was 12:30 and the kids wanted to talk for another couple of hours. I dropped into bed exhausted, but morning still came and I had still promised Beauty that we would take the boys to Lagoon.

The Beast was off on a worktrip and their daycare closed for the holiday, so she needed to make other arrangements so she could get to work.

We got there about 11. The park was hot!! We had fun though. Just check out these pics..

My life is so fun!!

Traveling as Two: Heading Home was a Bumpy Ride

Thursday was our departure day, so we spent the morning gathering our things and packing our suitcases. We finished our second puzzle and got ready to leave for the airport.

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We stopped at the local Wawa and got sandwiches and snacks for the flight before heading for Philadelphia. I love crossing the bridge and seeing the big ships down in the water. There is some weird part of me that seems to love everything about big water.

We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, but when we approached the counter for our boarding passes, the attendant noticed that I was carry a small oxygen concentrator. (My doc prescribed oxygen for me at night since I can't seem to wear a cpap or a bi-pap.) That led to a huge issue. Crafty was allowed a boarding pass, but I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork first. 

Papers were faxed to the attendant, then I filled them out and they were faxed back. Questions were asked about me using oxygen in flight, and I guess I gave the wrong answers because suddenly nothing on the paper I filled out could be changed, I was a medical flight risk, and without a call from a doctor late on a Thursday afternoon, I could not fly. 

I called my doc, but he had already left for the day. Eventually my pleading got me a call from my original lung doc who made the order. I was released to fly, but I only had 12 minutes to get through security and make it to the terminal before they closed the gates. I had already sent Crafty about 5 minutes before.

I grabbed my little concentrator, slung it on my back, and hustled toward security. Crafty was about 15 people ahead of me, but no one seemed to like the somewhat hysterical woman I had become, so a few minutes later, they allowed me to cut the line and I was behind her waiting to get through the big x-ray machine. We only had 6 minutes to get to the terminal. 

Crafty got through quickly and I found myself grabbing my shoes and other belongings while encouraging her to just go and tell them that I would be there shortly. By the way, trying to run in an airport terminal without your shoes on is not really a great idea... Of course our terminal was the last one.

Crafty reached the door at 6:03. Only one employee was standing there as she rushed up. He calmed her down and said they had been waiting for us. That's when I came barreling up in my stocking feet, heart pounding, purse flying,..in total disarray. He suggested that I relax, sit down and put on my shoes, take a breath. The plane would not leave without us. 

We boarded without incident, but other factors, including someone who was nearly removed from the plane for not wearing a mask, kept us from leaving on time. In Utah, we circled for about 40 minutes in turbulent weather waiting for an opportunity to land. I even asked for a barf bag, but thankfully, did not have to use it.

Finally on the ground, we still couldn't navigate to the terminal for another half an hour. My poor sweetie waited in the parking lot to pick us up for nearly 2 hours. I have never been so happy to get off an airplane.

We loved our time in New Jersey, but home is full of things that must be done before Crafty takes her next flight alone to Wichita, Kansas on August 3.

Happy Pioneer Day!

Sorry to interrupt the last part of our trip, but I couldn't wait to tell you about all the fun we had for Pioneer Day. It started last night when Baby Doll decided to decorate her bike for the Primary Parade. I went upstairs to finish folding laundry while she and Drama Queen put their heads together and started to make plans.

The Primary Parade and Pancake breakfast for our ward started at 8:00 am (which is incredibly early for a Saturday morning, but nobody asked me...) The girls had come up with something completely fun and different. 

We had fun at the church and the parade was so cute!

I have to confess though that my crazy 3 weeks of travel had left me lacking and when I got home about 10, I went back to bed for a couple of hours. 

(My sweetie is such a joiner.)

The next 5 hours were a whirlwind of shopping; first we bought Crafty a couple of pairs of shoes for the mission, then we hit two grocery stores, restocking and cleaning the fridge as well as planning for Crafty's party tomorrow. She is speaking in church and then having some friends over. She doesn't leave for her mission until August 3, but since next week is Fast Sunday, she speaks a week earlier than normal although nothing about her mission situation is normal as you well know.

But I digress...

Bossy and Gamer had planned a get together for the family to celebrate the holiday. Dog Walker bought a bunch of fireworks and you know how persuasive he can be. Gamer smoked some ribs and we cut up a watermelon. The food was delicious. 

Since we were out of town for Skittles birthday, he opened his gifts from us.

He was so cute and so excited about everything, even the clothes... ok, most of the clothes. He like the cars and trucks so much more.

Then it was time for fireworks. Gamer and Dog Walker put on quite a show to a very appreciative audience. 

Happy 24th of July everyone. We love our beautiful state of Utah and the amazing pioneers who settled it for us.

Traveling as Two: Please Touch Museum in Downtown Philadelphia

Since Wednesday was our last full day in New Jersey, we decided to do something crazy and brave downtown Philadelphia. Teach did a little digging online and she found a place called Please Touch Museum and to make sure we didn't chicken out, she even bought the tickets.

We couldn't go until after Twizlet's Princess Camp, so our goal was to grab a sandwich on the way before we crossed the Walt Whitman bridge. 

Traffic was a little scary even at 1:00 pm. Teach handled it like a pro (she never drove like that in Utah!) and before long, we were pulling into the museum's massive parking lot. This building was huge! It was like something out of a fairy tale... or a castle. Or maybe just one of those cool old houses in England...

Twizlet loved the first area with all of the vehicles, but Teach was drawn to a brand new exhibit about Mo Willems. We absolutely love his books and this fun little hall had all kinds of pigeon-related games. There were big blocks and little buses for the kids to put over their shoulders. We spent half an hour or so there, but the museum was huge and finally we needed to move on.

Downstairs, right in the middle of everything was a huge Alice in Wonderland exhibit. I watched Twizzler while the girls worked their way through the maze and eventually the book. There was a giant tree and it led upstairs to the next level. 

So much stuff to see!! Then we came upon an enormous room that held a beautiful carousel. Good thing Teach already bought the tickets for unlimited carousel rides. Teach and I took the kids first and then Teach and Crafty took them a second time.

After the carousel, we stopped by the cafe for some ice cream, and then it was time to go home. The Please Touch Museum needs to go on our new list of favorites places even if it is very far away.