Tate and Libby's First Time Swimming!

We decided last week that our weekly activity would be swimming at Nana and Papa's house. All the kids absolutely love swimming in their backyard and were thrilled when we told them. This was a special swimming day because it was the first time for Tate and Libby. Nana and Papa had bought Libby a little wading pool and that's where the two little ones spent their time - away from the jumping and splashing of the big kids in the larger pool.

At first the two didn't know what was going on - I can just hear Tate saying in his mind: "Why am I still in my clothes and in this silly looking tub and why are we bathing outside Mom? Libs, you have any idea what's going on here?"


They just kind of sat there for a few minutes wondering what was going on. After a few minutes, they started putting their hands in the water and moving their feet around.


Not long after that, they were splashing, having a good old time, and Tate was crawling all over the pool!


Once they got used to being in the water, Aunt Shell or Aunt Kylie brought out some plastic cups and they both had a blast playing with those and a little plastic football.


These two are hilarious together and I love pictures like this where they are just looking at each other - how cute is that? They definitely are going to be best buddies when they grow up!


And not to leave the other little "fish" out - Zach, Hailey, Ashton, and Branson all had a blast too. Hailey could not hold still for a minute - hence the slightly blurry picture, but it was the best I got of her.


Zach on the other hand was fine to sit back and show his "relaxing in the pool" pose - too funny!


These four were just as hilarious playing in their pool - they were in, out, in, out, jumping, running, splashing, kicking, squirting, you name it - they did it. But they sure had a blast!


We did at some point get them all to stop and pose for a quick picture together - so cute. They are all growing up so much!


Needless to say, it was a fun time for all! We're going to have to do more little swimming parties together!

Coupons

Almost everyone that knows me knows that I am big time into couponing. Actually, that might be a huge understatement, but what can I say? I wouldn't say I'm obsessed or an extreme couponer like some of those who are on the Extreme Couponing show on TLC, so don't worry about that. But my love for using coupons to save money has spread into my family's way of life. I find my husband making comments about whether things are a good deal or not. For example, he came home and told me that for work, he ran into a store with one of the guys and they paid over $4 for a 12-pk of pop - he couldn't believe it. He knows that I don't ever pay over $2.75 or $2.80, so he knew that was a horrible deal! And my kids have gotten used to the following phrases:

"I know it's a lot of cereal, but it's on sale and I have coupons!"
"No, we can't get that today because it's not on sale."
"Looks like I'm going to have to rearrange the pantry, again!"
"We can't have that now because I don't have a coupon for it."
"I need to split this into a couple of transactions."
etc. etc. etc.

My daughter Hailey has probably been the one to be with me most of the time during my preparation and shopping trips - partly because we usually did our shopping while Zach was in school and also because Zach hates shopping (which is probably due to the time it takes to shop using coupons sometimes). Regardless of the reason, she loves to sit and clip coupons with me or Nana whenever she gets the chance. A couple of Sunday's ago, I was clipping some coupons and getting my list together for a trip to Target and Smith's (my new two favorite places to shop) and she decided to sit down with a paper and pen with me. I didn't really notice what she was doing because she's always drawing, writing, coloring, etc. When she asked if she could cut with the scissors, I still didn't think anything of it because again, this is a regular thing with her. What came out of all of that was not anything I could have imagined:



Yes, she had made me her own coupons for Smith's! I couldn't help but smile. You'll notice the different sized coupons because she's observant enough to know that coupons do come in a variety of sizes. Looking back, I realized she had asked me how to spell Smith's at one point and then had heard me say I wished I had more coupons for a particular item at Smith's. So in her generous way, she was helping me out by making me more Smith's coupons to use - how sweet is that?!? She even made a set for her Dad because she was just sure he would want his own Smith's coupons too! Of course he was overjoyed when he got home with his own set of coupons to use. :)

You might think this kind of silly and that I'm corrupting my daughter into thinking that you can only shop using coupons. I tend to think of it more as teaching her how to budget and be resourceful with money. Although there are plenty of people out there who do not coupon for reasons either of time, monotony, or just plain advertion to the process, I definitely understand that it's definitely not for everyone. I have found that I actually enjoy it and get a bit of a rush when I pay little or nothing for something I need. Because I'm an organizer and perfectionist, the organizing, planning, shopping, etc. has become more of a hobby and one that saves me money - how many of those types of hobbies are out there? I have seen my family's grocery bill cut almost in half from what it was just a few years ago, so for me, it's enjoyable and oh-so worth it. I'm happy and proud that my daughter is understanding and even learning some valuable skills she might apply later in life.

And as for those coupons she made us? Well, they are going straight into my scrapbook because I JUST LOVE THEM and I LOVE HER FOR BEING SO SWEET!

Our Trip to Yellowstone!

This year we decided our big summer vacation would be a trip to Yellowstone with my family. Jeremiah and the kids had never been and I hadn't since I was really young (like 7 or 8), so we were all so excited to go. We drove up to Malad and stayed with Michelle, Brian, Ashton, and Branson on Thursday night. We were so excited to see Branson's game and have a fun sleepover! Then Friday morning, we drove the rest of the way up to West Yellowstone. It was a long drive for all of us, especially since the kids aren't big fans of car travel, but we made it! We stayed at the West Yellowstone KOA in a cute little cabin. Unfortunately, I didn't ever get a chance to take a picture, but it really was a nice little place complete with bathroom and small kitchen.

Once we got checked in, we had a quick lunch and headed into the park to see as much of it as we could. Our first stop was a beautiful waterfall.


Since we aren't big hikers or anything, the kids haven't really seen anything like this before and they were in awe. I got tons of pictures of them with their backs towards me because they couldn't rip their eyes away from what they were looking at.


Here's a picture of all the cousins that made it (we missed Libby - and Kylie and Jedd during this trip - they were busy putting in their yard!).


Zach absolutely loved the "real" binoculars Nana and Papa let him borrow during the trip (I don't think he took them off the entire trip other than to sleep and eat, although I think that more to my insisting than his!). He informed me they were a lot better than the toy set we brought - I think he's decided he needs a real pair for himself and he's planning to ask Santa for some this Christmas.


Hailey loved the waterfalls, she told me that they were so pretty.


Tate was happy hanging out in his stroller most of the time, he loved getting out of the car and being pushed around outside.


Both Hailey and Zach spent most of the time at the park riding in everyone else's car - we pretty much had only Jeremiah, me, and Tate as we rode around looking at things. So this was about the only family picture that we got. Seems we're not as fun and exciting as everyone else in the family!


Here's another fun picture of all the cousins.


And one with Nana and Papa with the grandkids that were there.


After the waterfall, we headed to the next stop which was the "Artsist Paintpots." The colors really were spectacular, although the smell wasn't so much so. Hailey kept plugging her nose and telling me it smells like cooked eggs (someone had told her it smelled like rotten eggs, but she got confused - I thought it was darling!).


We stopped at quite a few places and had fun seeing everything. Even the driving was nice because the views were spectacular!


By the time we made it all the way up to the Mammoth area, it was late and we were all starving, so we drove around the little area before heading back. What was amazing to me were all the elk just roaming around the area.


They seemed so peaceful and you could pull up right next to them and take pictures. It was amazing!


The scenery up at Mammoth was so beautiful, so many colors!


Tate spent a lot of time like this, poor thing was so tired without having good naps during the day. He was such a good boy despite the short driving naps though, we were really proud of him!


This picture is hard to make out, but if you look closely, you can see a Mama Grizzly Bear and her 2 bear cubs out in the valley. We were so amazed as we've heard that seeing grizzly bears is so rare!


There were little herds of Buffalo everywhere! We were lucky enough to have some right next to the road as we drove by several times. They were so big!


One of my favorite areas was the "Grand Canyon" area of Yellowstone. There was another breathtaking waterfall that I just loved.


There were quite a few places to stop and view the canyon and waterfall, so after a few times, Jeremiah and I just took turns looking and just let Tate stay in the car - he was all smiles and loving just playing with his toys.


After viewing the canyon from one side, we drove to the other to see it from there. At one of the viewing areas, there were quite a few stairs, so I stayed at the bottom with Tate and Zach took the camera to get some pictures. This was one that was taken up at the top of the viewing area, so cute!


This was probably my most favorite area to view the waterfall - it was just beautiful and I loved seeing it as well as the area below.


After lunch and some resting, we headed off again. This time we stopped at the dragon's breath area where there were more hot springs and clay pots. And of course more yucky smells!


And our last stop was Old Faithful. The kids had so much fun walking around the area, looking in the gift shop (where they each got to pick out a souvenir - Zach chose a flashlight and Hailey chose a little carry purse), and then finally out around the geyser where we waited for it to erupt.

Tate and Hailey both had little meltdowns while we waited, but were over it and in good spirits when the eruption came. It really was amazing that it shot so high up. The kids loved it.


After that we headed out of the park and back to the campground for dinner and smores. The next morning we woke up early, had breakfast, and began the long 5 hour drive back home. We were worried about trying to do so much driving at once, but the kids did great. Of course, they were so tired from all the sight seeing and sleeping in another bed. In fact, the last hour and a half of the drive they did nothing but this ...


Yes, you can always tell your vacation is a success when the little ones sleep alot of the way home! We had a blast at Yellowstone and enjoyed seeing it with our family. I think we'll go again in another couple years, the kids already can't wait!

Hollywood Connection

We found a new and fun place for the kids to play. It's called Hollywood Connection and is in West Valley City. We found some great deals and were able to get all 4 of the older kids in for free. It's a little mini-theme park, but the best part was that it was all inside - so it was perfect for a hot summer day.

The first thing the kids spotted when they came in was the bumper cars - the rode these over and over ...


and over again. Luckily there weren't too many kids there, so they were able to get off the ride and right back on again. Hailey looked so little out there, but she surprised me at how quickly she mastered how to operate the car.


Tate and Libby watched mostly from their strollers - they were so cute! I love how they just are content being by each other, sharing toys, and just staring at the other one!


They had a little mini roller coaster and Zach was the only brave one to jump on the first time. After the others watched, Hailey and Branson eventually braved it and did great. Although, they both were sure to tell us how the last corner was a very "sharp turn!" I got a few pictures of them, but they were all so dark, you couldn't even tell it was them, so I won't bother to post them.


Tate did pretty well the whole time, there was a time when he got a little fussy and I had to hold him - he still continued to cry, so I let him play with the camera string to keep him occupied. We decided to grab a quick self picture while we were there - Tate is a little blurry, but it proves I was there too!


After we rode a few rides (bumper cars, merry-go-round, bumper cars, roller coaster, bumper cars, bumper cars, bumper cars - you get the idea) we decided to try roller skating. Our kids have never been roller skating at an actual rink, so I was interested to see how well they would do.

Zach was up on his fairly quickly and although he fell numerous times, he was all smiles and had a great time!


Hailey took a bit more time, but eventually she had both skates on and skating around on the carpet.


Ash decided skating wasn't for him, so he watched while the others skated. Hailey and Branson stayed on the carpet - which I thought was just right for them. They were so cute together.


But Zach eventually was able to go out on the actual rink. Again, he fell quite a bit, but was still determined to keep at it. By the time we left, he was able to skate along side the wall without too many spills.

I did catch a bit of video of both kids - don't miss one of Zach's falls at the end!



After skating, they rode some more rides (yes, lots of bumper cars) and then we headed to play miniature golf. Zach did great - I'm always amazed at how good his coordination is.


Hailey is more like me and not so coordinated - she would take about 5-6 swings a the golf ball before she actually hit it. And most of the time when she did make contact, she hit it so hard that it flew past the hole we were on and clear across the room! Needless to say, I helped her do most of her beginning swings after a few times of that!


One of the rides the kids avoided at first was the hot air balloon ride. Branson eventually wanted to go on it, so my brave Zach took him. At first they were a little hesitant, but after the ride got going, they had a great time. In fact, they loved it so much, that they went ...


and convinced Ashton and Hailey to join them on the next ride!


After they finished with the hot air balloon rides, they all headed back to the bumper cars and rode those a few more times before we had to go.



It was really a fun day and we all had a really great time. I definitely think we'll be heading back to Hollywood Connection again!

Hogle Zoo - June 2011

We have all been looking forward to our annual trip to the zoo. This year we decided to go at the beginning of the summer to beat the heat! It was such a nice day - clear and breezy (but not too windy) and in the mid-80's - just perfect to view the animals and enjoy being outdoors!

Our first stop at the zoo was the giraffe area. This is by far one of my favorite animals to see.


We took a wrong turn out of the giraffe building (where we had hoped to see a giraffe up close) and found a little viewing area with a giraffe right up close - it couldn't have been more perfect!


The kids were just loving seeing the giraffes, I think they liked them too!


Tate spent most of the day in his converted bike trailer stroller and wasn't sure what was going on. But he was all smiles most of the day!


Libby spent most of the day in her stroller too - and of course she was happy as can be!


In addition to having Libby and Aunt Kylie with us, Aunt Michelle, Ashton, Branson, Nana, and Papa were there too. These four cousins have such a great time together and loved running around the zoo with each other.


Zach told me the tigers were his favorite part of the zoo, that is until we went to see something else. Usually the tigers are up and out of sight or so far away that you can barely see them, but the day we were there, three or four of them were right up near the fence so that you could get a good look.


One of our family's favorite parts of the zoo is the bird show. We didn't get a picture of us because Tate was quite wiggly by this time, but here's a picture we got of some of our group. I was worried that Tate wouldn't really know what was going on and scream the whole time. By I was pleasantly surprised to see him actually watching the birds and they flew around - he was actually able to follow them - and they really kept his attention. I think he really enjoyed the show!


Of course, a trip to the zoo is complete for our kids without a ride on the carousel. Here's Ashton,


Zach,


Branson, and Hailey (notice Hailey is on a ladybug - she was in heaven!).


They also had a special thing going on at the zoo entitled "Zoorasssic Park" where they had dinosaurs all over the park that were robotic - they moved, made sounds, and some even squirted water.


The kids loved them, it was really fun to see them, they were really life-like.


At some point, Tate got so tired that he actually fell asleep when he was rubbing his eyes. It didn't last more than 5 minutes, but it sure was darling to see!


There are a few pictures we take every time we go to the zoo. The first is on this metal rhinocerous.


The second is near this sign that shows how you compare to the wingspan of a gorilla. It's fun to see how much bigger the kids get every year.


Another favorite stop is the elephants. We missed the elephant show again this year, but next year we are definitely going to make it! Unfortunately, the baby elephant wasn't out, but we did get some great pictures of the adult elephants.


And here's two little monkeys in front of the elephants!


Here's the best family picture we got at the zoo. The kids were so excited and running around having a blast, that all the others had one of them blurry. I guess we're lucky this one didn't turn out the same way!


The last stop was the camels on our way out. The kids were still in good spirits and we were able to snap this last picture of all three of them - this picture turned out great, although probably because they were so tired by then that it was easy to get them to hold still!


We had such a great time at the zoo and although we all came home tired, we are already looking forward to going again next year!