Beehive.

When you turn 12 in the LDS faith, it is a big milestone. Savannah had been counting down the weeks until she got to join the Young Women in our ward, instead of being in Primary. 

The Young Women Presidency and a few girls came over the morning of her birthday to kidnap her for breakfast! They put a cute sign on our door, and Savannah felt so special.

She has gone to a couple of activities, and a had a couple of Sunday lessons she attended...and she loves it! The girls have been so welcoming, and she is definitely loving being with the older girls in our ward.

It has been nothing but a joy watching Savannah grow, change, and develop into a little lady! We feel lucky to have her as our oldest child, and have her be such a awesome part of our family!

Hale Center Theatre Date Night

I was given tickets to a show, but all opinions are my own.

Paul and I were invited to a night out at Hale Center Theater! We gladly accepted the invitation, because I definitely don't experience the theatre enough. Believe it or not, I didn't even have to bribe Paul to go! 

If you are unfamiliar with Hale Center Theatre, where have you been? It is a unique and intimate experience! It is the perfect date night, GNO, or take your kids (5-6 years old+) for a family affair!

They have done a range of productions from Beauty and the Beast to Father of the Bride. You will most definitely find something for everyone. Devin has his eye on Disney's High School Musical Jr, and mine is set on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!

As we were enjoying Sister Act (which is what is currently playing) I just kept thinking about how much Savannah would enjoy coming too. The music sucks you in, and it is amazing to me the talent these folks have...it is a talent I don't possess. Paul isn't much of a theatre guy, but he even was entertained by it all (and has been a couple of times).

We were able to get a behind the scenes tour before our show, and it was absolutely fascinating seeing what goes on. The costume changes, the sets, the work! We also got to learn about the new 130,000 sq ft theatre they are building in Sandy, Utah.

It is going to be soooo beeeeautiful!!

This new Hale Center Theatre, in Sandy City, is going to be spectacular! There is so much going in to it, I can't wait for it to open. It will be able to hold approx 1,300 patrons vs the West Valley location only being about to hold a little over 600. Ticket prices will still be reasonable, which you always worry about with a new location. They will have 2 stages in the new place! Squeeee! More productions, more fun!

progress...

Our personal favorite thing that they will have at the new location is LEG ROOM! This is my one big complaint about the current West Valley location. It is so cramped. When other patrons wouldn't move during intermission, we had to resort to climbing over seats...and yes I was in a dress! So, leg room is important, and changing! 

I decided after our night at Hale Center Theatre, I needed to be better about bringing my kids (which they encourage)! I am excited to watch the new location come together, and be a beautiful addition to Sandy City!

If you want more information on how to donate to this project, click here.

Thank you Hale Center Theatre for being a part of our community. It was inspiring to listen to how many charitable contributions they make to schools, so that our kids have the opportunity to watch live productions! 

Nickelmania Birthday Party

Savannah hasn't had many friend birthday parties, but this year being the big 1-2 she wanted to invite a few friends to do something fun with her. After tossing around a few ideas, she settled on a party at Nickelmania. 

I had grand plans of having a cute arcade type invite sent to all of her friends, but when I saw some emoji invites that sealed the deal on our real theme. So, it was an all things emoji party with a side of Nickelmania! 

My friend Frieda makes adorable, yummy, soft sugar cookies. Instead of a cake, we had her make everyone an emoji cookie. My only regret is that I didn't order more, because those things were delicious!

The girls all loaded in the van, and we played getting to know you games on the way there and back. It is so fun watching Savannah interact with her friends. She has chosen some really good ones! They giggled about boys, talked about school, and told our most embarrassing stories.

When we got to Nickelmania we played games, ate pizza, opened up presents that were all perfect for Savannah, spent our tickets, and headed back home! 

It was the easiest party, and I think the girls all had fun. Of course, Devin and Bina had fun, because they tagged along too! 

Halloween 2016

We usually have so many things planned in October, but the month flew by without much of anything exciting happening. There was no pumpkin patch visit, trunk or treat, or even a trip to see the Witches. Sometimes I have it in me, and sometimes I just gotta go low key! The kids didn't even seem to notice, which makes me wonder why I do it all to begin with. The kids didn't even put costumes on until the day of Halloween, which really felt like a waste. 

I had initially thought that this would be Savannah's last year of trick or treating, but then I decided we don't need to make that decision yet. If next year comes around, and she feels like it...I say go for it! We always need help with the littles, and she is happy to watch out for them.

Devin has wanted to be Chucky for a couple of years now, and I finally said I didn't care. He always wants to pick something different than what most kids his age are doing, which I love! I didn't see one other person dressed up the same as him. {wink, wink}

Sabrina could have been dressed up as a million different things, and would have still been happy about it. She is pretty easy going, and is just happy to get free candy! We picked Minnie Mouse, because it is something we hadn't done in our house yet. She was so cute with her posing...that was all on her own.

Drake was a sea turtle, because I thought it was appropriate with his crawling to have a little shell on his back. Then the day of Halloween he decided that he was too good for crawling, and wanted to pose standing! What a show off.

It was a bit chaotic having 4 kids to dress up. Most of the time I don't notice having 4, but Halloween wasn't one of those times! 

drake's first haircut

I have trimmed Drake's hair here and there, but it was definitely time for a legit haircut! When it comes to tiny people, I think you can't go wrong to spend the extra money at Cookie Cutters. 

Since Drake is only 10 months old, he needed all the bells and whistles to sit in that little car for any amount of time! We pulled out suckers, balloons, toys...but man he hated those clippers!

And just like that, his haircut turned him from a baby to a big boy! I can't get over how handsome he looks!

birthday boy is forever 32

Paul has the kids convinced he is 32, and that number is never going to change. The little ones don't get it, but Savannah and I play along with his game!

Paul really got a bad deal when he married me, because I am the worst gift giver ever! He also doesn't help my situation by buying everything he wants, when he wants it. The stories of failed attempts to surprise him are endless.

You know what makes our situation awesome though? He doesn't care. He doesn't want anything. He always picks to do something with the kids, for the kids, and what makes everyone else happy. That Paul is quite the guy!

The kids made him homemade cards. Devin cut flowers from the yard, and made him a beautiful bouquet of orange {our favorite color} flowers to put in his bathroom. We went to lunch at a place we didn't have to worry about Drake being naughty, followed it up with a cupcake from the bakery.

Even though there wasn't anything extravagant about his day, I hope he knows how much we love him! 

Haunted Night at the Museum - NHMU + Giveaway

This is a sponsored post: all opinions are my own. 

Natural History Museum of Utah is hosting the first ever Haunted Night at the Museum! 

October 22nd from 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Admission for adults is $8.00
Admission for little people is $5.00
3 and under are FREE

So, what does this mean?

A night filled with spooky stories, hands on activities, full access to the museum, a dance off {Savannah is all over this!}, and a spell-binding scavenger hunt.

They will have spooky treats and finger foods for purchase, as well as hot chocolate and other Halloween themed punches. 

Also, since you have full access to the museum, you should take advantage of seeing the new exhibit The Power of Poison! 

Sounds like a blast doesn't it? So get those kids in costume, and head to the museum!

Oh wait, now for the fun part! The Natural History Museum of Utah would like to give 2 lucky winners family 4 packs of tickets to go and enjoy the museum!

Enter below, and good luck!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point

We wanted to have one last major hooray at the end of Summer. We thought maybe Lagoon, and then we thought maybe the circus when it came to town, and then guess what happened? The whole freakin' month of September flew by without one last shindig to say goodbye to Summer.

Savannah had been to Cornbelly's, but the rest of us never had. We went back and forth whether it would be worth the money, because for a family our size...it isn't cheap. BUT you know what? Totally worth the money. We ended up buying the Lovin' pass, which is 27 bucks a person...and you get everything, and then some with it.

Because we were Cornbelly newbies, I wasn't sure if they had real food, if it was good, and all that jazz. We hit up Slab Pizza for an early dinner, and it was delicious! We ordered too much food, Bina and I tied for the least amount eaten. Of course, Paul ate his entire slab.

I loved hearing what each of my kids wanted to do, because it was all different...just like their personalities. Savannah wanted to zip line, Devin wanted to ride the mechanical bull, and Bina wanted to do the bungee trampoline. 

We did a lot of the main attractions, but still missed so much. We stayed for 5ish hours, and the kids could have kept going.

Our favorite was the Apple Blasters, Jumbo Jumpers, Corn Cob Beach, Cole's Corral, Rat Rollers, and of course the giant slide. The kids loved the big things they picked to do too. The highlight of my trip was getting picked for the piggy races, even though my little piglet came in last place. I told Paul that this definitely needs to become a tradition, we loved it!

Things we would do differently? Skip the hot chocolate and get the shaved ice, in hopes it is better tasting. Skip the fountain soda, and just buy a bottles. Other than that, our trip to Cornbelly's was pretty perfect!

Bring on our favorite month of the year!

Name: Cornbelly's
Address: 3003 N Thanksgiving Way Lehi, Utah

beat the heat playdate.

You know sometimes I don't feel like going on adventures. Sometimes my kids don't feel like it either. There have been a lot of days this Summer we have pulled out the slip and slide, or filled up the pool and just played in the backyard. I feel like we have had a good mix of adventure and chillaxin'.

I love when you are texting with a friend, and she is just as unmotivated as you are. But you know you both have to do something with the kids, or everyone is going to go crazy.

So maybe Leisha was a little more motivated than I was, because she actually planned something for us to do. 

She was telling me she wanted to do ice cream cookie sandwiches, and let the kids build toothpick/marshmallow creations. Sounded like the perfect afternoon. She ran to the store for supplies, and I just showed up...I am so niiiiice. I did tell her to go to Smith's for the cookies, because some of them have these itty bitty cookies for $1 for 10ish cookies. They have been a staple in our splash pad snack/treat bag this Summer. Some Mom's are willing to heat up their kitchens to bake their own cookies, I buy these. 

We started the kids on the marshmallow/tooth pick creations first. Leisha's kids were clearly pros at this, they had some serious building skills. Bina liked eating the marshmallows more than building anything with them, and Devin started off unsure but got the hang of it from watching his friends. We are going to need a redo of this activity!

The ice cream cookie sandwiches were a hit, and not just with the kids either. Yummo! The kids had so much fun mixing and matching cookie flavors with ice cream flavors. It was the perfect little activity and treat!

I am lucky that our friends will invite us to have some fun, because we all know it wouldn't have ended well staying in the house all day.

Amphitheater Park - Splash Pad

This Summer has really been all about visiting more places we have never been. Of course there is risk in this, because we sometimes have adventure flops. We haven't had many flops this year, thankfully. 

While talking to my friend Stephanie, she asked if we had ever been to the Amphitheater Park/splash pad. This one is a fairly new park {maybe 2 years?}, and we had never been. 

You should click on the link to see how fun this splash pad is! I would have taken pictures, but it was packed with little people...and to be honest I was pretty comfortable with Drake under the canopy.

Things that I really did love about Amphitheater Park...

Even though it is new, they have some bigger trees that have a little bit of shade. Nowadays you better just plan on bringing shade if you want it, because these new parks don't have anywhere to sit out of the heat. They also have the shade that stretches over parts of the splash pad, and a large pavilion to sit under as well. We didn't go early enough, so a lot of this space was spoken for...but still an option.

I loved the different water features that I haven't seen at other splash pads, like the wall of water falls. 

I love that there is lots of space that you can sit and see both the park and splash pad clearly. My kids like to go back and forth from one to the other, so this is important to me.

You know what the best part of our visit? The company. Emily is one of our favorites, and it turns out our kids liked playing together too. When we were leaving my kids asked if we could play with them again...{warm fuzzies}. I love when people come with us on adventures, because between watching kids/listening to kids/feeding kids you can get an adult conversation in...and I always need that.

PS All photo cred goes to Emily too. I wasn't joking when I said I didn't leave that shade for much. 

Name: Amphitheater Park
Address: 9400 S 1300 E Sandy, UT

Jump Around Utah

I love when my friend Christy buys a Groupon, and then tells me to buy the same Groupon so that we can go on an adventure together. That is the definition of having my back. Hahaha.

So, we planned a day to go to Jump Around Utah, which was our first visit! 

It is a lot smaller than the bounce place that is closer to our home. This meant the older kids seem to get bored faster. It does have a play land type structure, and one of those big pillows you jump on in the middle...which was definitely a favorite amongst all of the kids.

Devin found a basketball hoop with a ball, and hasn't stopped talking about that. Savannah and her cute friend tried all sorts of tricks on the pillow. Bina was content to sit next to the Mom's eating snacks. 

And I won't soon forget that Drake was in rare form, and was AWFUL the entire time we were there. 

Name: Jump Around Utah
Address: 1519 S 700 W SLC, UT
Admission/Cost: $10 for 3 yrs+

Oquirrh Shadows Park - Splash Pad

Oquirrh Shadows Park splash pad is another new one for us this Summer. A few of the neighbors invited us to go with them, and we were so happy they introduced us to this splash pad!

From the pictures I looked at originally online, I was a little skeptical that it would be fun for all of my kids. It is getting harder to find things that the almost 12 year old thinks is cool, and the littles too!

Our first trip I told the kids to bring a soccer ball, glove and baseball, and frisbee...just in case they ended up getting bored. This park has a large grassy area that is perfect for this kind of stuff. They had so much fun, we never pulled any of this stuff out.

Our second trip, we still brought all the extra stuff...and they did end up using it. I will say this, they started up a game of soccer with a few of the kids that were at the splash pad too. Warmed my little heart to see it, and they all had blast! 

We have lots of squirt guns and such, the kids always love when the splash pad has a little stream in it so it is easy to fill up all of the water weapons!  This splash pad has a pretty good little stream! And don't forget the buckets that dump on your head, those a favorite too!

This splash pad is in our rotation this Summer, and it has been a nice change of scenery for all of us!

Name: Oquirrh Shadows Park
Address: 4150 W. South Jordan Parkway South Jordan, UT

FlipaZoo - Our Review.

This is a sponsored post. All the opinions belong to me, and the kids that reviewed it.

Let me just start off by saying, my kids have been fighting over the one FlipaZoo we got to review. We got this ^ unicorn/dragon, and it is even more adorable in person. We were ecstatic to finally see them in WalMart, because the kids wanted to pick out their very own.

We basically have been passing this soft pillow around from kid to kid. I even once told the kids that the dragon side belonged to Devin, and the unicorn side belonged to Bina. 

I don't know if your kids are the same way as mine, but they go absolutely nuts over this kind of stuff. I know some people can't stand to have one more stuffed animal, but I can't help caving in because they actually play and use them. 

I think we finally have found the perfect home for this guy, in the car. When the kids take their car naps, they use this soft guy as the pillow they always need. 

We are definitely fans of the FlipaZoo.

Home Depot Kid Workshop - Bowling Alley Edition

We had never been to one of Home Depot's free build workshops for kids. I don't know what got into me, but I decided to brave it with 4 kids by myself.

Since it is a first come, first serve basis, we decided to get there super early. It was not busy at all, and so the kids felt like they weren't rushed to complete the project.

It was a little difficult juggling Drake, and trying to help the kids using a hammer. It definitely took ample amounts of patience to help the 4 year old, while she screamed she didn't need it. All the kids chose to also paint the project, which was nice to do somewhere I didn't have to worry about any mess.

We definitely had a fantastic time, and it was something we will do again. It still amazes me it was completely free!

Chuck E Cheese Birthday Party

Bina turned 4.

All she asked for was a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. She talked about it for weeks, and it lived up to everything she imagined and wanted.

We ordered pizza, which was surprisingly not as bad as it has been in past experiences. We played loads of games, but Sabrina just wanted to go on this one ride...over and over and over again.

We opted for Nothing Bundt Cakes for her cake. We get the little ones, and then everyone can pick their own favorite flavor.

She is definitely easy to please. We love our Bina girl. Everyone who knows her, loves her. Bina loves playing pretend, and is often in her own little world. She is content to play dolls on her bed for hours.

Bina is most definitely the calm in our family. She is such a little lover. We don't know how we got so lucky to get her...but we will gladly take her.

Chalk Art Festival - 2016

Last year we went to the Chalk Art Festival, and we loved it so much we went again this year. If you go later on in the day the crowds are minimal, and most of the art is completed at that point. The only thing that I don't love is it is at the Gateway Mall. Gateway doesn't have a great selection of places to eat for dinner anymore, and lots of shops are just not our cup 'o tea. 

We walked through all the cool chalk art, grabbed a giant snow cone to cool off, and let the kids play in the splash pad. When we were done, we drove up the street to our favorite pizza joint Este for dinner.

We were amazed yet again at how talented people are with chalk, and how creative they get. The kids always find a favorite, there were so many good ones this year.