our go to spot.

When we start to go stir crazy while Savannah is at school, we always head to the zoo. I love having our pass, and the kids have not gotten sick of our frequent trips yet. It definitely isn't an all day event, or even an entire morning. We make a quick stop at each exhibit to say hi to all the animals, a ride on the carousel/train, and get a refill in my zoo mug.

We went with friends this week, and even though there was a lot of crying from, uhem, a boy who shall not be named...Sabrina and I enjoyed ourselves. I told my friend that she was never going to invite us to do anything again, because it was crazy town.

This week for whatever reason 2 of my kids have been all sorts of grumpy and off. Despite all my efforts, it has been a hard week. I go to bed feeling worn down, and always hopeful a new day will make everything better.

The kids are getting their pictures done tonight, and I am crossing fingers they can at least snap out of it during the session...or I will be paying them serious cash for smiles. 

Little Chicks Class - Crow Edition

Even though Tracy Aviary doesn't expect me to write every week about our experience, I really wanted to after this class. Mostly because it was so much fun, and memorable.

We learned about crows, and I honestly wasn't that excited about it before class. Owls {first class} seem cooler than an ordinary crow, but boy was I wrong.

First of all, the crow is talkative and friendly. My kids fell in love with this bird instantly. The owl you had to be quiet when he was in the room, and we all know how hard that is for my kids. 

Mili {the crow we met} is learning how to do the donation box. All the kids got to hold a dollar for Mili to take and put in the box. Devin was a little nervous, but was still excited to do it. Bina was so excited she could barely wait her turn. She may have even tried to pet him {I wish I would have gotten it in pictures}. It was so cute, I was glad the kids got to participate. Devin proudly told everyone he saw the rest of the day about "bird class".

They look forward to all the singing, crafting, stories, and a quick trip around the aviary to find new birds...and spend all Mommy's quarters to feed the ducks.

We are only 2 weeks in, and I love what it has done for my little people already. They are learning so much, meeting new friends, and looking forward to Friday's. 

Flying their crows all the way to the car...

Gardner Village 2014

I thought to myself, I am going to go to Gardner Village early. Beat the crowds. Enjoy it a little more this year. I had the recipe for success, my kids had other plans.

We rolled up to see they have added the wee witches playground. Of course the kids wanted to do this, and I was the party pooper. I didn't go in with the mindset of spending $24 to run through a maze, and jump on a giant pillow. So sue me. I thought we could walk around, find the witch displays, stop for a quick treat at the Naborhood Bakery and be on our way. It made for lots of whining, complaining, and tears when I wouldn't give in.

The one and only semi-decent photo I took...

Eh. You win some, you lose some. We live close enough to Gardner Village, we may just have to have a do-over.

October is my absolute favorite, and this won't stop us from livin' it up all month long. Can't wait for large amounts of orange, the cutest costumes, and celebrating 2 of the best people in my life.

And a picture from the blooper reel...

{insert awesome title here}

A few mornings ago as I drove to take Savannah to school, I noticed the gorgeous sunrise. It was the perfect amount of cloud coverage, with rays of sunshine peaking through. What a beautiful world we live in. I felt thankful in that moment that something so simple, made me so happy. I need to find joy in the small things more often.

I decided a 2 year old is almost as awesome as a brand new baby. That Bina girl is the most hysterical, sweet, and stubborn thing in our family. We all love her the most. 

Devin needed Bina to be his baby sister. Devin is more shy around strangers, and Bina is his fearless leader. They have been taking the Little Chicks class together, and Devin is brave because Bina is. Makes my heart swell to watch them together. Knowing how hard it was for me to get her here, I would do it all over again for those 2 to be siblings.

Savannah has had a rough start to 4th grade. She is as book smart as they come, but the friends have been difficult. Growing up is hard, learning how to deal with drama is hard, and trying to find the best people to surround yourself with can be hard. At first I was nervous about her teacher, but it turns out she is so good for Savannah. Her teacher is very bold and blunt, I think Savannah could use some more examples like this in her life.

At least Paul and I look good. :)

When I first started staying home, I would dream of leaving for work. I think it was mostly because having a newborn and a 2 year old drove me batty. That newborn is now the 2 year old, and the once 2 year old is now 4...and I don't dream of running away {as much...hahaha}. I realize more and more this is where I need to be. I don't stay home because it makes things easier, I stay home because my kids need it. One day they won't, and I will gladly move on from this stay at home gig.

"Fit Made Fun" MommyParty

I received free products in order to host the LeapFrog and CLIF Kid sponsored MommyParty. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I was thrilled when we were selected to host this party. As weird as it may sounds, nothing makes me more proud than to see my kids pick good food choices on their own, and to want to stay active.  It was one of those unexpected joys I got from Motherhood.

I feel like growing up exercise and eating healthy were not instilled in me, and has been a constant struggle my entire life. It is something I wanted for my own children, and feel lucky enough it has been easy for me to do with them.

For our party we set up stations with different exercises for the kids to do. We used a jump rope, pogo stick, and the LeapBand to help with some of the stations exercises. I love watching kids have fun exercising, and they don't even feel like they are.

The kids all loved the LeapBand station, because they all got to wear/use it. It has a lot of fun activities on it, and makes you want to keep moving to earn fun things. {Devin plays with his non-stop, and hasn't lost interest!} The target age for the LeapBand is 4-7 years old, and you definitely have to stick to those ages. Savannah is 9, and although she would love to play with it all of the time...the LeapBand does not fit her wrist. 

We played until everyone had pink cheeks, and needed a break. We had the Clif Kid Z Bar, and lots of water. Those bars were a hit, and with flavors like Chocolate Brownie...you don't realize it is healthy for you. 

The kids didn't want to stop playing after all the stations had been done multiple times so we played freeze tag, red light-green light, and hands up-stands up. 

All the kids had so much fun getting more fit. We may have had a few more impromptu "Fit Made Fun" parties. 

Little Chicks Class - Tracy Aviary

I was so excited when Tracy Aviary contacted me asking if my kiddies wanted to attend the Little Chicks classes. It took no amount of thought, the answer was YES! If you have been around here for awhile, you already know our love for Tracy Aviary...and adventure. 

You may wonder what the Little Chicks classes are, here is the Evonne run down...

Classes are an hour long, once a week for 6 weeks. They have different days for different ages groups. Every week has a new theme, and you can sign up for individual classes or all 6. Think Mom & Me class, not a drop off and come back to pick up. Super interactive, fun, and kids totally dig it. The bonus is you get free admission into the aviary after you go to class. 

Our first class was all about owls. The teachers were awesome with the kids, and had so many fun things planned for class. Devin and Bina are on the shy side, and it helped that they were all so attentive.

We started with a coloring page of an owl while kids got settled, surprisingly Bina totally rocked this part. They had a fun welcome song, cute mats for the kids to sit on, and an adorable owl story that Devin loved. They kept the kids busy, and moving from one thing to the next.

We had snack time, then an up close and personal encounter with a beautiful owl, and we even got to touch some owl feathers. The owl flew so close to our heads you could feel the wind from his wings! 

What the owl was suppose to look like...

What Bina and Devin's ended up looking like...

They had planned to make this puffy paper bag owl, and I let the kids have free reign with the glue and markers. Which if I am being honest, doesn't happen enough at home. 

We got to clean up after that, and say goodbye to our teachers. Devin and Bina were not about to leave the aviary just yet though. They wanted to go and see the Owl Forest, and find and learn about other birds too! 

We ended up exploring until lunch time, and then headed out. Devin is already excited about next week when we get to learn about crows. This is definitely worth every penny, and something my kids truly enjoyed. I love watching them learn, and get interested in different things. Who wants to go with us next time, we would love to bring our friends?

Thanks for inviting us Tracy Aviary, such a fantastic experience!

Drake VS Lil' Wayne

Paul loves Drake, I just love music. The very first day the tickets went online for Drake, Paul was throwin' down his cold hard cash for good seats for us. It has been a long time since we went to a concert, and we were both giddy.

3 months went by.

We lined up Uncle Jackie to come and watch the kids, and were oh so thankful we did...

Doors opened at 5:30 PM, we decided to be casually late thinking the concert would start sometime around 7:00 PM. We got there right before 7:00 PM, and an artist by the name of G-Eazy got on stage shortly after.We have never heard of him, and although he grew on us both...he probably shouldn't try to dance. He preformed for less than an hour, and the crowd was hoppin'.

Then we waited. And waited. And waited. The people watching was top notch. Who doesn't like to watch people getting wasted, and making complete fools of themselves!? Okay, maybe that is just us, but we had a riot.

At 9:30 PM, I was ready for bed. Paul and I laughed about how old we are. The show didn't start for another 30 minutes, but when it did...we were ready. Paul instantly messed his back up from jumping around, reiterating the fact...we are old. 

Lil' Wayne and Drake were so entertaining, but clearly the Salt Lake Valley likes Lil' Wayne a little more. They are high, literally and figuratively. Drake is who we came to see, and he didn't disappoint. They have great chemistry on stage, and had us laughing too many times to count. 

We didn't end up getting home until close to 1:00 AM, after we were involved in a hit and run on the way home. Yes, those drunk people aren't as funny when they get in their cars.

It was an absolute blast, but Paul and I can have fun doing pretty much anything. I just love that I am married to that guy! I couldn't hear for 3 days, and I would do it all over again in a second.