Hill Aerospace Museum

After a little lunch at Benihana, we decided to keep the fun going. We drove north and took the kids to the Hill. I hadn’t been since I was a very young and was super impressed by the place!

They had two large rooms full of planes, missiles, uniforms, and the likes, plus a whole yard full of planes too!

The kids enjoyed meeting Cal, a cartoonist who designed the coloring pages they got to color. Max, of course, was a dream baby like always and went with the flow!

Our favorite part (and by “our” I mean me) was seeing the Blackbird. We learned that it set an East Coast to West Coast Record flying 2, 144mph, and flew the entire distance in just 1 hr, 4 min, 19.8 sec. WHAT?!!! Here’s Kate checking it out:

A few years back, I happened to meet and get a pic with Mr. Jake Garn (who flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery). It was nice seeing him again

We didn’t get to stay AS LONG as we would have liked. They lock the gates RIGHT AT CLOSING! And it’s serious if you’re not out. Like…supposedly the Airforce police have to let you out (after they beat you several times)…or something like that. That’s just what we were told. Anyway, fun day with the family for sure!

Tulip Festival

We hit the Tulip Festival with Lyle and Sherrie this year. We normally like to zoom around on a golf cart, but just walked the gardens this time. Cole had major blisters from not wearing socks with his shoes, but he was a trooper and made it.

We also had fun feeding fish, eating Waffle Love and Cupbop from the dozens of food trucks there, and playing tag on the great big hill next to the waterfall. And because Sissy finds no greater joy than a face paint (Cole, not so much), we did that too!

Little Buds

General Conference and Easter

This year General Conference and Easter fell on the same weekend. We enjoyed all the family egg hunts, dinners, and together time, with the added bonus of hearing from our prophets.

 

We did the General Conference activity bags for the kids again. Kate enjoyed them JUST AS MUCH, although Cole was a little done with all the “crafts” by the end. Baby Max didn’t know what to do with all the extra time he had on his hands so…he just slept. Like all day long…BOTH DAYS! I didn’t know he was so sleep deprived! Such the sweetest little boy!

 

Scales and Tails

It was a rainy day and a Wednesday (Dave works late on Wednesdays); two reasons to get out of the house! We went up to Scales and Tails. Scales and Tails does mostly reptile birthday parties, but you can visit their warehouse mid-week where they store the animals, which is what we did.

We arrived at a shady warehouse in the even shadier West Valley City.  We got there right at opening and it’s a darn good thing we did! By the time we left there was SOLID line out the door. I’m guessing a 2 hour wait!

We had cousin Cammie with us and we got to see, hold and touch all sorts of creatures! The kids were a little leery at first, but after watching me hold the animals they got in on the action. Good kids! I was proud of them!

8 Is Great!

Sissy and I had a super special day! After family (well, KID) pics, we ran to some White Elegance place or the other and found THE DRESS. Kate’s baptism dress. I couldn’t help but immediately fast forward another decade or two and realize that the other “white dress” day is rapidly approaching!! I hate that. Anyway, she looked super gorgeous! No question!

We got home with an hour to spare before the General Women’s Meeting…so what the hay? We ran over to the temple and took some pics of Sissy in her special dress (for her Baptism Announcement). Again, fun, but slightly painful to see her in her white dress walking around a temple…

We got a lot of good shots, but then the wind started picking up, making it hard to get any good pics. Plus, the meeting would be starting in about 15 minutes so we called it a day. When we went to leave, we discovered we were locked in the temple gates. Kate immediately panicked. I reminded her that we WOULD find a way out and that we were in a very safe place until then. We saw a little space under the gate that she could slide under…but not in that dress of course!

She exclaimed, “What’s more important? My dress or getting out?!!!” Without a doubt I remarked, “YOUR DRESS!” GEEZ, kids have no idea how much things cost!!!!!

Anyway, it wasn’t 5 minutes before the temple landsman dude saw us and unlocked the gate. He was very apologetic and thanked us for not telling his boss! HA!

We ran home and made it to Women’s Conference. Kate isn’t quite old enough, but she really wanted to come. I’m so glad she did! It was really special to have her there! Afterwards, she picked Roxberry for a treat. On the car ride there, she kept expressing how “GREAT it is to be 8!” I have to agree. It really is great!

Happy St. Paddy’s!

We tried the “green meal” thing last year, and it really turned out fun! I do actually love this tradition! It makes for a special, memorable day, although it does make me use my brain a little more than I like;) We did it again for a second year, and then threw in all the other hunts, décor, treats, and other shenanigans around the house…including a little note for Mr. Blackhurst that read “Irish you were naked.” Sick leprechaun!!!!!

Cinderelly

 

This movie was all the rage of 2015, so naturally we had to be part of it;) This movie’s opening just happened to fall on the same weekend that the new Geneva Megaplex opened too. Lucky for us, we got to enjoy meeting Cinderella herself in real life, as well as seeing the glass slipper, and sitting in a really (junky) Cinderella horse carriage too (truth be told, Cole would not sit in the carriage for a pic…he’s much too manly for that).

Movie was good. I mainly enjoyed the ‘soundproof kid box’ at the top of the theater where Max and I were able to enjoy the whole show. What a brilliant idea, people!!! He was kind of angry the whole show so it was so nice to not have to step out of the theater. No one could hear his screams but me, and I could still see the movie I paid for! Genius.

First Piano Recital

Katybug has been tickling the ivories since November. You’d never guess that because she’s already quite the accomplished little pianist. She really hates to practice, but boy, is it fun to be able to perform! She and several of her cousins did a terrific job at their recital last month. We sure are lucky, too, to have a Grandma Sandra that willingly teaches these little people!

Lego Americana Roadshow

It’s not everyday you get to see all of America’s iconic historic landmarks without even leaving Utah! What a neat little display we got to see at Fashion Place Mall (made entirely out of Legos).

There were 10 replicas, so it’s hard to choose favorites. I think Cole’s favorite part was the Washington Monument. He could not process how on earth they were able to build something so high! I liked the Lincoln Memorial; fun to look inside and see a little mini Abe in there!

 

It was a fun night, with a delicious meal at the Corner Bakery to top it all off!