Tracy Aviary

Our Pass of All Passes gets us $1 admission to the Tracy Aviary on Tuesdays. I had been wanting to go all summer, but we always ended up having stuff going on every Tuesday! I seriously debated about going the day after we did Daybreak Lake, but decided we may as well. I would just have to take a nap that afternoon. :)

I'm glad we went partly because we had a great time and partly because it has only gotten hotter since then. I hadn't been to the aviary in a few years. They had revamped it quite a bit! It really is a fun alternative to the zoo. Next time we will try to go see the bird show. This time I just wasn't up for trying to get Beckett to sit still for 30 minutes.

The kids all loved seeing the birds. Especially Beckett. He has loved birds for awhile now. He will stop playing and watch whenever there are birds flying in the sky. He babbles like crazy if he sees a bird on our fence or lawn or in our tree. It's very exciting for his little toddler self, so the aviary was pretty much awesome. It wasn't super crowded so we were able to see everything we wanted to see.

This little wetlands exhibit was neat because the birds weren't in cages. The whole area was enclosed. It made me nervous though with that water all around and no railing. I thought Beckett might run off the edge trying to touch a bird. These birds were super cool with looong, skinny beaks and legs.

Another highlight was the owl exhibit. There was a fun little tree house to climb in too. Beckett thought the owls were fascinating and he recently learned what they say ("whoo. whoo.") so it was adorable. We saw some pretty interesting looking owls up close.

Our favorite as a group was the King Vulture. It looked really exotic and cool. It also moved a lot while we were watching it and made noise. We watched it get a drink and fly around it's enclosure a little bit too.

We tried to spot all the species in the main bird building. We came pretty close. There were only a few we couldn't find. Everyone liked seeing the toucans and parrots. Talia liked any bird that was blue or had blue in it's name. She was excited when she found a blue flower while we were walking around. We all thought the Scarlet Ibis was the prettiest though.

I think Beckett liked the flamingos the best. They are fun to watch and they jabber non-stop. Beckett cried and kept running back to the flamingos when we tried to move on. Luckily the next stop was a little room you could go in and watch the birds run around your feet and fly over your head. It was awesome. Beckett stopped crying when we went in there.

Towards the end we happened upon this fun stone path and play area. The kids went crazy jumping around on the stones. They also took a little rest in "Fort Awesome."

Davin fell and hit his knee pretty hard on a big log by the stone path, so he was sad and sitting in the stroller. Luckily the next bird we saw was his favorite, a Golden Eagle. He perked up for a picture with them.

On our way out we peeked at the napping South American Condor, a few other south american birds, and the pelicans. The last stop was playing on the cool sculpture at the entrance.

It was getting hot and we were all hungry, so we went out and got our picnic and ate on the grass near the car then headed home. Amazingly I was able to keep Talia and Beckett awake the whole way home and they took naps in their beds! Yay! It was a fun outing. I think we will go back again in the Fall when the weather cools off and take Ian with us!

Daybreak Lake

We got together with our friends, the Matagi's, for a beautiful afternoon at Daybreak Lake! I had never been out there, but I had heard about it. Tara lives really close to it, so we headed out her way. She picked up a couple of pizzas to take with us and we ate and played. 

The kids loved the lake! It was simply beautiful. The only drawback is that there aren't bathrooms. Beckett didn't like walking on the sand at first, but after about 10 minutes he got used to it and was wandering all over the shore and playing in the sand. Tara and I actually got to sit back and relax and visit while the kids played. We reveled in the fact that our kids are all old enough to play together without us being within arms reach.

Weston and Kenzie were helpful with the babies and Weston loved being out in the water. Talia loved the water too. It wasn't freezing, which was nice. When they got restless with the water they could come play on the grass by us and eat snacks. Justin and Ian come and joined us after work for a little bit too. We will definitely have to go back!

Last Day of Tee Ball

Davin had such a fun season of tee ball! His last game was June 21st. I'm so glad that Dav got to try something new and he really enjoyed it. He loved having his buddies, Cole and Ella, on his team. His next favorite thing was probably getting a snack after the game. At the end of the last game his cute coach game each player a medal and a bat filled with baseball gumballs! That treat was a home run! I'm so proud of Davin for trying hard and doing his best! 

Dino Museum

Friday after we go back from our little trip I had a lot of laundry and catch up to do, but the kids were so good while I got some stuff done that I decided to take them to play at the dino museum for a little bit. We hadn't been in awhile so it was all kind of new and fun. Even though it was the middle of the day it wasn't super crowded. Probably because of the new children's museum being open. 

I was nice and let them do a little time at both sand areas (usually they have to choose one). Beckett doesn't really like the wet sand though and he kept trying to run away. He eventually made friends with this big tall stranger in the hall. It was so funny. He stood all close to the guy (who had to be at least 6'10") and stared up at him. The guy was super nice and said hi to him. Beckett kept following him for a few seconds and then lifted up him arms to the guy. He asked if he could pick him up and I told him it was fine, so he held Beckett and talked to him for a few minutes until his family was ready to move on. It was so funny.

I know I have a million pictures of my kids at the dino museum, but they were being so cute I had to take more. I think Weston started this walking on hands and knees thing and everyone followed suit. They all pretty much think Weston is the coolest. Good thing he is usually such a good example for them to follow.

They also wanted to play outside on the rocks on our way out. Beckett even managed to climb up there and was pretty proud of himself.

Lava Hot Springs

Right after Weston got home from Cub Scout Day Camp on Wednesday we packed up the car and headed off on a little adventure to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. My neighbor, Emily, had a time share condo up there for a few days and had taken her two kids up with her. She wanted company, so I decided to be brave and take my kids up and hang with her for a little overnighter. It ended up being really fun!

Like I mentioned in the last post we were having crazy random cold weather that week, but the forecast called for sunny skies on Thursday, which was the day we planned on going to the Lava Hot Springs pool. On the drive up it was raining and only in the 40's! When we got there the rain had finally stopped but it was still pretty cold. The kids played outside anyway and had fun together. I brought up pizza for dinner that night. We vegged a little, played with glow sticks, and checked out the game room of the complex. The boys had fun gathering rocks outside and rolling down the big hill.

The little condo was perfect. It had a little kitchen/living room with a bathroom. Plus a separate bedroom with it's own bathroom. When it was time for bed we pulled out the couch bed for the boys, set up a little bed for Talia from the couch cushions and blankets, Beckett had the pack and play, and I slept on a roll away bed. Emily and her kids took the bed in the bedroom. It took about half an hour for my kids to all settle in and go to sleep. Poor Emily had a harder time. Her kids don't sleep well and usually stay up late, so they were up for a long while, but she tried to keep them quiet and it was fine. I am a light sleeper so I did not sleep well. It was kind of a long night.

Beckett woke up at about 5:30am. He was not content to just watch a show so he woke up all of his siblings. Luckily the big boys were fine hanging out in bed and playing on the ipad. I ended up taking Beckett and Talia outside for a little walk since they were being really loud and fussy. It was cold though so we hung out in the car until 7am. Then we went back in, got some cereal, put away the beds, etc. We ventured out to the little playground and basketball court in the complex and played until the game room opened. It was a fun morning. Once Emily and her kids were up we had second breakfast and got ready to go to the pool.

The day warmed up nicely and it was a fun day at the pool! There was something for everyone. Davin, Talia, and Beckett all loved the warm kiddie pool. It had tons of fun things to play with and it was like a bathtub, so they didn't get cold. The outside pool wasn't super cold, but just regular heated pool temperature. Weston liked playing out there. Luckily Emily was super helpful at the pool and I managed with four non-swimmers. They also had four big water slides and Weston was big enough to go on all of them, so I went on the twisty ones with him while Emily held down the fort. He went on one of the big speed slides all by himself and had a blast. He loves water and being big enough for the slides!

It was a really fun day. We stayed until the afternoon then headed back to the condo when Beckett couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. We got changed, ate a little lunch, packed up and then drove home. Emily stayed a little longer. It was so nice of her to let us crash their place for a bit. We had a really fun time! It was good for me too. It really boosted my confidence that I could do something like that all by myself. Sometimes I feel a lot of fear about doing things with all of my kids, but I handled it.

We made it home just in time for Ian to take Davin to his tee ball game. I stayed home and bathed little ones, unpacked, started laundry, etc. I was SO exhausted that I went straight to bed after getting everyone settled in bed. Nothing like a good night's sleep in your own bed after a rough night's sleep on a roll away bed. :)

Cub Scout Day Camp

Weston got to participate in his first year of Cub Scout Day Camp this year. He had such a blast! I felt like such a slacker mom since I forgot to set my alarm on the first day. Luckily Weston is super responsible and was up, dressed, had already eaten breakfast, and was brushing his teeth when I scrambled out of bed to get him out the door. He had to be at camp at 7am, so it was pretty early. Unfortunately the weather took a nose dive that week and it was chilly and rainy. Fortunately the rain held off (for the most part) until the later afternoons so Weston only got sprinkled on a little bit. 

He had so much fun doing all of the activities. His favorite things were archery, bb gun shooting, holding a golden eagle, and making the crafts. The first day he came home with this PVC pipe sword and a shield.

That afternoon the kids all played dress up. Talia even asked to wear her princess dress! I bought her the dress over a year and a half ago. It's a size 2T. She would never let me put her in it. She always chose to dress up in her brothers' Thor or Spiderman costumes instead. I almost gave the dress to DI a couple of weeks ago, but I was so glad I hadn't when she asked me to put it on her. She only wore it for about 20 minutes before complaining it was itchy and taking it off. It barely fit. She also said she was "the bad princess." Sigh. I still loved that she wore it. Crazy girl. Her brother, Weston, is so sweet to her and they had a fun afternoon.

Father's Day 2014

The day after Mel and Brad's shower was Father's Day! Talia, Beckett, and I took Mom to the airport in the morning while Ian slept in. I told the big boys they were in charge of making sure Dad had a quiet house. They did awesome and spent their morning building this adorable Lego creation for their dad (it's our whole family in front. I'm in the white hat. Apparently there wasn't any girl hair). It was on the kitchen table when I got home from the airport.

Ian slept in and then when he woke up I made some french toast for everyone. Ian loved his Lego creation. He also got to open his other presents. The kids got him a super cool Back to the Future Delorian Lego set. I got him a satin pillowcase that matches our new bedding and a thing for his car that can hold his phone on the dash. I also gave him a new bike, but I let him pick it out the next weekend. It was a fun morning.

Church was good. The dads all got yummy, gooey cinnamon rolls. After church we let Dad pick what we watched on TV and tried to be extra nice to him. I made chicken Parmesan for dinner and baked fresh chocolate chip cookies. I hope Ian was able to see how much we all love him. He's such a fantastic father and husband. We are so lucky!

This pic is just for fun. Beckett "helping" Daddy play Zelda.