A Day at the Zoo

Where is the summer going so fast?!? I can't believe June is almost gone and July here. Since my sisters moved here was have tried to make a point of planning things so we can all get together. Kimber has been especially good at helping to plan things. The zoo was one of the 1st things that came to mind. We met at the zoo around 10 so we could get to the elephant encounter by 1030. I had never been to the actual encounter so it was really cool. They demonstarted all the tricks the elephants can do, feed, and give them a "bath." Hallie has been talking about going to the zoo for weeks  so she was in heaven running from one animal to the next or to just watch an animal in general. She loved that the elephants could kick a ball and wash themselves with their trunks.

 Hallie loves Kimber and frequently says she is her favorite. Kimber is also so patient and loving with her..she carried her a lot because Hallie kept asking to be carried for 5 seconds..haha She also read most of the signs  and explained to her about all the animals.

 Im not sure what Gracie thought but she seemed to enjoy watching the animals move around and make noise.

Next was the bird show that was a little bit of a downer from the last time we went the wind was blowing(which was awesome because it helped keep us cool) and the birds had a hard time flying.

 

After the bird show it was time for some food. They had plenty of shaded places to sit and eat, it was nice.

 Kim made chocolate cake over the weekend and had been telling Hallie about it, so she brought her a piece. It was yummo!

 Gracie fell asleep while we ate lunch and ended up sleeping 2 1/2 hrs. Then back to the animals....

Then we got to the new exhibits and we were not at all disappointed. This is a model of a bald eagles nest next to their exhibit.

 Then there were the river otters.

 Then Hallie asked if she could take some pictures...this is one of them that worked out?

 They had interactive toys and stuff the kids could play in and with

 Then my favorite part of the day the sea lions, seals, and polar bear. The sea lion is huge(they said 200 lbs bigger than the polar bear). We loved the glass down lower so we could watch them play.

The polar bear was so funny and interactive with us. He would jump in the water, float on his back, come up 

against the glass and seemed like he was sniffing. Then get out and start all over again.

No this bear is not dead but very asleep

 The always favorite giraffe. The one was licking the cinder blocks with its black tongue it looked like a slug on the wall..yuck

 Hallie took this...pretty impressive

 The baby orangutan was so cute and playful, but I did notice the hotter the day got the less iterative the animals were.

 Our "group" picture Gracie was still asleep

 Rigs and Hallie loved climbing all over this gorilla

 Then there was the play ground. Rigs ate wood chips while Hallie played. Silly boy

 Then Hallie decided to take a break

 While we were at the playground Gracie woke up just in time to play in the water a little bit before we headed for home.

 This picture is so what our house is like. Gracie loves to watch Hallie. Hallie often will read, sing, or just talk to her.

 Me and my girls after a great day at the zoo

I was very surprised at how long we lasted we didn't leave the zoo until after 3. Then we headed to Jamba Juice for smoothies and enjoy the air conditioning. You may have noticed the necklace Hallie is wearing in most of the pictures...Kimber made that for her and brought it to the zoo she has worn it all day today too.

Chris is HOME

I have been waiting for the pictures to add to this post by started it last week. On Wed June 20th Chris came home after serving 2 years on a LDS Mission in Brazil. We all met at the airport with signs and balloons to greet him. I really didn't know what to expect(I have never been to the airport to greet a missionary). There were a couple other families waiting for their missionaries as well. One thing I didn't expect was to be emotional. When all the missionaries came down the escalator to be reunited with loved ones that they have missed and us them for the past two years. I had to step back and take it all in. There was a family next to us that their oldest child was returning home and to see all his small siblings be so emotional as they finally got to see their brother again makes me teary eyed as I type this post. 

After initial hellos and hugs we headed to Brit's house to eat. Later Chris went to Tremonton to be released. Then on Saturday after Matt's race and we headed to Tremonton and were lucky enough to go to dinner with all of Matt's siblings. I really hope that we can start making this a common occurence when were all together.

Sunday was Chris's "homecoming" we had a great lunch...it was hot and spend time with family.

Matt's MS Bike Ride

So back in January Matt asked if I thought he could ride 40 miles for MS. I will admit 40 miles seems like a ways but I told him of coarse that it may take some training but that he could do it. Luckily Brit was pregnant so Matt was able to borrow her rode bike to train and to race. The months went faster than either of us thought they would. Lots of things came up and Matt's training got put on the back burning in total he was able to get out about 4-6 times so needless to say I was a little nervous for him when it came time for the race. Wadman offered incentives to the top 2 people that raised the most money to donate and Matt ended up being number two raising a total of 1500 dollars and won an Ipod! Thursday evening Matt took a trailer we had borrowed up to Logan fairgrounds to find a a place to camp(it fills up super fast).  Friday after work we headed to Logan, after eating Pizza and famous Ham and Cheese salads at Fredrico's we went to check out our camp spot and get settled for the night. It was a quiet little spot next to the creek all grassy..it was perfect. I honestly was wishing we were staying more than just one night. Hallie loved playing in the water for short periods of times(it was really cold).

 Right before heading to bed we gave Matt his good luck poster that we had made. He kinda knew it was coming because Hallie kept asking if we could give daddy his posted so she could have some candy.

 Bright and early(6AM) the boys were dressed and ready to go. This is Matt's friend and coworker Tyler he was the number 1 person for fundraising with an awesome 2500 dollars to donate(that's why he has the cool jacket). Here they are ready to go.

 And they are off...look how fast they are..haha

 Then I went back to bed with these 2. We found Gracie on her tummy(another tummy sleeper?) Oh how I hate the initial panic it gives me. But of coarse she was fine.

 This picture totally describes how we felt Saturday morning..what a busy couple of weeks. I couldn't resist taking a picture of Hallie's hair before we fixed it for the day and as if on cue she just happened to yawn.

 So we got ready and were there to watch our daddy cross the finish line. When I asked him how it had gone he said he wished he had ridden further. So next year he will do further. He said he felt like he had just gotten warmed up. We are so proud of him and all he has done to help find a cure for MS!

 After getting some icees and meeting up with Matt's family(Matt rode faster than anticipated so they missed him coming across the finish line..but its the thought that counts) we headed over to the bounce house and slide. The kids had a blast. Ris's kids are so good with Hallie especially Austin and Braydon. Hallie kept calling them "hers". 

 

It meant a lot that with everything going on some of Matt's family made time to come and support him.

 After we got loaded up and headed for Tremonton for some more family fun. Grandma had filled up the pool and had snacks for everyone to enjoy. Both our girls napped while Matt and I sat and visited with the family. I love this picture Mayci asked if she could hold Gracie. I wanted to take a picture but I didn't realize how cooperative they were both going to be.

 The highchair parking section

 Hanging with Uncle Chris

 And of coarse what is a weekend at grandmas without dress up clothes.

After lunch we quickly got everything together so we could get home so Matt could fly to Tucson for work. After he left I couldn't find my keys so I called to see if he had seen them only to find out he had both sets of our keys! And then he forgot his Zoom in his truck at the park n jet. Oh my with as many things as we had going on this weekend we are lucky that's all that happened. I am definitely grounded until he gets home. We are looking forward to a slower week this week.