Getting Creative with Crayola

So one afternoon we let the kids out to play in Janell’s backyard They are getting ready to remodel it to make it more kid friendly, but since it wasn’t totally there yet, Janell brought out some Crayola washable markers, a coloring mat and a water spouting crayon for them to play with. They started out coloring on the mat, but somehow it quickly turned into them coloring on themselves and each other. I think Aunt Bean started it, so I blame her. Anyway they took the idea and ran with it. After a little while they were all covered in their own designs, and they had a blast doing it. My favorite had to be the message on Dax’s back, although I don’t think he even knew it was there. Hey I’ll take what I can get.

Hill Aerospace Museum

All the times we have been in Clinton, even when we lived in Utah, I have never been to the Hill Aerospace Museum. Having previously had all girls when we visited, it was never something that was top on our priority list. This time was different though. This time on our way into the Salt Lake area, the way we kept Colby occupied and happy was to point out all the airplanes flying overhead. He was crazy excited about all the airplanes he saw, which reminded me about the museum since it is just up the road from Shanna’s house. The morning we were leaving Shanna’s we decided to hit the museum on our way out. As we pulled up to the museum property there were planes everywhere. Colby kept exclaiming “planes, planes, planes”! He was so excited he could hardly stand it! It was so fun to watch him light up! As soon as they were out of the car the kids all took off running for the planes that were on the outside grounds. It was crazy to see how huge some of these planes were. The kids were barely taller than the small tires of the Military Air Transport plane. It was a monster!

Inside Colby thought it was just as cool to see the miniature airplanes on display. I guess he likes them regardless of their size. The tour started out with the history of planes and the Wright Flyer. I enjoyed reading the history, while Shanna gave the kids a brief overview, just long enough to keep their attention. We saw some of the first fighter planes and the engines and how they have evolved. It was really fascinating! It is amazing how far they have come. We saw missiles, machine guns, bombers, and even a full-scale replica of the first Atomic Bomb. It’s crazy to think that there were people flying and fighting with these machines in the air. It makes you appreciate a little more the things people went through to protect our freedoms and our country. None of the planes looked like they were a very comfortable ride.

There was a sample training chair that the kids got to sit in. Definitely not too plush. Two of the coolest most current planes were the F-16 and the SR-71. The history of air flight is unbelievable. From a man sitting in the middle of a set of wings to a plane that thins out in flight and cannot even be detected by radar. WOW! I look forward to going again when all the kids are old enough to understand and appreciate the amazing history that goes along with the airplanes. I think Jade and Cambrie were getting it, but due to our time restraint and the short attention span of the little ones we kind of hurried. Luckily Shanna had been before and gave us some of the abbreviated versions of the tour. Thanks Aunt Shanna. I can’t wait to go again.

At Our Cousin's house!

It has been a while since the kids and I have been to stay at Aunt Shanna and Uncle James’s house, or Aunt Shanni and Uncle Jamezer as I call them. From the time we pulled into the driveway until the time we left the kids played and played and played. When we got there at 10:00 at night the kids jumped out hugged everyone and headed into the backyard to jump on the trampoline with their cousins. The next morning my girls discovered “The Walnut Tree”! The place where they would spend the majority of their time while at their cousin’s house.

They were so excited that they could climb and play in a tree that was right in front the house. Shanna lives at the end of a long court where kids run up and down all day long. My kids have freedom at their cousin’s house that they don’t have at home. First thing in the morning when some of the kids headed outside to the front yard my kids looked at me like… “We can go play in the front yard???” Colby of course went out straight away. He hasn’t caught on to the fact that there are rules at our house. He still just does what he wants to do. About 30 min later there was a knock on the screen. It was Shanna’s neighbor bringing Colby back. He was all wet. I guess the city comes around once a year to open the fire hydrants to clean them out, and this happened to be that morning. Anyway with all the water puddles in the street, Shanna’s neighbor thought it would be fun for the kids go puddle jumping. So she took the boys that were out front and went splashing down the street. Colby was as happy as could be. The neighbor was at least kind enough to take off his socks and shoes so he didn’t soak them. Colby went barefoot for the rest of the day, which if you know him that is so opposite his norm. (He usually won’t even go to bed without his shoes on!) From about sunup to sundown the kids played in the yard and most of the time the girls were in the walnut tree. Colby just enjoyed the freedom of being able to roam wherever he wanted, in the house, out of the house, backyard, front yard, through the garage, etc. He was everywhere!

One of Colby’s favorite toys was this little lawn mower that was literally falling apart. The wheel kept falling off, but he would just stop try to put it back on and keep going. Sometimes the other kids would help him, but he always just kept on going. This also happened to be one of Alex’s favorite toys, which lead to some interesting lessons in sharing, like me finally just taking it away from Colby because it was Alex’s turn. Anyway over all it was a great visit, just definitely not long enough, which it never is! The kids had a blast roaming, climbing and jumping all day long.

I had a fun and productive visit, especially since Shanna called one of her friends over to help me figure out how to make a tie that I was attempting for Colby and Daxton to wear to Jayleen’s wedding. And just in case you were wondering… it turned out great! Thanks again Shanna and Rachel! It was great spending time with Shan as it always is. I do wish we lived closer or at least got to see them more than once a year. We always have a great time together and it seems we are always accomplishing some kind of project, sometimes hers and sometimes mine. It’s a great balance of fun and productivity! (ha/ha) Thanks again to Shanni and Jamezer for putting us up, and showing us such a great time. Hope to see you in Cali soon so we can return the favor!