Dinosaur Park

Our days are all full now that school is in session!  Monday and Wednesdays Hayden has tumbling, Tuesday and Thursdays he has Preschool, Kylie has full school days all week long... man it's exhausting!

On Monday we went to the Naylor's Hot Dog Roast up Provo Canyon.  It was lots of fun to see all the extended family again and to roast our own hot dogs and marshmallows.  Grandpa Gary even found a huge tarantula which terrified and fascinated the kids.

On Saturday we went up to Ogden with Grandma Shari and explored the Dinosaur park up there.  It was so nice and fun!  So many huge dinosaurs to look at.  Kylie and Hayden ran from one to the next, and they were actually nice and let us take pictures of them without being too goofy.

We brought a picnic lunch to eat, and afterwards we played on the dinosaur playground for a while.

Then we visited the last few dinosaurs and went inside the museum, where the kids were transfixed by an animatronic dinosaur scene.

Then we stopped by Smith and Edwards - a very interesting store - before heading home.  I was exhausted by then, but the kids went out and played for the rest of the day!  I need some of their energy!

Hayden Starts Preschool!!

Hayden had an extremely big week!  On Wednesday he started his tumbling class.  I was so proud because he had no separation anxiety (that's new!), he sat quietly and listened, he followed directions exactly, and he was patient and waited his turn.  Seriously a model child and I could hardly believe it was Hayden!  He had so much fun running, hopping, tumbling, throwing, and doing the parachute at the end.

Later that day we went and visited his new teacher Miss Heidi. My friend Brittny had told me about a little preschool in Mapleton that takes 3-year-olds at half the price of every where else I had seen.  So we went to meet with her and see if the school would be a good fit.  Hayden was super excited about going to school and I decided to try it despite the drive since he wanted it so much.

Thursday was his first day of school!  He was so proud and happy to be able to take this step.  He is in the same class as my friends daughter, Harlee, so after their first day we had a playdate at Chick-fil-A for lunch and they got to play some more.  This may become a weekly thing!

Now that Kylie is at school all day, Hayden and I spend a lot of time together.  He likes to play Minecraft and play outside as well as going to the rec center and library.  He is also a good little helper and loves to help me bake, get the mail, pack boxes for Grandma Tess, and vacuum!  He vacuumed the stairs for the first time ever and had lots of fun.

Kylie is so busy at school now I can hardly keep up!  She comes home, does a little homework (reading), and then plays outside the rest of the afternoon until I can drag her in for dinner and bed.  She loves riding her bike constantly as well as swinging.

The kids got a fun surprise when Grandma Shari invited them for a sleepover Friday night.  They were ecstatic and had fun with her feeding the ducks and going to yard sales!  Aunt Kelsey and Uncle Morgan also took them to the park on Saturday to play.  When they came back home they just went straight back outside to play... do these kids ever tire?  Sometimes I wish they would play with their toys as much as they love to just run outside... but the weather is beautiful right now so we have to make the most of it!

No Training Wheels!

Another week full of school and visiting the rec center!  The kids have also discovered the Ipads at the library so that has become their favorite thing to do there.

For some reason the sprinklers have been going off in the afternoon here, so Hayden gets in his swim suit and goes running through them with all the other little kids in the neighborhood.  Then he always requests a picnic to much on outside - but his picnic cannot consist of anything nutritious or lunch-like.

Friday after school Kylie begged me to take her training wheels off her bike.  About time!  I'm surprised I didn't do it sooner.  After ten minutes she could balance on her own, and then came the hard part of starting on her own.  But we all know how insistent and independent she is, so she will not rest until she can do it on her own!

We left later that day to meet Brandon at Cove Fort.  He took them for the long weekend!  So I will see them again Monday evening!

Solar Eclipse and the Hogle Zoo

Monday was the day of the big Solar Eclipse.  Sunday evening over dinner we had briefly talked about it (moon in front of the sun, don't look at at, etc.) and Monday morning Hayden came down dressed in his sun shirt and had his sunglasses on, all ready for the eclipse!  I can't believe he remembered!  Kylie was going to be at school while it happened.  Her teacher took her outside and they got to look through glasses at it.  Then they kept them inside during lunch so none of the kids would accidentally look up and burn their eyes.

I had no plans on what to do with Hayden, though.  I started dinking around online, thinking of maybe making a pin hole box to look through, or maybe the library was having a special party we could go to, when I saw that Thanksgiving Point Garden's was having an eclipse party!  On a whim, I called up Grandma Shari and asked if she was free, and then we all went over to the gardens for the eclipse party they were having.  It was a fun idea, but it was also CRAZY busy.  We waited a long time in line just to get in, but the good thing about so many people is that so many people offered to let us look through their solar glasses, since we didn't have any.  Eventually one kind family just gave us a pair!  It was really cool to be able to see the eclipse, and Hayden really got the concept down.  Plus he loved this one-on-one time with Grandma Shari.  We enjoyed the beautiful gardens and the few activities they had as well as feeding the fish.

Kylie was NOT happy that she didn't get to go, but she still had fun at school.

The rest of the week was quite normal.  Hayden is getting used to going to Daycare a few times a week while I go to an exercise class, and after school both kids just play outside with all the other kids until I have to drag them inside to eat and take baths.  I even had to force them to go swimming on Friday since the outside pool will be closing soon at the Rec Center and I wanted to go one last time.

Saturday we got up early and went to the zoo with Grandma Shari!  Aunt Connie was supposed to come too, but she broke her toe and wasn't able to make it.  The kids had so much energy running from one animal to the next, as well as pushing our stroller with all our lunch and snacks on it.  There were also huge mechanical bugs everywhere that the kids loved seeing.  We also got to go to the elephant show and bird show.

We came home so worn out!  It was super fun and the kids are the perfect age for enjoying the zoo.  Hayden had such a good eye for finding all the animals and Kylie as very helpful with the stroller and keeping us all together!  Thanks Grandma Shari for such a fun day!

Back to School

Monday was Back to School Night, where we got to explore Kylie's new school and meet her teacher, Ms. Asay.  Kylie was a little shy at first, but as usual she warmed up quickly.  Hayden followed her around and pretended that he was going to go to school too!

Afterwards we played on the playground for a bit.  They have a fun climbing area that both the kids really liked.

Tuesday was the first day of school!  Kylie was so excited because she gets to take a lunch this year!  I also pack one for Hayden in the morning (so he doesn't feel left out), but he's been coming back after dropping Kylie off at school and eating his lunch at 9 AM.  Silly boy.  Anyways, Kylie was really excited for her first day.  For some reason the school does things really weird and won't open the doors to the school until the first bell rings, and then instead of going to their classroom that they found the day before, they herded all the kids and parents dropping off the kids into the little gym to find their teachers for the 'Welcome Back To School' assembly.  I think they should have re-thought that since it was very crowded making sure your kid found their teacher and then either staying for the assembly or trying to make your way back out again.  Hayden and I left after seeing Kylie safely to her teacher.

After a week of school Kylie doesn't say much about her class.  She does like it and she seems to be making some friends, though she doesn't remember their names.  Her favorite part of the day is lunch and recess.  Typical.  This week was all half-days, so she got out at 1.30 instead of 3.20.  I feel that it will help her transition to full school days next week.

Hayden and I have been having fun while she is at school.  He plays outside with all the other little kids, and comes inside to eat or color and draw with me.  I tried teaching him to write his name and we built puppets from his lunch bags.

Thursday we got to go to a park with Grandma Shari and Grandpa Gary after school.  Even Grandma Fae showed up since the park was next to her house!  It was a really fun park and even though it was pretty hot, the kids ran around like crazy and enjoyed themselves.

Even us adults had fun!

When it got too hot we went over to the Orem Mall to play there and get some dinner.  We had such a fun time!

We've really enjoyed living up north and seeing both sets of grandparents so often.  Living with Grandma Tess and Grandpa Pete has been really fun as well.  The kids play outside every chance they get and then tell Grandma and Grandpa all about their day every night.

Brandon took the kids for the weekend on Friday and they are coming back today!  It looks like Hayden got a haircut, and Kylie a trim!