Bi-polar Mother Nature

I have often said that Mother Nature is a little bi-polar where we live. During the Fall we have beautiful Fall foilage, but it's 100 degrees outside. In the Winter, it freezing and grey, but won't snow for weeks at a time. And Spring....It's 60 and sunny one day and this the next. Mother Nature's attempt at an April Fool's joke. Later today I'm sure (wink, wink) that the sun will come and shout, "April Fool's!" T got me good this morning. I was thinking about the snow, not about April 1st. He sent me a text saying that he had just barely gotten to work (this was about 8:30 AM, he usually gets to work about 7 AM), because the right side of his truck had fallen apart (that should have tipped me off right there). My first thought was that he had been standing out in the cold and snow for an hour and a half. Then he said he wasn't sure what we were going to do, which, of course, made me really worried. So, I called him (emergencies shouldn't be handled through texting), and he strung me along a little and then told me it was April Fool's Day. Duh! Good one, Love.

The ABC's of America

Ty's school program "The ABC's of America" was last Thursday! It was a patriotic spectacular with all seven classes in his grade.
At one point near the end of the program, Ty decided to start counting how many boys were around him. Whatever passes the time, eh?

Ty loves to sing. Even with all those kids, we could still hear him loud and clear. He is very enthusiastic!

Ty and his teacher, Mrs. H!

K's Purple Sequined Purse

Yes, her dress does match the background! How nice of you to notice!


K's aunt made this for her awhile ago, but it's been a bit too big for her until now. It's called a forever dress because your child can literally wear it forever. It is a dress now, but in a year it could be worn over jeans. Love it! Check out her Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6428431

Are you familiar with the witty and wonderful style-ings of Kevin Henkes? We love his books! Lilly has a purple plastic purse. K has a purple sequined purse. Grandma C gave it to her and she is obsessed with it. She carries it around the house and puts things inside it; her own little treasure chest. This would include my cell phone, which, as all parents know, is a toy no toddler can resist. Usually I keep it in my pocket, but perchance I set it down somewhere, sooner or later I find it in K's purse. Of course, this is after an exhaustive search of the house....

Spring is here, Spring is here!

So a month an a half ago, I saw this really cute project in a mag: Make melting snowmen snacks to celebrate Spring! Good idea! And super easy. Of course this was a while ago, and I threw away the magazine (I think it was in Family Fun, but I checked their site and can't find the article anywhere). So today we improvised!

I cut a marshmellow in half and dipped it in white chocolate to coat the bottom, then placed it on wax paper. Then the kids spooned more white chocolate on top of it to cover the whole thing (and then some) like a puddle. Pretzel sticks for arms, mini chocolate chips for eyes, Runts bananas cut in half for carrot noses, and M&M minis for the buttons, plus, my fav, if you take a melting chocolate chip (the big flat kind) and glue (with more chocolate) an upside-down Rolo to it: perfect top hat! So the kids decorated a bunch and took them to some of their friends. Really fun! And perfect for this lovely Spring day when it looks so nice outside and is actually completely fridged!

And yes, I should have a pic to post, but I forgot to take one. The kids ate their melted snowmen up too fast!

Kara's GTU Appearance

So if you missed it: Kara was so cute on TV this morning. Very cute dress. Very cute girl! Here is what they said in her segment:

Outfits for Under $50 From South Towne Center

A few weeks ago, we selected three winners for an affordable clothing makeover with Alicia Richmond. The winners headed out to three stores in the South Towne shopping center and were triumphant.

On the Winners

Kara: She is a young mom that wanted to look stylish when she gets dressed up. Kara has not owned a dress in a long time (I think this is a typo; on the show they said she didn't have a dress she really loved. Which is silly because everytime I've seen her she looks really cute!) and wanted to find a feminine but flattering look. Alicia took Kara to Down East Basics and they found a dress with accessories.

Down East Basics High Tide Dress: $29.99, Cami: $ 9.99, Total: $39.98

I wish I had a pic of how sweet she looked! I think we should all spam her with email until she posts one on her own blog!

So my husband's cousin's wife (does that make any sense?), Kara is going to be on GTU in the Chic on a Shoe String segment on Thursday. Watch it! She is super cute and she won a clothes make over! Plus she is the mom of an adorable one-ish-year-old, so you KNOW she totally deserves it! Yeah Kara!!! Good luck on Thursday!

Dinomite!

If you haven't been to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point lately, you should definitely pack up the kids and head to Lehi! Before K was born, we had a family pass. Now I agree that shelling out $175 right now doesn't sound fun, but trust me, it's worth it. Just going to the Dinosaur Museum alone, you would make back your money after just three or four times (for a family of four), but you throw in the Children's Gardens, Farm Country, the ice cream parlor, the big Gardens, plus everyone who comes with you gets half off, and you get lots of discounts for events at Thanksgiving Point! When T was travelling for work, we went at least once a week. We spent our winters at the Museum and our summers at the fountain in the Children's Garden. Our pass expired about a week after K was born and while we've been to Farm Country a few times since (it's always fun to go in the spring and see the baby animals), we haven't really done a whole lot there lately. Well, last Friday we went with my crew (except J, who had to work. We missed you!). Now I totally have the itch to get another pass! Guess what our tax return is going toward?!Yes, this was the best picture I could get with all three of my kids in it...you know how it goes.
Grandpa and K
K and Ty chillin' with the fossils at the palentology lab.
C's best dinosaur impression!
If you are a regular to the Dino Museum, you know this is the place to be: the erosion table. We could spend hours here (and we have!). C begins his time here by collecting all the little plastic dinosaurs he can find. He thinks they are his and he has no intentions of sharing. Then, he buries them in a dam and makes a mini lake. K just likes to squish her fingers in the sand and then throw it back into the table. Ty is more goal oriented. He likes to make dams and lakes and then cause massive destruction (on a small scale) when the dams get (who knows how these things happen) destroyed. Educational and fun, what more could you want?

K, T, and Dino. Can you say "gallimimus?"

I know what you're thinking...fossil dig, right? Wrong! This is where we make sand angels, bury ourselves, and dump sand down our sister's diaper! Silly! In my (humble, totally!) opinion, the TGP pass is the way to go. We've had passes to the Children's Museum in SLC, the zoo, and the aquarium, but you honestly get more than you pay for at Thanksgiving Point (the aquarium comes in a very close second though). And! Free parking! And no, TGP is not paying me for my endorsement, though I wouldn't mind if they did....