Fun, Fun, Fun in the St. George Sun!

Sorry for the 2 week break in our blog - we were busy having some fun. Mom had to go to St. George for some meetings so we all took a few days off from school and work and made a trip of it. We started it off with a visit to the Dinosaur Discovery Center where they have all kinds of dinosaur and fossil prints. It was fun, but not super interactive - there wasn't much we could touch or feel.

There were all kinds of fun things to look at and a few things we could get up close to.We're definitely not as big as a dinosaur.Of course, we had a swimming pool at our hotel - - - and we made some good use of it. We swam every single day. And we're getting pretty brave - I spent a lot of my time under water.And Sam could hang on to his noodle and kick all the way to the deep end by himself. Here he is flying through the air with dad.We also took a big liking to palm trees - those are some really cool trees! Here's one that is Sam's size.And two for me.We spent a whole afternoon at a local fun/play place. We went mini golfing. And we drove the kid cars.And we did the bumper boats - let's just leave our comments about the bumper boats to say that mom and Sam got pretty darn wet!We played in the arcade and in the bouncy place.We were pooped out - a good time for all!Then we got to spend a whole day up in Zion National Park. Our big event for the day was a 3.0 mile hike (no carrying allowed or requested) up to Emerald Pools. It was a great hike with some beautiful weather.Check out these holes in the rocks that I climbed in to.Here we are with dad at the lower pools.A short stop at the middle pools - on our way up.And a family picture (and some lunch) at the upper pools. We stopped for fun pictures on the way back down.And we found this cool cave - we decided to be bears.We saw beautiful scenery.And we drove through a 1.1 mile long tunnel right through the mountains. When you come out on the other side, the rocks and mountains look totally different - it is so weird! More scenery.On our last day, before we headed home - we went back to a fun park that we found (Slick Rock Park) and got some energy out on their climbing walls.It was a great trip! We needed the get-away!

Sam Alert: Hey everyone - oh how I love the sun. I keep telling dad and mom that I want to live in St. George, but they're not listening. Enjoy a few cute pics of me from the trip.

First - I hiked the full 3 miles all by myself. My legs may be little, but they are strong!And you know that one of my favorite monkeys is Curious George. I like to pretend I'm a monkey sometimes, just like him. Well I can scurry right up these climbing rocks just like a monkey. Have a great week!

So a fish went into an Irish pub . . . .

That sounds like the beginning of a really bad joke. But really, it's just a few words to describe our week. We started with a fun St. Patrick's day craft - shamrock hats. Our St. Patty's day breakfast consisted of green pancakes and green milk - yummy!

I spent a little time outside enjoying some good weather - skating.

We also took some flowers to Grandma June's grave.

Then we spent some time at our local aquarium on Saturday afternoon. They have a great penguin exhibit and a brand new river otter exhibit. The place was packed - but the animals were much more active in the later afternoon than the earlier day time when we are usually there. Here is one of the cute little river otters. There are three in the exhibit - all brothers.

Here's Sam playing with a puffer fish. And here we are watching the sharks. And of course, the penguins. They were crazy active on this visit. They were all swimming and jumping and running around. Funny little penguins. Neither of us were brave enough yet to touch the sting rays. But Sam did like playing in the water - until the ray swam near. Check out these Caimans - they're like little crocodiles. And our traditional picture in the dugout canoe. Sam Alert: Hey everyone - so I turned in to the sick boy this week. The doctor said I had strep throat and gave me some antibiotics. I'll be good as new soon. All week long I kept saying that "I'm not sick . . . I just don't feel well".

But I did have a good time at the aquarium - we needed to get out of the house. I was brave enough to touch these cool spiny star fish. And here's just a cute picture of me from the week. Finally - I got to go hang out with mom at her work for part of a day and then part of a day with dad too. Here I am helping mom with her spreadsheets. And here's to no more sickies!!! Have a great week everyone.

Germs, Germs, Go Away!!!

Wow - we sure have been hit by some bad germs the last few weeks. It hasn't been fun at all. But hopefully we're on the mend and we can sterilize the house and everything in it to get rid of them once and for all.

Needless to say, it's been a quiet week. Not much going on at all.

Our weather has taken a very nice, warm spring-like turn. Too bad we haven't been up to playing outside much. We did take a little time this afternoon to enjoy the sun. Here we are playing in the sandbox.

And we took each other for a quick wagon ride around the yard.

Sam Alert: Hey everyone - I was the only non-sickie in the house this week. It's a good thing I can entertain myself (mostly). Here is a quick picture of me reading a Curious George book - they're my favorite!!!!

And I spent a little time helping dad with a project - replacing an old toilet with a new water-efficient model. Good times! Have a great week everyone! Keep the germs away!

Fog, Snow, and Dust

Hum, that title should have you wondering. Let us explain!

First up this week - fog. Our family is relatively fond of some good red meat. A mail order steak place that we love was having a sale and of course the meat comes to us in a cooler full of dry ice. That means of course that we spend an evening playing with the dry ice. Thus - - - fog. And lots of it! Always a great time for us.Then came the snow. It's been such a mild winter here. Only a little snow and lots of very mild days. We got a couple of blasts of old winter this last week. Not a ton of snow, but certainly enough to get out the sled. We're both getting big enough that we can take our turn pulling our brother around the snow. Even Sambo gives it the old college try!And finally, dust. It was kid's project Saturday at Home Depot. We've had our names on the project list for a few weeks now and it was worth the wait. It was "build our own race car" week. Here I am sanding down some of my wood pieces.And here's Sam doing some hammering.

And if you look hard you can see me and Sam racing our cars against each other. Sam built the super champ car this time - his car beat everyone! His car was sooooo fast that it isn't even in this picture. It was clear off the end of the track before daddy could snap the camera.
Here we are with our cool cars - two happy boys.Sam Alert: Hey y'all. We had a good week - I'm feeling lots better, still a little tired out after a long day, but better. I've really been enjoying wrestling lately. I'll wrestle anyone, any time. Here I am practicing some of my moves on Mason. No broken bones, no cauliflower ear! No broken bones. That is a good week!Sam out - - - until next week.