Dinos and Tulips and Snow?

So on April 30th this is what we woke up to - - - 3 inches of snow. Is it spring or winter? Where did that come from? Well at least we didn't have to do yard work this weekend.

We had lots of fun this week . . . . making Play Doh cars/trains/helicopters.

We went to the library and got some new books - they had a whole row of Thomas the Train books - fantastic!Here's a darn cute picture of me in my church clothes.

And here's a picture of me that no parent really wants to see. This is me in the Principal's office. Mrs. Call is daddy's boss and she was in her office on Friday afternoon - I walked right on in and sat and visited with her. She's a very nice lady - why are people so nervous to go in to her office?Then on Saturday we decided to go down to Thanksgiving Point and visit the dinosaurs. We love having a pass this year. And I'm sure the dinos love seeing us all the time. There really weren't very many people there for a Saturday morning. So we got to enjoy some quality time at the sand/water table.Here's Sam hanging out with a dino leg.
And here we are with our favorite baby dinosaur.It seems we always find something new to see every time we go to the museum. I know this guy has been hanging out on this limb for a long time, but we thought he needed a picture with us on this visit.And we always love seeing the Megalodon - giant shark. Here we are with a side view of him.From the dinos we headed over to the Tulip Festival in the Gardens. It was raining off and on but we made it all the way through before it really started coming down again.I rolled down the big long hill again this year. I love doing that. Sam didn't want to roll down but he made it all the way down without falling. Then it was so steep going back up that he crawled all the way to the top - but he did it all by himself. Good job Sam!The tulips were pretty this year, but they didn't seem to be quite as colorful as last year. Maybe it was the snow and wind and rain that had been pounding them all week. Here are the boys feeding the fish. They sure are bright and colorful!And for your viewing pleasure - tulips!
One of the really cool things this year was a nesting Canadian Goose. You can see her sitting on her nest in the photo on the left. Then look hard at the photo on the right - can you see her?And just one cliff over there was a nesting owl with two little owlets. It was too cold and windy for the little guys to be out but you can see mom on the nest keeping them warm. Again - look at the photo on the right and see if you can see her on the nest. And more tulips - a very pretty flower!The boys - out seeing the flowers.The waterfalls are really pretty too. Here is a nice family picture of all of us.
Sam Alert: Howdy all - so I heard there's an old cliche . . . . don't cry over spilled milk. Well I didn't cry, but I sure had to clean it up!Here I am at the gardens - catching a ride on daddy's shoulders. What a way to travel . . . and stay warm!And a picture of me in the bubble bath last night. Ahh bubbles! Gotta love 'em!

Fun in the Sun!

So it turns out that mommy had to make a work trip to Southeastern Utah last week . . . . and what's better than a nice long drive all alone? A nice long vacation with the family with a little bit of work mixed in! We left last Friday and couldn't have picked a more beautiful weekend. We stayed in Moab and made that our home base. Mommy had to work most of Monday but we had fun without her and came home Tuesday. The weather was perfect and the hiking was incredible. Of course, little boys seem to be drawn to the fun things that a hotel has to offer - and the hotel we stayed at was really amazingly cool. They had a great outdoor heated swimming pool and a great playground area with a pirate ship. We spent our fair share of time enjoying the amenities.

We spent all day Saturday in Arches National Park. Mommy has always said that this is her favorite National Park in Utah and now we understand why. It really is cool!

One of our favorite areas was the Windows area. You can see from these pictures why it is called the Windows area. This is the North Window.And this is us underneath the North Window. It is HUGE!Mommy and I hiked way up underneath the arch - that is us way up underneath there on the bottom left. I wanted to climb all the way up on top . . . but mommy said no.And this is the South Window.
And here are the boys in front of Turret Arch. Here are more pictures from the Windows section. It really is beautiful! Our little legs were worn out after all the hiking in the Windows section and we fell asleep in the car. So mommy and daddy took turns seeing some of the northern sections of the park. Here are pictures from the Fiery Furnace area and the Devils Garden area. We also hiked to the lower Delicate Arch viewpoint before we fell asleep. You can see it in the top right picture.And in an attempt to not bore our readers too much, here is another collage with some of the best sights. Included are Sandstone Arch, Devil's Garden, Double Arch, Balance Rock (which we later hiked).
Our traditional lunch while hiking is cheese, crackers, and salami - along with various fruit and of course, water. We ate in a nice shady spot under Turret Arch.Here is a family picture under Delicate Arch. And here I am holding up a big rock - gotta keep the trail clear for everyone! I do what I can!On Sunday we were originally headed to Mesa Verde National Park but we ended up stopping at the South entrance to Canyonlands National Park. It was very nice and different from the North entrance. We ended up spending the day there and quite enjoyed ourselves.Here is a picture of me and daddy under Wooden Shoe Arch. We also stopped at Newspaper Rock (you'll see a picture of it coming up) and wandered around there. And more fun things to see. The top left is Newspaper Rock. We saw tons of really neat lizards. Some were really small and some were huge. I got a hold of mommy's camera and snuck in a picture of mom and dad too. And here I am with one of the lizards crawling on my shirt. Ironic that my shirt says "Bugs Rule". Are lizards bugs? The look on my face tells it all!More pictures along a hiking trail. It seemed like there was something totally new to see with every turn we made.
And more beautiful scenery including an old ancient native american granary that we hiked to, and Wilson's Arch which is right along the highway South of Moab. The top right picture is from the Edge of the Cedars State Park which daddy, Sam, and I went to while mommy worked in Blanding on Monday. Daddy showed me and Sam about Juniper berries and how they make great "rocks" for throwing. We threw until there were hardly any Juniper berries left.On Monday mommy worked in both Moab and Blanding. We spent the morning playing at the hotel and then, as I said above, went to Edge of the Cedars in Blanding in the afternoon while mommy was busy. Here we are in one of the kivas. It was a really nice trip! I cried for a good 20 minutes after we left Tuesday morning - "I want to go hiking!".
Sam Alert: Hey everybody - - so we learned something new about me on this trip . . . it's official . . . I get carsick. That really does make for a miserable road trip but hopefully it is something I'll grow out of . . . really soon! Here is a cute picture of me helping mom make some cookies before we left on our trip.And here I am demonstrating my efficient use of chopsticks . . . we had teriyaki rice bowls one night for dinner on the trip. I didn't want to use a fork (like daddy) - I wanted to use chopsticks (like mommy). No instructions necessary - it comes natural to me! And finally, here I am playing on the hotel's pirate ship. This was a super cool thing that we think daddy should build in our backyard. It had multiple levels and ladders and swings and a slide and everything. Have a great week everyone!

Random Pictures

For your viewing pleasure . . . . some random pics from the week.

One night we wanted to play in our dress-up clothes. I played pirate and Sam played dalmatian. The best part was that we decided to go visit all the neighbors. As everybody answered their doors we said "Trick or Treat". We were a big hit and we actually scored some treats too. We had lots of fun. Who says you have to wait until Halloween to play dress-up?

One night we played with Play Doh - always a huge hit with us. And a relatively easy clean up too (for mom's benefit).Then on Saturday morning it was warm enough to have "Haircut Day". I went first and got a fabulous haircut.Then it was Sam's turn. He did great! Mommy says it's a good thing she had boys so that she could practice her (previously nonexistant) haircutting skills on us and we probably don't care all that much (at least for a few more years).

Then after haircuts it was PLAY time! And play we did. Sand and dirt everywhere - but boy did we have fun!Sam loved his new truck. He filled it up with sand and had a great time doing it!
"What mud mommy?"
And here is a group photo of the three boys with their new haircuts. Yes - daddy was brave enough to trust mommy to cut his hair. Brave!!!Sam Alert: Hey everyone . . . One good thing about being on the small side - I still fit in my new truck and get to ride around. I know you're all jealous! Hope you have a great week!