.the zoo.

Our first official field trip of the summer this year was the zoo! Denice invited us to spend the day with her and Eisley to celebrate Eisley's 2nd birthday the next day! Lisa and her kids joined us and it was a very fun outing. Denice was able to get us into the park for free with her fancy annual zoo pass! Thank you! Brynn insisted on wearing her Cinderella dress, even though I wanted her to wear her cute zebra print dress. We compromised and she was able to wear hers on top. We got lots of smiles and even had someone bow to her. Funny. The kids all had fun with each other and we saw most everything in the park including the bird show. Zuri, the zoo's baby elephant was there again and she was so much bigger than last summer! Denice even got us all on the train for free. The wait was long for the kids, but it was fun to go on. I don't think its changed any since I was a kid.

.keepin busy.

I kept us pretty busy the week Gage was out for Kindergarten. He was pretty disappointed to learn he needed to go with me to run my errands that week. He doesn't fit in the car grocery cart too well anymore!

We got lunch at Call's and took it to the park one afternoon.

I got some liquid watercolors I ordered in the mail. The kids did shaving cream playtime we added color and mixed it around!

When Josh first started looking for a new job, he told everyone! He wanted everyone to know and keep him in mind if anything ever was to come up. He had home teaching visits for Elder's Quorum on Tuesday like usual. He stopped at a neighbors house who happened to work for a steel company in town called Nucor. He told Josh he was trying to get ahold of him and that a job at his company had just opened up. When he got home he grabbed his resume and ran it back over to him. He got a phone interview and was asked to come in for an in person interview. After that interview, he got another interview for the next week. It was pretty stressful during this time. It was a long process, and you just don't know the outcome. We fasted and prayed and felt like if he was offered it, he would take it. After the 2nd in person interview they told him they would let him know later that day. It sounded like they had 4 people they narrowed it down to. Around noon they called and told him he was a close second. Bummer, he told them. He said his heart hit the floor and he was so disappointed! Turns out he was teasing Josh and that he really did get the job if he wanted it! Stinkers, sounds like Josh will fit in there perfectly doesn't it? It was all contingent upon his drug tests. Then the hard part came, telling Utah Controls who had just hired him back. The good thing was he'd only been working there for three weeks, but I didn't envy him having to tell them. It all worked out, they were very nice and said that they were glad it happened now and not after he was given lots more responsibility. His boss even told him, "Josh, I've never said this to anyone before...but if it doesn't work out, let us know." Just goes to show what a good worker he is! I'm so proud! They wanted two weeks so he will start on June 20th.

I'm thrilled! No more out of town work, a set schedule, and 9 minutes from our house!!! I timed it! I took this picture of his new workplace after I drove the kids over to check it out.

My last day of tending Maren and Will for the summer, I needed a plan. I knew it would be a long day at home if we didn't have anything to do. I decided to take them to the Bird Refuge. After we stopped at Nucor we drove out. Soon as I pulled off the freeway I kept seeing plumes of smoke? Weird, I thought. Where is that coming from. Well...turns out the 'smoke' I was seeing was swarms of bugs! Yuck, it was so gross. So, we quickly made new plans to visit the Air Space Museum instead. It was crazy busy with field trips. It was a good alternative and the kids had a ball.

I finished a fixed roman curtain project for the front window. It was pretty tedious, but I like the result.

And finally Brynn, this is what she chose to wear to wal-mart that day! Complete with princess heels. Silly girl.

.on the way home.

On the way home from Golden Spike we stopped at the Rocket Display at ATK. Brynn had already fallen asleep but we took a quick stroll in the snow to see the rockets.

Grandma Sherrie works at ATK and we called to see if she was available to come out and meet us. We only had her cell phone number and didn't get ahold of her. She called us later when she got her message and was so sad we missed her.

Gage took these pictures of Josh and I. We were laughing because it didn't seem like he had us in the frame whatsoever! When I looked at the pictures I was so proud! Look at his creative tilt and everything! I loved them!

Such a fun day! Maybe its the geek in me, but I love history and historical sites!
But also it was so nice to get out and do something as a family!

.president's day family field trip.

As I mentioned before, Josh was still out of town all day Saturday while I took my quilt class. He got home late that evening. So, Monday he had a little bit of work to do in the morning, but was able to take the afternoon off. I was thinking I'd have the kids to myself so I tentatively planned on taking them out to Golden Spike state park. Once Dad finished up with work, we stuck to our plans and drove to the site just west of us.

First we stopped in Corrine at the Golden Spike Diner for lunch. To keep with the theme of course! Didn't know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised with their yummy food.

We then drove out to the park. Josh said he's been once before for a school field trip, but the kids and I have never been.

Here we are standing on the exact site! They had it nicely shoveled off with all the snow.

The same spot almost 142 years ago!

They had plaques and signs out along the way.

Heading back to the visitors center.

They had a few auditoriums with various movies playing. We sat and watched a Charlie Brown version while we waited for the tour of the Engine House where the locomotives are stored in the winter.

We drove over to the Engine house and their was a Ranger who gave us a nice tour.

They bring the engines out for display during the summer,
we are definitely going to go back to see that!

.last fieldtrip of the summer!

Our very last field trip of the summer we planned to meet Amy and Katy at the Sweets Factory for a tour of their candy factory. We weren't able to take any photos on the tour. We got to wear some fancy hair nets and toured the whole facility. It was fabulous. The smell was delicious and it was surprisingly loud. Lots and lots of machinery.

First we walked through their warehouse. They were gearing up for Christmas and Halloween already. We got to see them make taffy, burnt peanuts, raspberry sticks and cinnamon bears. Their were samples on the tour and we got to try the candy right off the assembly line. We loaded up on taffy and chocolate covered cinnamon bears after the tour in their store.

We scheduled the tour nice and early so we could pack the day with lots of fun stuff.