Antelope Island

About 3 weeks ago, we took a day trip up to Antelope Island. I'd been there years ago, but it was everyone else's first time. Michelle keeps asking why I haven't blogged about it, so here I am. :)

We tend to do a lot of fun things, but not a lot of outdoorsy things. I want to do a better job of having my kids spend time in nature and let them see what an amazing and beautiful and diverse world we live in. We're already planning a trip to Canada (to see my sister and family, but also to see some sights along the way) next year and probably a trip to Yellowstone. And I'd like to take more day or weekend trips to different places here in Utah. Anyway, the girls were fascinated with the wildlife on Antelope Island.

Michelle and Ella are best of friends. I really think that one of the most rewarding parts of being a mom is watching their relationship blossom. They adore Gabrielle, but she's still too little to really be a playmate. I look forward to watching their relationship with her bloom as she grows.

This was the first buffalo we spotted. We were glad to see one, but hoping we would see more. They are so huge! Michelle had lots of questions. I'd read up a little on Antelope Island and on bison so I could answer some of her questions. Did you know that William Glassman and John Dooly rounded up bison in 1893 and brought them to Antelope Island to protect them? Now there are about 550 bison on Antelope Island, one of the largest publicly owned bison herds in this country. They are also one of the oldest herds. They are rounded up in October each year to be counted, examined, vaccinated, etc. We may go back up there to see this event?!




As we were about to leave, we saw a car parked on the side of the road and people taking pictures. At first, we couldn't tell what they were taking pictures of. But we stopped and got out and saw that there was an antelope sitting in the grass. After we watched him for a bit, he stood up and walked a few steps. As I was taking photos, I must have startled a jackrabbit, because he shot out of the brush and hopped rapidly away. As much as I startled him, he startled me more! I nearly jumped clear out of my skin. Alfredo laughed and laughed that a rabbit had scared me.


There are tons of birds. I wished I had a binocular to observe some of them better. Maybe I could have identified a few? In college, I had to take a zoology class as part of my major and we had to identify like 100 birds. At the time, I hated it. But I've since been grateful for it. I am no bird expert, and I probably never will be, but I'm glad to be able to recognize and name many of the most common birds in Utah. We saw these beautiful hawks circling overhead.

After some more driving, we saw large quantities of bison, including babies. The girls thought this was so cool.


There were several statues of buffalo. This one totally freaked Gabrielle out. She was terrified. She started to shake and cry when Alfredo brought her near it. But the other girls loved it.

More family photos

These are just a few of my favorite photos taken by the very talented Keli B. Check out her website
KeliBPhotography to see more of her amazing photos.
We had such an amazing time with my family, and I'm so glad they could come to visit.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

Uh, oh! I have another monkey on my hands. Michelle has been a climber since she learned to walk...Ella was a little bit, but nothing compared to Michelle. But Gabrielle is determined to be another climber.

Tonight, at bath time, I turned the water on in the tub and left Gabrielle on the floor of the bathroom with Michelle while I ran to Gabby's room for maybe 30 seconds. Suddenly, Michelle yelled and I came running. Gabrielle had climbed into the tub, fully clothed.



As I ran into the bathroom, this is what I saw... Gabrielle in the tub, still clothed, and drinking the water. I called her name and she looked up at me, eyes filled with joy. She loves to take baths, but apparently, taking a bath with her clothes still on is the best thing ever! Especially when she got herself into the tub.



Boy am I in trouble with two climbers! I'd already been worried, because I've seen her trying to climb onto the living room table and other not-so-safe locations. Now I can't leave her unattended for a moment. (I should mention that tonight she got herself caught in the grocery cart when she was trying to climb out of it and somehow wedged her foot into a tiny space between two bars. Boy was she unhappy! I am sure it hurt, but I think she was also really mad that she couldn't climb out of the cart.)

Scripture ABC's--Proud Mommy Moment Monday

I'm excited to participate in Proud Mommy Moment today. I've mentioned before that I'm not as consistent at doing FHE each week. (FHE is family home evening. It is encouraged by our church to spend time as a family on Monday evenings and teach our children about the Savior.) I have the desire, just not the follow through. Anyway, I found something that I think is going to work great...for me and for my kids.

I created this board that has the alphabet. Each week we will study an Old Testament story or Old Testament prophet. We'll read the story, either from the Bible or the children's scripture story (great resource is www.scripturestories.lds.org). We will do some kind of activity...play a game or something. Last night (we're going to try doing it on Sundays for awhile and see if that works better) we read about Adam and Eve. We played a little game. Then the girls each got a small piece of paper to draw a picture of something that will help them remember what they learned about Adam and Eve.

Ella drew Eve eating the fruit. She decided the fruit was pears (her current fave). Michelle drew the serpent (Satan) telling Eve to eat the fruit.




SO here's the great part: This morning a friend came by and Michelle happily pulled out the board and showed her their drawings. Then she and Ella told the whole story to my friend, explaining what they drew and all that they knew. (I didn't prompt them to pull out the board...they wanted to.)

The board is nice because I can hang it on the wall and their pictures can serve as a visual reminder of what they've learned. Or it can be folded and put in a small space. And it is sturdy. I found another idea I liked at
this website, and I might do it for the New Testament. But the idea for the board was all mine and I think it will keep me and the girls motivated and help them remember what they've learned.

If you want to join Proud Mommy Moment, swing over to
Shannon's and join now! It's a lot of fun, and it's a great chance to reflect on what we are doing right as moms!

family photos

So, while my family was here we took family photos. My sister Rebecca (Becky to most people) found a great photographer named Keli B. Anyway, I don't have the photos yet, but Keli just put them on her site. If you're anxious to see them (like I was), click on over andcheck them out. I'll put some on my blog when I get the CD in about a week. Thanks again for organizing this Rebecca!! While you're at it, check out my sister's photography blog... I'd try to send you all to her for portraits, but she lives in Canada.

Suggestions wanted!

So I would love to hear what you all do with kid's schoolwork and awards and such. I mean, I recycle much of it, but there is some artwork and certificates and special work that I would like to save. I don't have the time or energy to make a big scrapbook of it, and some of it is bulky and can't just be stuck in a plastic divider sheet. What have you done to save these items?

On an unrelated note:
Only one more day off before I head back to work! Boo hoo! My summer is over. I'm so not ready to go back this year. But once I'm back, I know I'll be fine. I do love teaching! Just miss being home with my kids.

Our Living Planet

Isn't it an amazing time to be alive? There is so much to enjoy and to be grateful for. We had a fun, fun day yesterday.

It began with elephant pancakes. Grandma gave us a mold to make elephant shaped pancakes and it is so much fun!



Then we headed to the living planet aquarium. The girls were all in awe of all the amazing fish, sharks and other underwater creatures. And I have to say that the new aquarium is much more impressive now than it was when it was at Gateway. Still not the biggest aquarium I've been to, but nice all the same. There are so many fascinating creatures to see in this world! Seeing the animals and watching one of the videos made me want to go scuba diving. That is something I want to do at least once in my lifetime!

There were fun areas to play in and animals to touch. They had a storytime that we went to which was fun. I really liked the book How Animals Move and the reader made it interactive and had the kids try moving the same way the animals do.

By far, my favorites were the jellyfish. Michelle was also captivated by them. We stood there staring for quite awhile and I read about them on the signs (which I even took pictures of!) Michelle also really liked the octopus. It was HUGE!!




Gabrielle spent much of her time trying to run away from us! She is really a walker now! She is getting fast. Now I have 3 kids to chase after! :)


My girls absolutely would not reach in and touch the rays. Especially because right as we came over, one of the rays slid up on the side and splashed water right by us and looked like it was trying to get out. It shook them up a little. But when we went into the South America area and they had a snake out for people to touch, they both walked right up and touched it without hesitation.



I love this photo with the amazing reflection in the water!

We learned a lot, gained an appreciation for the beauty of the water and these aquatic animals and had a fun time together. It was one of our last outings before I return to work next week, and I'm glad we did it. (Oh, and did I mention that I had a ticket that got me in for free?! That made it even better! Just had to pay for 2 kids.)