Summer Adventure #7

THE HOGLE ZOO

 We each had a "buddy" that we had to stay with...Mr.A got to be mine.

 Dad and Miss. K got to be together.

The older two got to hang with each other.

 The Elephants were a top pick for fun animals.

 And of course the Apes were a crowd pleaser.

 You can't visit the zoo without going on the train.

A break down of the adventure: We got discount tickets from Les Schwab tires, buy 1 adult ticket get a child ticket for free. So the whole family got in for $27, sweet! We took our lunch in a cooler (so glad they let you bring in outside food...a hamburger is $6 there) We got there at 10:00 am, there were only 3 parking spots left.  The zoo opens at 9:00 I would advise going earlier than 10:00 if you don't want to walk 1/2 a mile.  We walked, and walked, and walked, til lunch. Ate. Then walked some more, and some more.  Did I mention we walked a lot :) It was kind of hot but we took spray bottles to keep us cooled off.  We got to see the Bird show, a must see! One of the owls got so close to us that it actually hit hubbies hat.  We did the train very last, because the kids were tired of walking. It was a great day, and we were home by 4:00 pm. Another week of summer is gone and we will be onto Adventure #8 next week :)

Summer Adventure #6

A little more music anyone????

This is Jonathan Jones at his Cd release Community Group.

His band members. (Andy, Benny, and Mike)

His show was at Kilby Court (down town SLC). It was a tiny little place, kind of scary looking from the outside but not too shabby once you get in. Jonathan Jones was actually part of 2 other bands at one time "Waking Ashland" and "We Shot the Moon" both were very fun to listen to. Now he is starting kind of a "Solo" career.  He is from California, but has built a pretty good fan base up in Idaho and Utah. Probably because his music is clean, has some great harmonies, fun to sing to, very energetic, and quite inspiring.  He writes his own music and lyrics, which he has been doing that since he was 16, very talented! His newest band members are very talented also! It would have been fun to see each of them do a "solo" on their individual instruments (just to hear how they have mastered it) maybe next time when they come to town. Speaking of next time...SLC had a pretty small turn out :( So in the fall when they return all of you ---my friends (all 12 of you! haha) need to come with us to support them.  You can check out all of their music on  http://www.jonathanjonesmusic.com/

 Here is my favorite song of theirs...its brilliant!!!

(song is in the post just below:)

Jonathan Jones - My Faith

Summer Adventure #5

 We decided to do a Bus, Trax, and Front Runner train all in one day ($13 group pass for 4 people for all 3 forms of transportation, not too bad)

 While at the Front Runner station we saw a few crazy people...so of course we had to take a picture :) Yes he does have on a turban, gold chains, yellow feathers, and he is carrying some sort of musical instrument!

 Getting ready for the train.

 Of course we had to ride on the upper deck...way fun.

 One of the "stops" had a huge shovel in the parking lot...kind of cool.

We rode the train to Ogden and then rode the trolley over to the Tree House Children's Museum.

The place was amazing, the kids had so much fun.  We could have spent the whole day there.

Here is Miss. P milking a cow!

 The kids pretending to be cowboys and cowgirls.

They had an area that looks like the Presidents office, with fun dress up clothes.

 To end the day we all need a little life size game of Chess :)

It was a long but fun day. The kids had a great time, and there was minimal fighting between the kids :)  I think they learned a little lesson (not intended) that they sure appreciate having a vehicle to go places.  It was fun to ride all of the public transportation, but a trip that normally would take less then 2 hours took us about 7 hours.  But it was a fun adventure.

Summer adventure #4

We went to a "free" concert at the Galven Center in downtown Salt Lake City this week. Imagining that I am a music critic...here is my review of the night :)

 The opening act was "Allred" one of our local favorites.  They did an amazing job as always.

The kids always need to go and say hi and take a picture (Miss. S was at a friends house, so she missed out)

 They have some really fun "water ways" that the kids loved to play in.

It is worth the trip down town just to play in the water.

There were 2 more "opening acts" before Parachute played, but they didn't impress me enough to even remember their names.

 And here they are...PARACHUTE....my thoughts: they were just OK. I have only heard 1 of their songs played on the radio, not a big deal. So I went to their Facebook page and listened to some of their stuff and they sounded really good. I was excited to see them in person. But then when they played, the music was too loud, you couldn't really hear their voices. When you could hear them, it didn't sound anything like their CD. They are a band that is better on the radio then in person.  I was glad I didn't pay money to see them. They also seemed kind of "full of themselves" and fake.  Maybe that is what happens when you get signed by a record label...you lose the "real" sound and become "fake". I guess I am spoiled with the local bands we go and see.  They haven't been "made over" to seem more marketable, they are raw. You get what you see and hear. Way more my style.

Even though the music wasn't as good as we had hoped we still had a great night.  Food, games, and good weather. What more could you ask for?

Summer adventure #3

Summer Adventure #3 starts off with a tour through Taffy Town! (Located in down town Salt Lake City, you have to have an appointment, just so you know) My kids loved it...lets be honest, the parents loved it to, who doesn't love taffy :) A million different flavors and not enough time to try them all. My favorite that day was "Cinnamon Roll", super good.
They make you wear hair nets, the kids thought that was pretty cool.

Then over to Gate Way Mall for a little fun in the sun. My kids always love to play in the water here. We also had lunch at Jason's Deli. (kids had free kids meal coupons from school, SwEeT!)

To top off the day we went to the Church History Museum.  My kids love the Children's area that is on the 2nd floor. They got to dress up and learn some Mexican dances. There are so many activities that we could have spent almost 3 hours there. 

It was a fun day, but I was exhausted. I enjoy doing activities around town that don't cost a lot of money. A FULL days worth of adventures for the cost of a little extra Taffy and lunch for Hubby and me...not too bad!

We had a baby....ok I didn't have it my sister did, but after the labor was over I needed medication (haha just a little Advil, but still)

This is the beautiful little boy that joined our family early this morning. My sweet (and maybe a little insane) sister had her 4th little boy...ALL NATURAL. She did an amazing job. My mother and I got to be a part of the delivery team (which really means we rubbed her back for about 8 hours straight, my mom has the blisters to prove it). Her husband did a great job at helping her "stay focused" and pushed up those knees. I think we all deserve a massage!

Here is the happy family.

Mr. K loving on his new brother!

Mr. B practicing to be a Doctor...he looks good!

And Mr. E the true biggest brother :)

And the new arrival weighing in at 8.6lbs and 20 inches long. The biggest of her 4 boys by 1.6lbs, good thing he was 2 weeks early.