Zoo with the Zufelts a summer tradition

Every summer the Zufelts have invited the kids and I to the zoo.  I thought my kids were getting too old, but I was wrong.  The zoo has added some fun things were the kids can play.

The petting zoo has been there for a while.

I love the butterfly house.  Here Holly with her elephant ears ( no I am not making fun of her, but that is what she calls her pony tails) and Zoe trying to catch a butterfly.

Josh and Ainslee at the brand new water splash pad at the zoo.  It was pretty amazing and the kids could have played there all day.

Water comes out of that giraffe's mouth.

Teed Trip

The kids and I drove to visit our good friends the Teeds. It was well worth the drive.  We stopped at Katies in-laws the first night and went to Nauvoo for pioneer day (didn't even plan it that way).  Here we are in the upper room of the Smith's general store.  It was an overwhelming feeling to think this is the room where the Relief Society was organized, Sister's who had a desire to serve and give everything.  I wanted to have a quite moment to myself and I could have blubbered, but with five kids running around it wasn't gonna happen.  I will say that it was alot larger than I had expected.

As with everything we did this summer it was hot and humid it felt as if it was 100* out.  Holly loved this place she loves playing home.

Aren't  they cute.

Yeah, I am glad I wasn't born in the pioneer times, I have no idea how they were not fainting all the time without ac and with so many layers on.  In the winter it might have been nice, but in the summer torcher.

Here they're learning to make twine.  This was a really fun spot in Nauvoo.  They had several demostrations that the kids really got into.  Josh liked the candle making and twine making.  Learning about how they baked bread in their bundle ovens was fasinating and did you know they made cloth out of reed.  They soaked them until they were soft and then brushed them and through a process made cloth.  Everything they did then was so time consuming, we have so many conviances.  We want cloth we go to a fabric store. Or better yet a sweater we hit some buttons on a computer and 2 days later Amazon sends it to our house.  It took them 2 years to make a wool coat from start (shearing the lamb) to finish. I should never think that I do not have enough time, I should think I need to better prioritize my time.

This was one of the best parts of the day.  Josh just wanted to be with the Christus.  He said mom I don't want to leave him.  I was able to take my kids a side and bear my testimony to them and let them know that I know that Jesus is my Savior and that he loved both of the kids, that he died for them that they may live again with their Heavenly Father.  It was a precious moment.

The temple was beautiful.

Later that week we went to the lake with the kids.  It was perfect.  The depth was not too deep and they had a great time.  It wasn't too this day and Katie and I just sat in the shallow water talking and watching our children play.

 The kids so desperatly wanted to make a sand castle.  It had rained the night before and the sand was really wet and didn't want to hold shape.  Luckily someone had made this big hole.  Holly filled the middle with sand and wah-la a sand castle.

Don't have a picture of this, but on one of the days I was there we thought where is Faye ( the littlest one)  Katie found her outside on the hammock with all the other kids (Josh 8, Holly and Mabel 5, Charlie 3 and Faye almost 2).  Josh was reading them the Bible and the kids were just sitting there listening.  Wish I could have gotten a picture.

 

I really miss Katie.  She is a friend I could just turn up at her house for no reason at all and just hang out.  Our kids get along really well and we can play Skip-bo for hours, actually we can play any game for hours as our kids play in the background.  She is funny, sweet, down to earth, and spiritual, some day I hope to be like her.  I really hope the sisters in her ward know how lucky they are to have her.

Berry Pickin'

We went berry pickin' with our friends the Pehrson's and

Susan.  My kids love Susan.  Every Monday we go to her house so I can quilt and they watched Netflix and had a cookie or two that Susan always had ready for them.  I think going to her house was one of the things the kids would miss when school started again.

We picked blueberries and Susan picked blackberries. Yum, but man it was hot!

FREE, FREE, FREE

The children's museum was free. So Katie and I packed up the kids and went we had a fun time. We dressed up and played and even played outside and ate our packed lunch.

Ballerina Girl

Our friends little girl, Mabel, is taking ballet classes. Every now and then they can bring a friend and they invited Holly. I don't know who was more excited me or Holly. We dressed her up in a pink leotard (thanks to cousin hand-me-downs, when do you guys get back?) and pulled her hair back into a ponytail and we were set to go.

The place had a one way mirror all the parents could watch through. It was so cute watching them do little ballet steps and twirl and spin. It brought back memories of my childhood. I did ballet and tap for a time. Though I hated my ballet teacher (I have terrible posture and my turn out is not that good). Wait, back to Holly. She was really getting into it and seemed to try to stay by the teacher, until the last 7 minutes when they were going over the dance the class is learning. She got all mad and just stood there with her face in her hands.
When I asked her later what was wrong she said that they didn't do enough ballet twirls and she didn't know what they were doing. I am not sure what changed from following the teacher from the rest of the class until then. But it was still extremely cute to watch. Thanks Mabel for the invite.

Mabel and Holly

Sushi, I totally missed the boat.

I have some friends that just LOVE sushi. Well I don't particularly like fish let alone raw fish. I do love shrimp, but only cooked. These friends were raving about this place that has 1/2 off sushi on Monday's. I have never tried sushi, but is on my list of things to do someday. My friend, Katie (who also has never had sushi) decided to go and try out this 1/2 off sushi. So in we go with the four kids between us (thank goodness they had french fries and chicken fingers) to try the sushi.

I will say that it was really pretty, but that seaweed wrap they put in it still taste fishy and I went the cheater way and got the veggie roll. Yet, I am still counting it. Check that one off my list.

We survived!

A Fun First Week of SUMMER!

We had a GREAT first week of summer. We started school time, which both kids like, but I think that Holly is a little more excited about. I keep trying to make it different and fun. I also started chore time and I am really loving that. Josh emptied trashes, wiped down toilets and sinks (in between bathroom cleaning), and sorted clothes for me this week. Holly put the kids laundry away, helped making their bed (on sheet changing day) and straighten up. I could really get used to this. We also have been doing the Mommy and me time. They both love this. Holly is willing to share her time with Josh, if we are playing a game. We played Hullabaloo and Hide and go Seek. Josh usually gets his Mommy time while Holly is sleeping. We've made cookies, colored, played games and he seems to really like it, even if we are just quietly coloring. We've had some fun outings this week as well.
Monday: We went to the Roses' for dinner and Family Home Evening. The kids (and I) Loved it. They have a daughter Josh's age and a son Holly's age plus younger siblings and a huge backyard with a trampoline, does it get any better. My children did not want to leave, I had to drag Holly out, that was a bit embarrassing.
Tuesday: We went to the Splash Pad after I went walking with my friend Brenda. This was a fun surprise for my kids, it was hot and I brought along their suits.

Wednesday: There was play group in our old ward, so we crashed it. The kids had so much fun trying to play freeze tag (thank goodness for patient older children). More in another blog.

Thursday: We went to Dollywood! My friend had some passes that she got with her season pass and was nice enough to share with our family. This was a special treat. Also more in another blog.

So now we have a 3-day weekend. I think we might lay low and see what next week brings us.

DUMBO, and I'm not talking about the movie!

I don't have a picture of this yet, but Josh has a new friend. Unfortunately, he is the only one that can see him, Dumbo. Yes, it is an elephant. He has told me he is a baby elephant. Sometimes he cares for him (puts him to bed, plays with him, consoles him, one day he was feeding him tuna fish that was also invisible) and other times he doesn't even mention him.

I worry that this Dumbo may cause some problems. For instance, we were at a playgroup at the park and Josh kept running around saying "Come on Dumbo"! Many mothers were looking at Josh. I kept wondering if they were thinking, "What is that runt calling my child?" Or we were at church the other day and I guess Dumbo was with us. I told Josh he couldn't talk to him while he was at primary, with the other kids. I talked to his teacher later. It turned out that one of the kids thought that Josh was calling him a bad name and kept telling the teacher on Josh.

I am trying to tell Josh that Dumbo is not real, Josh says he knows and that he is using his imagination. I told him that the rest of us can't see Dumbo, but as long as he knows that, I am fine with his friend. Dumbo is no longer allowed to come to church with us. I never had an imaginary friend. I'm not quite sure what to do with this. But I am glad that he is using his imagination!