A couple months ago, we bought the 365 day connect pass. This pass allows you to get into a bunch of different attractions Salt Lake (and the surrounding areas) has to offer. We already went to the zoo, this is the place heritage park, and discovery museum, and enjoyed all of them. Yesterday, we went to The Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. We were suppose to go around this time last year, but Hannah was puking and Lilly was pooping out of her diaper. Finally, we got around to going.
We had a really good time and their was so much more there then I thought. The girls favorite part was this tunnel that was pitch black except for the twinkling of "stars." We went through that tunnel several times. The girls also enjoyed looking at all the giant dinosaurs. At the end of the museum, the kids were able to dig and find dinosaur bones in the sand. I didn't think they were ever going to want to leave!
Everyone knows that saying about when life gives you lemons make lemonade. Well yesterday the kids and I made some seriously amazingly wonderful lemonade!
I decided we needed a change of environment, so loaded up the kids and headed over to our local park for a picnic. It was going great until I saw a swarm of kids walked over from the local elementary school. Within minutes the tables around us were full of school aged children, and more were coming, lots more.
The playground equipment was practically invisible due to the sheer number of kids playing on it. They filled up every inch of that playground equipment, and I could see my little two year old getting slightly overwhelmed by it all. We weren't there thirty minutes before we loaded the car back up and left.
I was heading home when I decided to pull the car over and google parks in Utah County. The first park that popped up on my screen was in Pleasant Grove and from the picture looked awesome! Twelve minutes later we were pulling up to the new, for us anyway, park. The kids eyes were wide open with wonder and excitement. I had never seen a playground like it, and was kinda (ok a lot) jealous that I was an old lady, and wouldn't be able to run around and play and explore.
The girls had an absolute blast!
Hannah made loads of new friends (but to be fair she makes new friends everywhere she goes.) Lilly Belle laughed and laughed for the twenty minutes she was on the swing. After playing for a good hour we were pooped.
We set up our camping chairs (that were still in my car from the lantern festival) under a couple trees, and finished our picnic.
On the ride home all three kids passed out. It was a quiet car perfect for driving around all the new homes going up.
It is interesting to think that had those kids not overtook the park we were at first, we NEVER would have found this park. We are excited to go back soon, and next month we are going to take the girls cousins from California there!
the beginning of our picnic
the swarm of kids that overtook the entire park - if you look closely you can see more coming!
The new park we found - this was just a small portion of it!
and look how flippin amazing those mountains look in the background! Utah is seriously such a beautiful place to live
hanging out with Lilly Belle - didn't get any pictures of Hannah cause she was running around with her new friends
Once in a while, I (and I am sure all of you) need a little pick me up. I'm not talking about a soda, chocolate, or a trip to the mall, but more like inspiration to keep going. Today I watched a video by Lavendaire on the Law of Attraction, and how our thoughts ripple down into actions.
My word goal for the year is ELIMINATE, and one thing I want to eliminate is negativity, especially negative thoughts.
For example; I suck at being a Mother.
I'm never going to make money with my blog.
I am not a lucky person.
I'm fat because I still have all this baby weight. . . . .
People will say these statements aren't true and so on, but they seem very true/real to me.
So how do I change these negative thoughts. The answer, I think, is quite simple. It is by changing a negative into a positive. Now it sounds like this -
I am a great Mother!
My blog is doing wonderfully!
I am blessed!
I have beautiful long legs and a great booty!
Once my thoughts change so will my actions.
some personal goals that focus on positivity
*take time everyday to play with my kids. I am so blessed to have three beautiful, healthy, and energetic children. I love seeing them happy and outside playing.
*write a blog post four times a week. I love having an outlet to put my life and thoughts out there. A space for some me time.
*count (write) my many blessings.
*get active! Take the kids on walks with me.
I know that with positive thoughts, hard work, and prayer, I can achieve my goals - desires - dreams.They can become my reality!
The kids and I, along with Courtney, David, and Oliver, took a trip to the discover gateway children's museum in Salt Lake City. Hannah, Lilly Belle and I went months and months ago while I still pregnant with Beck. The girls have been wanting to go back for a while, and we had a free visit with the passes we got. We thought it would be fun to bring David and Oliver along for the ride as well, and I think they really enjoyed it too.
When we first arrived, it was packed. Several elementary schools were having their field trips there, and let me tell ya, those kids were CRAZY!!! Luckily, by the time we finished lunch they were gone! The museum was quiet and the kids were able to enjoy playing without having kids on top of kids around.
I put the careers in an envelope (with the money already cut) and laid them out on the table for the girls to pick. They had no idea what the different careers were and it was fun to see their reactions. I didn't need all the careers so took away the McDonald's cashier one.
I then explained that we would be going down the categories and budgeting out the things we want. It was fun to see what they wanted and then realizing what their budget allowed. My girls did not appreciate the taxes budget. It was cute to see how upset they were about putting twenty percent into their envelopes.
We started with their money on the table and as they made their choices that money went into their envelopes. This made it easier to see how much money they had for the upcoming categories.
It was fun to see how creative they were. One of my girls had a career that did not allow for her "children" to attend dance classes. She decided that for the last category she was going to invest the rest of her money into buying fidget spinners and then resell them for a profit. This way she would be able to afford to put her kids in dance. Another girl - the doctor - secretly left money for another girl who was struggling afford taking her family to the movies. It was really sweet and the girl struggling with her budget was genuinely and very appreciative.
This activity took the full hour because we discussed each category together. Once we finished the girls each took a turn talking about what they learnt and what they could have done differently. I also felt very strongly that I needed to explain that a job is a job. There is nothing wrong with working at Walmart if that's all you can do etc
At the end of our lives the things that matter most do not include how much money we made. We all want to be happy, healthy and strong members of the church.
I allowed the girls to pick if they were married or not (they all wanted to be married.) I also let them decide how many children they wanted. This played a big part in the food category because the budget requires $100 per person per month. So the girl who decided to have five children then had to put $700 into her food budget. Luckily, she got a good job :)
but made my own categories pages based on her idea - click her for them The Order
tithing
taxes
housing/utilities
food
transportation
clothing
savings/debt
what else?
to use the budgeting sheet simply click the image to enlare it. right click. save as - then you are free to print it again and again
all images on the pages were downloaded from google
Yesterday, we went to the lantern festival in Salt Lake City - technically it was at the Utah Motorcross Campus in Grantsville - We weren't too sure what to expect or what to bring, so we set out with a backpack full of snacks and drinks, a blanket and a camping chair for each of us. We picked up these super cute ones at Walmart (on sale) for about $5!
I knew there would be a lot of people there; however, I had no idea it would be absolutely PACKED! I don't think I have ever seen that amount of people in one place before, and they kept coming and coming and coming. You literally bounced from one line to the next. We decided to join one of the food truck lines. Hannah and I waited about fifteen minutes in the waffle love line before quitting. We hadn't moved an inch and was still a good 90 minutes from the food truck! It was worse then waiting in line at Disney (ok maybe a slight exaggeration there.) So instead, we joined up with Aaron who was waiting, with Lilly Belle, in the Fatty Tuna line.
Quick side note - Beck was at home with my brother - I am so glad we didn't bring him
The girls got fed up being in line pretty quick. Even after getting there chairs at and throwing packets of fruit snacks at them, it was clear that they were heading for a meltdown.
I saw a patch of grass not too far from the food trucks and decided to set up camp there until Aaron got the food. Then the plan was to head over to the fire pits so we would be ready when it was time to light the lanterns. The girls were able to run around on the grass, and even made some friends with other kids whose families had the same thought as us.
Unfortunately, Aaron was in line for a LONG time! So long in fact that it had got dark and we could see the lanterns start to be released.
I will admit that by this point I was fed up, cold, hungry, and ready to go back home! This was not the fun family event I thought it was gonna be. Then I looked at my girls, and they had the biggest smiles on their faces. They were so excited to see the lanterns in the air! Hannah was screaming and pointing out everyone of them while Lilly was just looking up in amazement.
Then, I saw Aaron running over, he opened up the box, got out the lighter, and lit the first of two lanterns. The girls were right there by his side!
I love listening to Lilly yelling at Aaron, "Daddy let go! Daddy let go." Eventually, once the lantern had filled up with the warmth of the flame, he released the lanterns and off they went.
It was so beautiful to see the sky full of thousands upon thousands of lanterns.
We never made it over to the fire pits, but we loved the spot where we were and the view it allowed us to have - and bonus we didn't stink like smoke after. - After letting the lanterns off, Aaron went back to the food truck, picked up our food, and we sat in our camping chairs and watched the lanterns fly away. We also watched thousands of people head back to their cars. Knowing we would be stuck in a parking lot traffic jam, we took our time and enjoyed the moment.
It took us two hours to finally leave the parking lot, and that was only because Aaron noticed a way no one was going. We drove right out!
We got home about one thirty in the morning and crashed! That was until Beck woke me up bright and early to eat :)
My Lilly Belle is two! Now this is where I would say where has the time gone - I can't believe my baby is two - It seems like yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital and so on and so on; however, it feels like Lilly has been two forever! It was more shocking that we were only just now celebrating her second birthday. I don't know maybe it is because Beck is our baby that Lilly Belle seems so grown up.
She is still my angel sent from heaven, and has the sweetest little personality.
She is lovable and friendly, but isn't afraid to defend herself when she thinks other kids are going to take her toys. She is one hundred percent a Daddy's Girl and often says, "Love Daddy more." She is my only kid who would rather snuggle up with Daddy then me, but I don't mind. . . . . . too much.
She knows all her colors and can count to five (and people say youtube kids is trash hehe.) She speaks really well and is easy to understand - most of the time. She gets frustrated when you don't understand what she is trying to say. Everyday, she will come to me with two toys and ask me to play with her, and we will play. Trust me when I say it is really hard to say no to that face.
If she could, she would eat fruit snacks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (we don't let her have too
many cause they aren't the best for kids.) Besides fruit snacks she loves yogurt, cheese, cucumbers, strawberries, and spaghetti. She isn't a big chocolate eater which makes me wonder if she is even my kid. She loves everything to do with pigs including, Peppa Pig, Rosita and Gunter from sing, and Pua from Moana.
She just finished tumbling tots and will be starting it again in a couple months. Next month she is taking swim classes with her Daddy. I know she is going to love it!
I am very much in love with my blonde hair blue eyed little girl. She can brighten up any day with that cute little smile of hers.
Even though I am not excited for the terrible twos, I am excited to watch her learn and grow over the year. . . . and praying this is the year she finally gets some hair!
