Dinosaur National Monument

 Ben had a few days off during his rotation, so we decided to make the most of them by taking a little mini-vacation to Vernal to see the Dinosaur National Monument.  It ended up being the perfect amount of time for everything we wanted to do there.

The first day we headed out in the afternoon to drive the 3 hours there.  We were kind of running out of time to do any of the dinosaur-y stuff, so we went to McConkie Farm to see the Indian petroglyphs.  The hike took us about 1 1/2 hours and the weather was perfect.

There were TONS of antlers on the fence at the entrance of the farm.

A teepee!

I love how Sammi is showing off the petroglyph.

 

The kids loved these walking sticks they had at the beginning of the hike.  I commend whoever thought of that idea.

They loved being little mountaineers

  After the hike, we grabbed some dinner and then headed to the hotel to go swimming.  (We waited 1/2 hour before swimming, of course.)  There were some fun-looking drunkards also at the pool area, so that was entertaining.  We didn't stay too long since the pool was freezing, but dipping our toes in the hot tub was refreshing.

You know how some hotel rooms have great configurations for kids and others are terrible?  This one was arguably the most perfect setup ever.  There was a pull-out couch for the boy with a chaise longue just big enough for a 2-year-old girl to sleep on, and THEN there was a little dividing half-wall between the couch and the king size bed so we could put them to bed and then stay up and read! Perfect, I tell you.

The next morning we headed to the actual Dinosaur National Monument Quarry.  It was pretty awesome.  The ranger was great at fielding all of Emerson's questions like, "Do dinosaurs have brains?" and "Why do they have feet?"  I got a kick out of his questions, but I was proud of him for being brave enough to ask them.

Ben requested that we immortalize the car

 

In front of the wall o' bones

The femur of some large dinosaur

That is a real dinosaur bone.  A REAL ONE.

You just missed touching the bone there, buddy.

The skull of a large dinosaur...Allosaurus perhaps?

I told them to look at the camera, so they did this.

   After the quarry, we headed to the cute little dinosaur museum in Vernal.  It was a really nice museum with stuff perfect for the kids.

 On the way home we stopped in Myton, where my Grandpa Draper is from.  He is the grandpa that Emerson is named after.  We also stopped in Roosevelt at the cemetery where Grandpa Draper's brother and parents are buried.  The kids were really fascinated with the idea of a cemetery, and now every time we see one they exclaim, "Well, there's where all the dead people are buried."  It was nice to stop and pay our respects.  Hopefully they appreciated it among the gentle rebukes to the children that we are not supposed to step on the headstones.

 It was a nice little getaway.  I love when Ben and I have a long drive together because we can look forward to good conversation...as long as the kiddos are occupied by a show.

Birds of a Feather

We found a robin nest in one of our trees.  I love how bright the eggs are!

And only a few days later, we found this!

Speaking of birds, we did something totally random and got some baby chicks for the kids to have as pets for a few weeks.  Ben's parents raise chickens, so we checked with them to see if we could just pass them along once they aren't manageable and cute anymore. 

Sammi, who is usually the adventurous one that loves animals, isn't too fond of the chicks.

E has really taken a liking to them and is quite hilarious.  He is usually really timid around animals and new situations in general.  It's been fun to see him with his pets.

Here are the four chicks: Honk, Fluffy, Teddy, and Beefaroni.  (E named 3 of the four)

E thought they might enjoy playing with his giant ball

Here are the kids at IFA trying on some Western Wear right before we bought the chicks.

It has been quite the experience having chickens as pets.  They are actually really low-maintenance since they just sit in a box in the garage until we want to play with them.  We just have to occasionally give them chicken feed and water and change the pine shavings in their box.  It's been fun, but I'm definitely never going to turn into a chicken farmer.

It's A...

 GIRL!

Head and back

Little feet

Little fingers

 We are so excited to meet this sweet little girl in September!  I have to admit, I felt like it was going to be a boy, but we are thrilled to have a new baby sister soon.

Catch-Up

 These pictures were from a very long time ago, but I had to post them.  Aunt Nat came for a visit, which we always love!

This is what I get when I tell Sammi I want to take a picture

And this is what I get when I tell Emerson I want to take a picture

When I told him to smile normally...

To look at the camera...

Finally!

 When the weather was being psycho we had a lot of inside days where we tried really hard to find fun things to do, and this idea came from my mom.  She used to use shaving cream on her students' desks so they could write their spelling words in the foam, and then she would wipe it off and it would clean the desks at the same time! Isn't she smart?

 It was a hit with these little fellas too.

Big Girl Bed

 Sammi has been a tricky sleeper.  She made up her mind when she was almost 2 that she no longer wanted to be in a crib and that she was going to be a stinker about naps.  We have been battling her about naps for the past year and have found that it is always a trade off that if she takes a nap, she will have a difficult time going to bed at a reasonable hour.  Not for lack of trying, though.  She just isn't tired and will repeatedly pop out of bed.  I am happy to report that things have magically gone much better since we bought her a twin bed.  That stinkin' toddler bed didn't do the trick for some reason.  She is sleeping much better and going to bed is much more pleasant for all of us.  I don't know if it's actually the bed or she just happens to be growing out of that particular phase, but either way I am grateful.

 

She pretty much thinks she's da bomb in her princess jammies and big girl bed.

Cavity

Poor Little E had been complaining about his mouth hurting for a few days and I thought he had just accidentally been biting his lip when he chewed.  I looked in his mouth way at the back after he had been complaining, and discovered that part of one of his molars had chipped away!  No wonder it hurt so bad.  We got him in to the dentist right away for a good cleaning, and unfortunately he had a cavity.  He was a champ while having it filled.  He didn't even know that he got a shot because the dentist was THAT good.  I, on the other hand, dissolved in a puddle of guilt that he had a cavity.  We have tried to be really vigilant about taking care of the kids' teeth, but I guess these things happen.  It made me feel better that the dentist said it probably only happened because part of the tooth was broken so it allowed the bacteria to grow in there.

Chitty

 Grandma and Grandpa J gave Emerson yet another special birthday surprise!  One of Emerson's favorite movies is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (I think because it is a vehicle with a personality) and it was playing at Hale Center Theatre.  Grandma treated us to tickets and it was very special because you had to be 5 to attend.  Grandpa was kind enough to tend Sammi since Emerson made it clear she is NOT 5 yet.

He loved every minute of the show and I think I had more fun watching his reactions to things than watching the actual show.

And at the end, we were able to snap a picture of him with his favorite flying car.  He carried the playbill around for the remainder of the day.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

The Big 5

Here are pictures from E's big 5th birthday.  He was SO excited and made Sammi cry several times when she insisted it was her birthday too and he just wouldn't give her an inch.  I finally talked him into letting her "help" because that's what he will want to do when it is her birthday.

He was a pretty lucky boy and got to have lunch at Brick Oven, go bowling, AND go couch shopping (not by his choice...).  I think he was one happy 5-year-old.

Poor little pink eyes

 

Hoping and hoping for Rescue Bots

Boulder!

Blades!

So excited to have the complete Rescue Bots team

Ready to open presents later that night with Grandma and Grandpa J.  He was so excited to get Cranky the Crane, some new trains, and a brand new unbroken Bumblebee Rescue Bot.

He wanted a red velvet cake that was somehow a Transformers cake, so this is the best we could do.  If you can't tell, it's the Autobots icon thing or whatever.  Don't worry, I'm not planning on being on a cake decorating show on the Food Network anytime soon.

 

Pleased with his ability to blow out that raging inferno.

Happy Birthday, Big E!  We love you to pieces.  And thank you to everyone who was so thoughtful to send him presents over the next few days.  It is always exciting to get mail, and even better when they are such great birthday presents!

Emerson's 5th Birthday

I cannot believe this handsome little man is 5 today.  I have to admit, this is not a picture from his actual birthday, because wouldn't you know it, he has pink eye in BOTH eyes. Grrr. He's been a good sport about it though once he got over his fear of the eye drops.

It is hard to describe how much we love this little guy! He has such a sweet personality.  He is tender-hearted, funny, imaginative, athletic, and just so himself.  He is very entertaining to talk to, and I love to eavesdrop on his play.  He likes to imagine he is different characters, and right now his favorites are Bumblebee, Lucky the Puppy, Wall-E, and Fix-It Felix.  He has been sleeping with his plastic hammer at night. When he was born, I never could've imagined I would be so entertained, so in love, and so challenged all at the same time by my precious little boy!

Here is Emerson's birthday interview:
My favorite food is: meat sandwich, spaghetti

My favorite sport to play is: soccer!

The best show is: Rescue Bots

The coolest person on earth is: Tucker

My favorite thing to learn about in school is: The number 5

The thing I do most awesomely is: Soccer, playing with Legos and having fun

If I could go anywhere in the world I'd go to: Disneyland or a train place to ride a train

My favorite color is: RED!

When I grow up, I want to be: a daddy

My favorite song is: Rescue Bots theme song

My favorite book is: Freight Train

Three words that describe me: buddy, fast, strong

When I was little, I used to: be baby E.  I liked to play in the sunshine.

My favorite season of the year is: Fall

The best thing about me is: I am good at having fun.

The snack I like best is: scrambled eggs

One food I dislike is: soup

My best friend is: Tucker

If I had one wish, it would be: Blades and Boulder (Rescue Bots)

My best memory is: Playing with others.  Riding Thunder Mountain Railroad

Happy Birthday, E!  We love you to pieces.