Rood Bridge Park

This afternoon we met some friends at Rood Bridge Park for a Relief Society mid-week activity. It was the perfect weather for a nice hike through the woods. Here is a picture of some of our happy hikers:

Making Memories

What could make Memorial Day more memorable then riding a NEW bike?



What about taking a bike with training wheels out on a bike ride with Dad for the FIRST time?


What about HOLDING and touching a real, live boa constrictor?




I tell ya, today is going to be hard to top!

Silver Falls

Today we went on a hike to some beautiful waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park. We made it to 2 of the 10 waterfalls on the trail. When the boys grow some longer legs we'll brave the whole she-bang.














We had the best time! I'm so happy Tyler and Justin are both at good ages for hiking. We'll have to get out and explore some other great hiking trails this summer. Any suggestions?

Lava

We went to go pick up the boys' dinosaurs and volcanoes at the art center today. Justin and Tyler have been patiently waiting for nearly two weeks to play with their masterpieces. This called for a celebration beginning with a science experiment in their ceramic volcanoes.


Then, a play-doh fest to build nests for the dinosaur eggs and baby dinosaurs for the mamas. It doesn't get better this! I practically had to pry them away from the table to eat dinner and go to a going-away party for some friends who are moving. (Boo hoo!) Then they were back at it the second we walked in the door. Now as I type this post Travis is cleaning up all the play-doh all over the floor. I love that guy!

A Camping We Will Go...

I was so excited for the boys to go on the Father & Son Camp out last weekend. I tried to get them all packed up lickety-split so I could get on to a whole 24 hours to myself! Here's proof they had a fun, fun time without me:




I'm fine with that...I had a good time, too! Hehehe!

Honking with the Geese

Tyler and his preschool friends had a field trip to the duck pond today. The kids had such a fun time feeding the ducks and geese. I thought the water lilies were so pretty. We just LOVE this place! If you have followed our blog for a while now, you'll know we come here frequently and then go into the nice library to pick out some new books to borrow. We'll be back again soon...the summer reading program begins on June 1st!

Family Birthday Party Pictures

Justin's birthday was last Saturday, May 9th. We did a family party this year and Justin requested EVERYTHING dinosaurs! So, without further ado, here is Justin's Dinosaur birthday party picture-style:

Dinosaurs & Volcanoes Ceramics Class



Justin's Stegosaurus



Tyler's Brachiasaurus



22 hours + 2000 degrees = Dinosaurs and volcanoes ready to bring home! We're still waiting...

"A Volcano with Dinosaurs" birthday cake Rood Bridge Park

Tyler gave Justin a remote-controlled pterodactyl.





I love this picture of us because if you zoom in you can see the boys cruising down the trail in Travis' sunglasses...and my lovely arm! :)


Then we were off like a herd of dinosaurs to pick out a new birthday bike for Justin!

Big Smiles

When we got in the car yesterday, I turned around and asked Tyler to "give me a big FOUR-year-old smile!"



Then, I asked Justin for "a big SEVEN-year-old smile!"



Silly boy! I don't think I know what I'm in for this year! :) Hopefully lots of laughs!

Tow Mater

I spent most of the afternoon yesterday getting our big ol' flat tire fixed! Luckily, we had just returned home from visiting Justin in the lunchroom at school for his birthday surprise when we noticed the completely flat tire. But I wimped out and called AAA to send someone to come put the spare tire on! :) The tow truck was a big hit with Ty! Totally worth driving over a big old bolt!

Here's the happy Ty Guy

And to think I was expecting a quiet afternoon full of laundry and dishes. Luckily for Tyler, he hit the jackpot and had an awesome afternoon! Tyler even got his own bag of popcorn at the tire shop! It just doesn't get better than that for a big four-year-old boy!

Justin and his homeboys!

Seven

Justin turns seven tomorrow at 7:52 p.m. I picked up his GF/DF birthday cake from my friend, Arianne, tonight. Both boys are in heaven with a volcano/dinosaur cake waiting for them on the kitchen counter. They keep trying to pull it down so they can look at it. I wonder if the cake will last through the night? I took a picture tonight...just in case.



Here is a cute little birthday questionnaire he filled out in Primary:

Full name: Justin David Guptill

Birthday: May 9, 2002

My favorite color is: red

If I could spend an entire day doing one thing it would be: Play Wii

I really like: the dinosaur museum

One of my favorite foods is: ice cream & hot chocolate

My least favorite food is: tomatoes

I am really talented when it comes to: sports

If I could be a cartoon character I'd be: on Dino Squad

My favorite animal is: fish

My favorite memory with my family is: going camping

My favorite scripture is: Joseph Smith's First Vision

My favorite Primary song is: Called to Serve (sung at the top of his lungs while marching)

Oh I love this boy...

Play Dough

I finally discovered the joys of homemade play dough! I don't know why I had never given it a try before. It's fabulous! And so easy! It really just took a few minutes. Here is the recipe I used:

Play Dough

1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 T. cooking oil
1 c. water
1-3 drops food coloring

Mix dry ingredients in pan. Add oil, water and food coloring. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it forms a ball. Add flavoring for a scent.

And here it is:

I made it for Ty's preschool so the kids could make fossil prints with plastic dinosaurs. The kids LOVED that activity. Then we came home and Tyler played with it for another 2 hours! Fabulous!

It's o.k., you can feel free to laugh if you have already been on board with this for years now. I'm fine with that. In fact, I'm fixing to buy myself more salt so I can make more of the blessed stuff!

Science Fair and Fieldtrips

Last week, Justin's school had their Science Night. Here is Justin with his project about frogs and wetland habitats. He is working on a frog probe and a wetland mural at school while they are learning about bullfrogs. He is working on a big wetland display made out of clay to take to his class next week. After we browsed the science projects, OMSI (the local science museum) gave an awesome chemical reactions presentation for the kids. It was a fun, fun night.

















Tyler's preschool group has had a fieldtrip each week to learn more about their lesson topic of the week. Here are some pictures from their "popcorn" week fieldtrip at the movie theater. We went on a behind-the-scenes tour in the theater's projector rooms. The picture of us together was taken with one of the movie projectors in the background. After the tour, the kids watched 3-D movie trailers with 3-D glasses. We are so excited for the new Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs movie to come out. The trailer in digital 3-D was amazing.