To the Zoo

We went to the zoo last Saturday. It was a deal for Aidan-he wanted to go to the fair, but we didn't, so we compromised with the zoo and a picnic. It was an absolutely beautiful day-not too hot, not cold, no breeze. The animals were aparrently enjoying the weather too-they were out in full force and showing off for all of us. We all had such a terrific time. These pictures are in no particular order. . .(ps, you should be grateful that my camera died half way through-I would have gone totally picture crazy if not!)

The boys showing us their "monkey moves." The monkeys (both the animals and the kids) were having so much fun-I think they were Wyatt's favorite. We probably were in the monkey house for about 30 minutes just watching them swing around and "talk" to us. Lydia got excited when they came close, and kept trying to give them kisses through the glass.

I love this picture! We watched the huge tortoises. Even they were active, crawling around their little pen. Camels. In the Asian Adventures part of the zoo, there were tiger prints pressed into the cement. The kids liked to follow them and point them out. Riding a tiger. Wow, the things you can do at a zoo.

This was Lydia's favorite part. She loved the goats! We could barely get her out of the goat pen! Liddy kept hugging them and petting them-and the goats really liked her too! They would lick her cheeks and she would giggle. All the kids got a quarter to buy feed for the goats and they all had fun feeding them. Aidan and the pelicans. He says that he liked the wallabees and the alligator the best, but I don't have pictures of either. Ace was also disappointed that the otters weren't out, but was placated with watching the penguins feed.

We spent a good 3 hours at the zoo. Lydia fell asleep in the car, but the rest of us got hot dogs at a stand and took them to the park to eat. Man, those were some of the best hot dogs I have ever had! We had such a good time and made so many wonderful memories. I am so glad that we have such a fun zoo here in town.

Into the Woods

We decided that as an ending to our summer, we would go camping for a few days. We have a camper (see below-stylish, isn't it? But it does keep us warm and dry) and we haven't gone since Aidan was really little. So we packed up (it took a week of cleaning and packing to get ready) and took off for the woods.

At the campsite, getting things set up. I told Aidan and Wyatt to go find sticks to help make a fire while we were busy getting everything together. I should have taken a picture of the pile. That was a very popular activity. Their wood pile would have started a forest fire! After things were all in their places, we cooked dinner (in the fire-Aidan thought that was really cool), roasted marshmellows and tucked everyone in to bed.We woke the next morning to sunny skies, orange rolls and hot cocoa. And silly grins. It was a good night. I was amazed how well everyone slept cramped up together in a camper out in the woods.(The shoes that Lydia is wearing in this picture were my shoes from so many years ago. Aunt Kellee-do you recongize them?
After breakfast, we went exploring. This is the dock in Island Park that we were going to float to the next day. Here is the old railroad bridge that marked the start of the river float. We later came back to this place to wade a little in the water. The water was COLD, but it didn't stop the kids. We also took a hike around our campsite (it was a beautiful campsite-it really was. We are going back next year for sure! Aidan, Lydia and Mom Lydia-she decided that she had gone far enough and sat in the grass protesting. It was cute, so I snapped a picture.

Wyatt-getting his shoes all muddy. We couldn't keep him or Lydia clean for anything!

Aidan-he wanted to jump into this creek. He kept spotting little fishes. It was a very pretty place. I tested out my budding photography skills with some really nice scene shots. Maybe sometime I'll share.

We also brought along Barky-he was such a good dog! He played hard. We thought he would keep us safe from bears. I guess he did, since we didn't encounter a single bear. We did have a buck wander really close to camp. I saw him and he scampered off as soon and we saw him. We went and found his hoof prints later too. He came really close into camp.

Later that afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa Barnes and the Rawlings family came up to keep us company for the next couple of days. Josh and Ellie came up the next day too. It was so fun to have cousins to play with! Aidan got to sleep in a tent with Dillan and Ian and he thought it was awesome to be included with the big boys.

We went floating on the river on Saturday with everyone. I do not have pictures of this because I wanted to keep my camera working and not soak the thing, but it was a lot of fun. Wyatt loved being out on the water! I eventually got the hang of paddling our little boat. We also spotted 2 moose-one right in the water and the other next to it. The boys also saw a bird swoop down over the water and catch a fish in its beak. It was really, very cool.Aidan, Wyatt, Izzy and Ashley playing with some playdoh.
Pancake breakfast! Yum!

By Sunday, we were kinda ready for ammenities like flushing toilets and hot tap water, so we decided to drive the 20 miles to West Yellowstone for a few hours (Plus, it was raining, and we wanted to stay dry). The kids loved meandering through the stores and finding treasures. We didn't buy anything, but we did have a lot of fun looking. Next time, we are going to plan to go to the museum and to the IMAX theater. We might even take them to Old Faithful sometime. Wyatt liked all the toy guns that were around. He really like this pop gun.I liked the Davy Crockett hats. Doesn't Liddy look cute?!Aidan just liked everything. "Can I get this?" was his favorite sentence of the day. Smile! It's a tin buffalo! Aidan also really liked all the stuffed bears and other animals that were in all the shops. He posed for alots of pictures in front of them. When we got home from West Yellowstone, we decided to pack up and call it a weekend. We had such a fun time. It was great spending time with family, and eating yummy food (new potatoes and peas. . .). It was nice to have some fun down time as a family before having to start the new year. Camping was a great success. The kids loved it, we loved it. I am so excited for future summers that we can do this more. I am excited to start a family tradition.

Summer Plans

I have been wanting this summer to be a lot of fun. I don't want to hear Aidan say, "Mom, I'm bored!" a hundred million times. So, I have made some plans. Lots of plans. And I want to share them. Feel free to steal any and all you would like to and make them yours. I got all of these ideas from one of my favorite craft blogs A Girl and a Glue Gun. And I freely stole them.

Aidan's To Do List

Jeremy and I decided that Aidan is big enough to start taking some responsibility around the house, aka CHORES! So, I made this cute chore chart with a magnetic whiteboard and magnets. Everything is interchageable and he can move the big magnets from "To Do" to "Done." I also have added things like, Store, Homework, Piano Lessons, Church, etc., so he knows what we are going to do today. He also has a weekly thing that he is going to work on learning, tying shoes, making different foods, telling time, money values, things like that. He got to choose the paper and the buttons, and so far, he has really liked it. I hope this system lasts for awhile. I actually like this so much, that I think that I am going to make me one!

I Know What We're Going to Do Today! envelope (Title courtesy of Phineas and Ferb)I want the kids to do stuff this summer, not just sit at home and watch TV or play Wii. I also knew that if I didn't plan ahead, I would allow us to do just that. So, I created this envelope and about 75 cards (the glue gun girl cards are much cuter than mine, but I didn't want to spend days on this project) and each night before I go to bed, I will select 1 and place it in the envelope, and the next morning, after Aidan has done certain chores, he can open the envelope, and we will do what it says inside! The cards are labeled crafts and science projects, outings, activities, and Theme Days. I am sure that I will be writing future posts about things that we do. There are all sorts of different things to do. Aidan helped me choose some and some will be suprises. He is really excited to do more (right now, we have just had an outing and an easy craft). Look for more in the future!

Summer Scrapbook

This was Aidan's 1st craft. We are going to keep a scrapbook of our summer adventures. I will help him write and he can draw pictures and keep track of things. I am not sure how this one will work out, but I hope we can keep it up. I think it could be a really neat thing for the family to look back on.

The "Mom, I'm bored!" Jar
I am excited for this one! When Aidan decides he is bored (usually while the babies are napping) he can pick a slip out of the jar. The papers are labeled with fun things to do (read a book with Mom, jump on the tramp, etc.) and not-so-fun things to do (clean up toys, pick weeds, etc.). It is the luck of the draw and he has to do what he picked out. I will help/do with him everything. I want it to be time together. For example, he decided he was bored today and picked out a paper. It was "Pick up downstairs toys." Well, that is a several hour chore for Jeremy and I, but I put a timer for 10 mins and went down and helped him. He didn't like it, but with me hanging out with him, it was much better.

Well, I know like that sounds like a lot, but we have done all of those things today, and there are still many hours left of the day. I really hope that this is a fun, happy, eventful summer for the Barnes Family!