Fall Break

So the kids were on fall break this week - so to keep them busy and me sane - we loaded up the week with fun things to do.   We started off on Monday with a trip to the park.  The kids all rode their bikes (kinda - James took the balance bike and did a good job - but he's still not really riding a regular bike.  We met some friends there and played at the park for a couple hours before heading home for lunch and to try and get the house cleaned up for the rest of the week.  It mostly got done.  We had a fun family home evening lesson before putting the younger kids to bed.  Then Dan and I and the 2 older girls played Maple Story together for awhile for their hour up.  Then Dan I got to the business of grocery shopping and laundry... 

Tuesday we headed to the zoo.   There was a really cool exhibit.  All around the zoo were statues of marine life made out of marine recycled garbage.  The kids had a lot of fun watching the Elephant show and checking out as many animals as they could.  I apparently did a much better job at taking pictures of the animals for Eileen than I did taking pictures of the kids for me....  On the way home - Julia called and we had fun chatting for awhile!  It is so fun having an awesome cousin that I can talk to and hang out with!  

Wednesday we went to the museum of Nature and Science.  The kids enjoyed their temp exhibit Extreme Mammals.  And of course they had a great time checking out their old favorites.  We also managed to catch a tour that they were doing called "Secrets of the Dioramas"  We've seen the dioramas many times before, but it was really neat hearing a lot of the stories behind them from someone who had worked at the museum for a long time.  We also ran into a few friends who were also enjoying fall break!  In the evening was choir and youth activities and such - busy as usual!

Thursday, we went to the Children's Museum.  We hadn't ever really explored the outdoor area of the museum and this time, we spent at least half our time checking it all out.  We found a fun little zip line that the kids (especially James) just LOVED.  We went inside for a fun music time and ran around the nature's backyard area for a bit - then back outside for a snack and more play time.  Anna also got to pick up her clay piece that she made last time.  

On our way out we stopped at the play ground for a bit and played on the swings before heading home to dinner with the Elders.  Thankfully I had planned a crock pot meal and it was all ready for yummy eating by the time the Elders arrived.  We had the new pair of Elders over and had a fun time getting to know them a bit.  They gave a great lesson before we had to kick them out and send them home!  

Friday we headed to the Butterfly Pavilion.  The kids had a blast - they spent most of their time (as usual) in the invertebrates area and had a ton of fun.  Eileen found out about volunteering opportunities which she can start doing when she is 13 - and now she can't wait to be 13 because then she can volunteer at the Butterfly Pavilion or at the Zoo.

As always - they all loved getting to hold Rosie the Tarantula.  We ended heading home a bit early so the Bishop's could drop off their boys while they headed to the hospital so their new baby could be born!  We had a blast with their boys over - they stayed the night and the boys had a great time.  All the kids had a blast playing together and ran each other good and exhausted.  Then woke up early the next morning and did it all over again.

 Saturday was rather crazy.  Anna had a doctor's check up early in the morning.  Eileen had her Flute lessons - both required us taking a few extra kids along.  Then piano lessons for the kids while I drove my friend to the store.  Bro Bishop picked up the boys and took them to the hospital to go visit their new baby brother.  After lunch, we headed back to the Butterfly Pavilion for their Halloween Bug-a-Boo party.  The kids excitedly picked out costumes and had a lot of fun running around collecting and eating (too much) candy.  They painted pumpkins and had a great time.

In the evening, we had a great time watching the Cultural Celebration Broadcast for the new Ft. Collins temple.  The kids had a lot of fun looking for their cousins who were performing in the celebration.  The kids headed to bed - the older two got a little bit of play time with me while Dan ran some errands to get us through Sunday and Monday.

Sunday was a special day!  The dedication of the temple was broadcast at our building in 3 sessions.  We watched the Ker's youngest so they could go to the first session, and they watched Evie and James so Eileen, Anna, Aaron, Dan and I could go to the second.  It was such a wonderful experience.  The spirit was so strong!  The talks were all wonderful - such amazing reminders of what we should be doing and how important the temple should be in our lives.   Plus - we walked there and back and it was wonderful to get to talk together about what we had learned and what we had felt.  After, we had a late lunch, then Becca came over so we could watch her darling baby girl while she went to the final session.  After, we convinced her to stay and have dinner with us.  We had a lot of fun talking crafts while Dan and some of the kids worked on dinner, then after, we put the kids to bed and played a game before she needed to head home.  I'm hoping to convince her to come crochet with me this coming week!