Baby Bear is 2

The story of Bear's second birthday starts with a cake. This cake,  actually.  I had the idea (helped by Pintrest), Grandma kindly baked it, and Days provided the frosting...  I learned it is hard to frost a kind of crumbly cake with really warm, soft frosting (it was a warm morning), but I persevered and changed my original design and came up with a pretty cute cake.  So I stuck it in the freezer (to make it as cool and set as possible) and then we headed down Provo Canyon.

The cake died.  It was pretty funny, because DMP was the one holding it and it spilled over the edge and he had to catch it- orange frosting and all.  If I were awesome like Cynj, I would have just turned it into cute cake pops or something.  I am not awesome, and I was FED UP so into the garbage it went and replacement bundt cakes were bought (seriously WinCo? Only 2 decorated cakes? and they are lame?)

We had Eli's party in the "shady park" by the vetran's pool, so we could swim afterwards. Here is the table set-up and the cute party favors. As you can see, we had a cute "monster" theme.  The menu included Winco Sandwiches (yummy! Inexpensive!), watermelon, chips and cheese puffs, and grapes. 

The kids had fun with the hats and party favors and liked the food.  So did the wasps.  We literally watched a little wasp trying to fly away with a piece of lunch meat that was as big as it was.  Wasps at a picnic are even less fun than ants (unless it's fire ants, I suppose- I digress).

We decided to seize the opportunity to get a photo of all of the grandkids.  We were only missing our sweet Mia!  It is rare indeed to get most of them all in one place.  Sadly, it was well past nap time and the birthday boy was DONE.

See? This is us singing to Bear and his big cousin Norah (who has a birthday the day after him!).  She picked "her" cake. Just wanted to throw that out there because I KNOW if I didn't someone would give me crap :)

 Bear's mood was greatly improved by a big piece of cake and presents!

His awesome presents included a train book from Grandma and Grandpa.

Cool cars from Aunt Jenn and her kids...

And a "vroom" car...

 When we got back to TX, he had more presents waiting for him!  He got this awesome bath toy from Aunt Kate and family. It is great- he doesn't have to play with My Little Ponies and Mermaids anymore!

He also got this wooden train set from Mommy and Daddy.  It was a good birthday for our big boy!  Thanks to everyone for coming and for the presents!

This is the Place

After our zoo visit and lunch with the cousins, we handed Bear off to Grandma and headed off to This is the Place Heritage Park. It was awesome and the girls learned so much about their pioneer ancestors.  It also helps that we are reading the Little House on the Prairie books!   As you can see above, we learned all about pioneer chores, including washing clothes, and "vacuuming" the rugs.

The girls also got to learn about all different kinds of pioneer kid games. Rolling a hoop with a stick is NOT as easy as it looks!

At another house, the girls got to try their hand at carding wool. They learned all about how the wool is shorn (sheared?) washed, dried, carded, spun, dyed and then knitted or woven into things.  They also got to meet and pet one of the angora bunnies and see how his fur is used to make yarn.

 My favorite part of the day was the Native American dance demonstration.  This troupe performed all kinds of native dances in the beautiful costumes. The "MC" guy explained all of the dances, like where they came from and when they were done, traditionally.  I loved (and still do) going to the PowWow in Heber all growing up but this is the first time I've ever heard an explanation about the dances and their singing.  I was extra-glad the girls and DMP got to see it, and that they got to see a really neat hoop dance (my favorite!).

Then it was off to make crafts!  The girls made a spinning button pioneer game/toy (EJ is really good at it, actually) and they made real rag dolls.  EJ named hers Mary, and Birdy named hers Laura. It was cute!

Next we saw the school house. It was really cool because it is a replica of the one-room school house that was in Heber, UT.  The girls learned all about what school was like for kids there, including discipline (I told Birdy to make a "sad" face because she was in trouble...)

This is the Place was one of the highlights of our trip. It was so neat and there was so much to see and do. We definitely needed more than half a day. We missed the Navajo camp, riding ponies, more cabins and houses, a train ride and the girls were especially sad to miss out on panning for gold. Next time!

Zoo Day!

We were so lucky to go to the zoo with some of our very favorite people- Aunts, cousins, Grandma and Kim (who is like an Aunt!)  We were super-excited to see the new Rocky Shore exhibit and we weren't disappointed!

The otters FINALLY came out to play!

And we found this cute critter...

The highlight of the day was the Polar Bear, for sure. She likes to spend time swimming back and forth from a rock to the glass. It is very cool to see and be that close to her!

Notice how cute Bear is when he says "Polar Bear".  Here is one more video, with less screaming:

We also met "Big Boy"- the rescued sea lion.  He was swimming around and around his tank, too.

 Birdy wasn't too impressed with the sea lion, but she sure had fun with the baby!

I realized that I didn't take a ton of pictures with all the kids. I guess we were having way too much fun!

After the zoo, we went to Red Robin for some yummy food.  It was an awesome day.  Next time we'll have to spend more zoo time (and take more pictures!)

I love to see the Temple!

On our way home from Logan, we stopped to explore Temple Square.  It was so, so awesome.  The flowers on the grounds are so beautiful. I couldn't get over it (ask Kim, she heard me talk about them, a lot.  Her response "I always think the summer flowers aren't as pretty as spring." She's spoiled)   The temple was closed for AC repairs so we couldn't get close, but we did see the windows open, which was cool. 

We loved the south visitor's center. If you haven't been in a while you should go. Remember how it was always the "lame" visitor's center with not much to look at? It now has great exhibits all about the temple- how it was built, old furniture and examples of the awesome workmanship (wood carving, metal work, etc).  It also has a cool exhibit showing pictures of the inside rooms of the temple and explanations for each. Really neat and takes away some of the "secret mysteriousness" of the temple.

Then it was off to the Church History museum. The kids got to see the kind of space and ship their ancestors would have taken from Liverpool to the US.  It was also the Int'l Art exhibit with all kinds of beautiful (and some less beautiful) religious art. 

Then we explored the new children's BOM exhibit. It was by far the kids favorite.  

They got to take a trip on Lehi and Nephi's trip (Birdy did NOT tie her sister to the mast, however).

EJ checked out some plates and tried her hand at abridging.  Not pictured: Birdy, who wouldn't get off the boat for about 45 min.

There were all kinds of wooden dolls to dress up and use to tell scripture stories. Here, Bear and Dad play "when Jesus was born".

They have a special exhibit all about Latin cultures, complete with dress ups and dance instructions, which leads to this moderately embarrassing video:

C'mon. You can't tell me that if you had a chance to wear one of those awesome swirly skirts and swing them around, you wouldn't take it, too.

The skirt and "crown" were definitely Birdy's other favorite part. She wore the skirt until the last second, and walked around carrying it high up in front of her. If anyone knows how to sew, I will commission a Christmas present from you!

We visited the Tabernacle. 

 Then we rushed over to the beehive house because we were afraid we'd miss the tour. Out of all the beautiful flowers at Temple Square, the Beehive House is always my favorite. I want to have a flower garden just like this some day...

The tour was great and there were a lot of little kids, so it was very age-appropriate.  Trust Bear to find a choo choo everywhere we go (if you look closely you can see it carved into the post...)   Sadly, it started POURING while we were in the beehive house so we had to cut our visit short.  It was a very soggy walk back to the car! 

It's OK, though. Just like bacon, cheese fries make everything better! I can't remember the name of this burger place, but it is by Litza's Pizza.  Best cheese fries EVER.



First Day of School! First Day of School!

Birdy started Kindergarten today! Isn't she so cute with her winning outfit, LaLaLoopsy backpack and "ladybugs and butterflies" lunch box!   In our family (the Kinsels) we have a tradition that the kids get to pick whatever they want for breakfast for the first day of school. Birdy picked spaghetti and meatballs and a doughnut! 

She had a great day.  She says "It was awesome. I can't wait to do it again!  I like riding the bus."  Her favorite part of the day was eating lunch and going to her classroom.  Her least favorite part was recess because it was so hot! She made a new friend named Lydia.  Ms. Cain is very nice.  Best of all she got a "green smiley" (good conduct) and "only got yelled at once" :)

EJ started second grade in style! She wore her winning rock star outfit, and has a Hello Kitty backpack AND lunch box!  Her first day of school breakfast was Swedish Meatballs and a doughnut (I don't make this stuff up, folks).

She had an awesome first day. She learned about circle maps, she made a new friend named Christopher, and she already knew some kids in her class.  She and Christopher were the winners of a game.   Her favorite part of the day was knowing that Gabrielle and Riley (special kids) come to her class. The worst part of the day was recess! It was SOOO hot, and so short!

Riding the bus is old hat for EJ, but it was Birdy's first time.  She said she was the quietest on the bus and it was a lot of fun!

P.S. Last night, after I wrote this post, EJ said to me "I'm so glad Birdy had a good day. I was SOOO worried about her all day!" Isn't she a gem!

Cousins, Cousins and more Cousins!

The very best part about our trip to UT was getting to play with all of our cousins!  Birdy and Norah had SOO much fun and played so well together!  They share curly hair and a love for Polly Pocket dolls :)

These two "big kids" got along great, too. (BTW- I don't think I have a picture of Jacob where he isn't making a silly face!)

This was Birdy, Sis and Norah about 10 min after Norah and her family rolled into Provo. They wasted no time digging into the dress-ups!

We had a really great visit with the Maughan cousins- yummy picnic at the park followed by awesome indoor mini golf (no pictures allowed). Then we went back to their house to play and chat while Jenn and I made baby doll blankets. 'Cause we're awesome and domestic like that!

Guess who commandeered Uncle DMP's attention every chance she got? Talk about wrapped around his finger! How could you resist her?

Cynj, Bek, DMP and I were even crazy enough to take all 11 (!) kids to Chuck a Rama.  Good thing it was Provo- they didn't even bat an eye. The kids had a lot of fun (and a lot of slurpees)

We were especially excited to hang out with our CA cousins- we hadn't seen them in 2 years and I had never met baby Minnie!