We didn't hit the gym this morning - partly because Cole was so sore and partly because I had my institute class to go to. After my class, we practiced our music, had lunch and headed to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. We've been here before, but never long enough to explore the entire thing. It wasn't crowded, but it wasn't empty either. Oh well, we set out to have fun. We played in the rainforest for a while and then we went to the ropes course. That may have been Reagan and Cole's favorite part.
They are up like 3 stories high. It is crazy! They strap them in, have them test their gear and then they head out to the course. When we came before, they (especially Cole) were very afraid. They were tentative when they walked and some of the passages, Cole would just shake his head at. This time was totally different - they were all over the place - on every passage.
They climbed all over - they were up about a floor higher than us, on floating steps (that would have scared me), across ropes, on metal 2/4s, everything.
They climbed on the course for about 45 minutes and had a great time! There were only like 8 kiddos on the course, so they rarely had to wait to go across any particular passage.
I think Cole was actually more adventurous than Reagan this time. Last time, she was leading him, but no more :)
I kept changing locations so I could try to get the best pics of them, but it was hard. There were several times that I could only zoom in to where I thought they would eventually be and hope I could catch some video or pics.
After that, we returned to the rainforest where the kiddos climbed and climbed. After that, we started hitting some of the exhibits on the lower floor.
Next, we went to the room with all the water spouts and tubes and things to build. Reagan and Cole stayed in there for what seemed like hours. They made friends and had very elaborate plans for what to build and what to make. They teamed up and then headed into different parts of this area.
Luckily, after they had gotten completely wet, there was a little box area that simulates a tornado. Instant blow dryer. They dried off and then watched the balls work their way through the pneumatic air system.
After that, we hit the area with geometric shapes. They could build, climb and explore. It was great!
Next, we hit the city area. There was a movie theater (Cole quickly rearranged the letters on the theater marquis to show that the movie "Cole's Awesomeness" was now playing. There was a laundromat and a dance studio, a library, a magic store and a farm area. There was a music store with really cool stuff. Cole had a blast there.
This cool harp had no strings, but still played different types of harp sounds.
Next, Cole found an organ that blew bubbles through different colored waters as he played certain keys on the organ. So cool!
Reagan went into the play theater and she arranged the backdrops, chose her lighting and put on some music and a costume before coming out to put on a play for me.
They spent a ton of time in this city. They both loved the magic shop, with its funhouse mirrors and optical illusions.
After we had done everything inside, we headed outside to play on the playground equipment and the zipline.
When we were finally done, we had spent five hours at the Museum of Natural Curiosity. What a fun place. I kept thinking we should go and then I thought "Why? We are good, we have paid and it isn't very crowded - let's keep going." We saw all of the museum today, a feat we haven't been able to accomplish in our previous visits. We played and had a great time!!!!!
We headed up to Brighton this morning and it was awesome! It may have been my best ski day ever. Since all of the public schools and many of the charter schools had Spring Break last week, there were almost no kiddos on the slopes. Plus it was a weekday (aka workday), so there were very few adults on the slopes. It was great!!!!! We saw... maybe... one other group on each run we went down. We were by ourselves on the slopes for most of the day. There would be 5-8 unoccupied chairs on each lift between the ones that had skiers or boarders on them. FABULOUS!!!!
There was fresh powder, but not too much, there was sun, warm weather (51 degrees), blue skies, and there were well groomed runs. Perfect!!!!
We took several runs and then headed inside for lunch. Then, we took some more runs. We hit most of the lifts and many different runs.
By the end of the day, some of the runs had melted into slush, making it a bit less ideal. We would be sliding along and then hit a patch of slush, causing us to slow immediately. Not fun. However, even a few bad runs at the end of the day couldn't ruin the great day we had experienced.
The views were phenomenal - especially since there was no one on the runs to obstruct our scenery.
There was one slight damper - Cole. After he worked out for 2 hours yesterday and then jumped for 2 hours yesterday, his body was sore.... like really sore. He kept complaining that his back hurt, his legs hurt, his neck hurt. After inquiring, I learned that he had spent a good 40 minutes on the rowing machine yesterday. Well, that will make anyone sore. Steve kept teasing him by asking "Are you 80 or 90?" Oh well, he kept skiing despite his aches and pains, but I don't think he'll be hitting the gym that hard for a while.
Yep - great day all around. We are halfway through our Spring Break and we are not slowing down!!!! Bring it!!!!!
I mentioned in the last post that Reagan and Cole are on Spring Break this week. Months ago, when we planned Spring Break, we wanted to fly into LA and drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco. We planned to make lots of stops along the way and then to stay in SF for a few days, flying home in time for the Easter weekend. Steve and I had taken that trip before and had a great time. We wanted to share it with Reagan and Cole. We wanted to stop at the Hearst Castle, hit Cupertino and see the Apple headquarters and take a tour of Alcatraz (it was sold out the last time we were in SF). Well, a few weeks ago, we learned that at least four places along the PCH were closed due to mud slides. There really isn't an easy alternate route. So, we re-booked, figuring we would just spend a few days in SF. As our dates neared, the weather in SF was looking rainy, cold and windy (like 20-30 mph winds). Almost everything we were looking to do in SF was going to be outside. None of us wants to be cold, wet and windblown. So, we cancelled the entire trip and decided on a Staycation! We sat down with Reagan and Cole and made a schedule and a plan. We would do something fun every. single. day. Go!
Interesting enough, when I asked Cole what he wanted to do during Spring Break, he said "Kids' Fit!!" Really? Kids' Fit is at our gym and is when they shut down the Kids' Club for an hour and make the kiddos work out. Seriously - they can't watch movies or color or play basketball - they have to do the workout. They play dodgeball, sharks and minnows, and lots of other high heart rate activities. Cole wanted to go every day. I didn't get it, but agreed. Plus, now that he has turned 9, he can get certified on the weight machines at the gym. He was super excited to be able to work out at the gym. So, we tried to hit the gym each day that we could. Saturday, we went to see the movie Boss Baby. Reagan and Cole LOVED it. Sunday, we had church and a very relaxing day together. Monday, we hit the gym in the morning and then saw the movie Sing in the afternoon. Plus, Reagan and Cole wanted to go to Activity Days and Scouts that afternoon, even though they were on Spring Break.
Tuesday, we went to the gym and then planned to swim. When it was time, Cole didn't want to go to the pool, he wanted to stay and work out more. Really? So, Reagan and I went to the pool and Cole stayed to work out more. After that, we went home and showered and then hit Get Air. Tuesdays are pay for 1 hour, jump for 2 hours. Reagan and Cole had a great time!
They were all over that place. They jumped and went on the climbing course. I don't know how, but Cole always seems to acquire an entourage at these places. There are boys (and sometimes girls) that just follow him everywhere and try to do what he does. Funny!
Reagan and Cole each went on the obstacle course, but I wanted them to race each other. Reagan is so stinkin' fast that she won both times. Cole didn't like that and was out and on to other things.
Cole's favorite place in any trampoline park is the dodgeball area. He LOVES dodgeball. He is unafraid - regardless of whom he is going against. I had to laugh as I watched him. He was on one team and then went over to the other team. Then, he said "All of you against me!" They were all in. They all were on one side and they tried to hit him with the balls. He dodged every one of them and he danced in addition to it. He was telling me afterward how he would dance and spin around and dodge a ball and then he would drop to the ground and dodge another one. What a funny boy.
We were scheduled to go to karate after that, but by the time we had worked out, swam, jumped for two hours and arrived home, we - especially Cole - were beat! We called it a night since we are skiing in the morning. With all that fresh snow, it will be a great day!!!!!
Cole is usually ready for school before Reagan and I are ready. So, he puts his school bag in the car and rides his scooter on the driveway until we come out to get into the car. This morning, he was riding and she and I walked into the garage to get into the car. I called out "Cole - time to go!". I heard nothing. I yelled this time "Cole??????" As I put my bag in the car, I heard Cole yell "Watch Out!!! I'm Comin' In Hot!!!!!" Before I knew what was happening, he came flying into the garage on his scooter (in the 2 foot opening between my car and the garage). He almost took out Reagan as he screeched to a stop on the scooter, dropped it and jumped into the car. This boy is crazy!!!!
We've had such great weather recently. Reagan and Cole were playing outside one night. They came inside, talking in hushed tones as they searched for Steve. Turns out they needed him to reach a glass vase for them. They had picked several flowers for me and gave them to me with notes on each side of the vase.
They are such sweethearts. Often, they do things like this for me .. or for Steve or for each other. I LOVE getting these little handmade things from them. Luckily, they didn't have to go far to find flowers or a vase :)
Cole had another (monthly) Pack Meeting. However, this time, his den was in charge of the Flag Ceremony. They have a card printed up that tells the scout leading the Flag Ceremony what to do. Well, apparently - as Cole found out - the card .... is.... wrong :( Oh well - Cole did a great job anyway.
Unfortunately, right before we were getting ready to leave for the Pack Meeting, Reagan started complaining that she didn't feel well. She loves to go to these and support Cole, so, I knew it had to be bad if she wasn't sure she could go. We sent Steve with Cole and I stayed home with Reagan.
As part of the Pack Meeting, there is always a lesson or activity. This one had the boys competing at picking up cotton balls with their nose - having put vaseline on their noses. Cole was doing great until he needed to "re-apply" his vaseline. Then, I think the other scout caught up. Oh well.
Steve was sending Reagan and I pics and video from the Pack Meeting. Turned out Reagan was really sick - she threw up her guts and I was so glad that we weren't at the Pack Meeting when that happened. Sorry we couldn't come and support you Cole - next time for sure!!!!
Salt Lake City has a fairly large homeless population. They have a homeless shelter downtown and a medical clinic and other services, but the county is looking to branch out and put several shelters (or homeless resource centers - as they call them) in places throughout the county. Most of the proposed sites have been fairly close to downtown, with access to public transportation and other services. Of course, no city wants the shelters in their city. They bring lower property values, crime, drugs and other problems. There was a huge controversy because one of the proposed sites bought in Sugarhouse (a suburb of Salt Lake City) was purchased at the cost of over $7 Million. What?!? That SO doesn't seem like a reasonable, economic decision. Accordingly, many people have been questioning the motives of the city and county administrators involved in this process.
Well, the County Mayor had to propose a site (to the Lt Governor and his team) for the shelter by a Thursday night at midnight or lose $10 Million. Not sure why that is, but ... whatever. Anyway, Tuesday afternoon, the Draper Mayor volunteered Draper City (2 sites in Draper City actually) as potential shelter sites. He said "It's the Christian thing to do." Wait... What?!? Draper wasn't on anyone's radar at all - why did he volunteer this? He said that most of his City Council was in favor of this and that they wanted to contribute. Turned out he didn't consult most of his City Council. One member published a statement that she had been "blocked out" and knew nothing of this. The County Mayor jumped right on this because why fight a city to put a shelter there when you have another city volunteering a site?
Problem is - the Draper Mayor didn't consult with any of his constituents before offering up a site and he did it only 48 hours before the decision had to be made. The county had been evaluating other sites for months and months.... now this? It was awful. It wasn't that Draper citizens (and Sandy citizens like us) didn't want a shelter there - we needed much more information, time to get that information and something smelled fishy here. After a bit of investigation, we learned that the Draper Mayor is on the Utah Transit Authority board and that if the shelter was put in Draper, they would have to buy property to extend the Trax line down to this spot in south Draper. Plus, why the late announcement and no prior notice to the constituents?
Currently, the Trax line ends in the north part of Draper - right across from our gym actually. No one ever wanted it to come to Draper. We get stopped at the RR tracks almost every time coming and going to karate. I've never seen more than 10 people on that 7 car train. It's not used much by Sandy/Draper residents. It is, however, used by homeless people that ride it down and get off at the end of the line in the north part of Draper. There has been an armed robbery in the grocery store parking lot where we shop. The authorities identified the man as a Trax rider. He robbed a lady, then a store and he stole the lady's car. Luckily, he was stupid enough to report that someone had stolen his wallet on Trax. The police called and told him that they had found his wallet and to come into the station to pick it up. When he came to the police station, they arrested him for the robbery and carjacking. Ugh! Plus, the homeless hang out at the Draper library (since it is a public building, they can't kick anyone out) and at the Draper Park (where we have always played). It's bad. Putting a shelter in Draper would make it worse.
So, when people freaked out over the Draper Mayor's announcement, it was decided that there would be an "Open House" for the Draper citizens to express their opinion on the matter. We decided we would go as well. We don't live in Draper, but would be affected by this decision. Then, during the day, the location of the meeting was changed (to accommodate a larger crowd or to hope some don't hear about the change?). We arrived and the Draper Mayor and the County Mayor were there, but in different parts of the building (it was held in Draper Park Middle School). There were city employees handing out comment cards and collecting them back again. There were also 3 tables with people sitting at them. These were supposed "experts on the homeless issue" that could answer questions. We filled out our comment cards and waited for the meeting to begin. Turns out - there was no meeting planned. Just comment cards for you to fill out. That was NOT ok to everyone there. The crowd basically pushed the two mayors into the auditorium and requested they state why they did what they did and requested that they listen to what the citizens wanted to say. I had to leave at that point to take Reagan and Cole to music lessons, but Steve stayed. After our lessons, we came back. The only seats were in the last row at the top of the back of the auditorium. Steve was down on the 3rd row. People lined up on each side of the stage for a chance to voice their opinion - they were each given 90 seconds :(
People were furious. Furious that the Draper Mayor didn't check with anyone before volunteering their city, furious that it was so late and close to the final decision, furious that something seemed to not add up, furious that he blocked out his own City Council members, furious at the whole thing. People were screaming, demanding his resignation, indignant about the thought of them intentionally bringing crime to their city, etc. Both Mayors spoke at the beginning (Steve reported) and said that the people coming to Draper would be a "different level" of homeless people, that they wouldn't be on drugs or that they would be people wanting to get off drugs. Then, they said it would be only women and children. The people were having none of it. One lady said "Guess what? The men will be where the women and the children are!" Plus, they were pointing out that there are no services for them here. The low income or free medical clinics, mental health facilities, etc are all downtown. The officials said that they would bus the homeless to the local grocery store, etc. That didn't sound good. One Draper resident who is a Salt Lake City Police Officer said they have to have several officers assigned to the homeless shelter itself and that because the jails are filled, they can't even arrest homeless who are doing or dealing drugs. The jails won't take them. One lady said that her son has been on drugs for 10 years and that he is homeless because he isn't welcome to live in her home anymore because of him stealing and damaging her home in order to get money or stuff for drugs. Plus, people were saying - you claim this will be a 200 bed facility, will it grow? Will it include other offenders or issues?
Boy - this is sounding peachy, no? No one trusts what the officials are saying because of how this whole thing went down in the first place. The "Open House" was supposed to last 2 hours. After 3 hours, I took the kiddos home. When we walked out of the building, Cole said "Wow - those people were NOT very civilized." Too True Cole! Steve left shortly after that, but by the 4th hour, the Draper Mayor got up and said "I get it now. I thought our city would be for this, but clearly, they are not. I don't see how we can proceed." We thought that was a victory until the County Mayor said on the news the next day "The Draper sites are still in consideration." What?!? So, we waited and watched and took in any news we could find. During part of the County Council meeting about this issue, one of the members said "I think the Draper site is great because there is land there to grow and to add services for these people." Yep - see? It is already happening - it is "growing" from 200 beds to other services. A member of the Council who lives in Midvale said "We have the Road Home in Midvale and you have NO IDEA how bad it is to have the shelter in your city and how many problems it has caused our city." Ugh - we don't want that in the Sandy/Draper area. We are willing to help, but not this way.
At midnight, the County Mayor decided upon South Salt Lake as the new site and recommended that to the Lt. Governor. We learned about it the next day in the news conference. The South Salt Lake Mayor was NOT happy, but acquiesced and asked for more money for services, police and other city resources to help with this new burden. Whew! Looks like we dodged a bullet for now, but I wonder what other deals or agreements were made behind the scenes. Maybe we will someday find out, maybe not.
I wonder whether it was a good idea to take Reagan and Cole to that raucous meeting, but I do think it is a lesson learned that when you feel strongly about something, you stand up and you find out what you can and you let your leaders know how you feel. We are pretty vocal with Reagan and Cole about our political ideas, whom we want to vote for (not just presidential) and why and other issues. They have always gone with us to vote and we have talked about all of that. Hopefully, they will be involved in their community and government as well, but ..... in a much more civilized manner than those at the Draper Open House. Right Cole?
Our ward was lucky enough to be given some tickets to the Women's Session of General Conference. Reagan and I joined our friends - the Summers girls for an evening out.
We parked right by Temple Square and walked in the rain to the Lion House Pantry for some dinner. Reagan wanted a piece of this chocolate cake that was HUGE! I tried to talk her into something else, but she said "That's all I want Mom." Ugh! Of course, she ate less than 1/3 of it and threw it away since we had to run across Temple Square - in the rain - to get to the Conference Center.
We missed part of a talk while we were waiting in line to get into the building and through security, but we had a great time, nonetheless.
There were great talks, it was a beautiful night - rain and all - and we were with fabulous company. Yep - we LOVE Women's Conference.
Cole was invited to a birthday party at a place called Bricks and Figs. It's basically a privately owned Lego Store. They had a party room for Cole's friends and there were bins and bins of Legos on the table for them to build with.
After a while, the bins were put away and a huge bin was brought out. It contained parts to build Lego race cars. Each of the boys (and the dads) built the best car they could. Then, they raced them.
Sometimes, they would have a slower car than their friends and they would return to the bin to make structural or design changes to their car. Then, they would race again.
Cole had a great time at this place. At the end of the party, they let each of the boys create his own mini figure to take home. Yay!!!!! We love Legos!!!!
Since Reagan and Cole are black belts now, they no longer have to test at the quarterly belt tests. However, their instructor asked them to come to the little ones' belt test to help.
They were such good helpers. They were "attackers" for the students to show their self defense techniques, they held the paddle for the students to show their kicks, they led in the forms and helped the students with whatever they needed.
Best of all was that we were able to help some of our friends and see them get their next belt.
At the beginning of last summer, we stopped all of our activities, except for karate, scouts and Activity Days. We were taking the summer off and preparing for our November black belt tests. Well, after Christmas, Cole started asking if he could do some activities. He wanted to get back into football or soccer and he wanted to take guitar. What??? I've never heard of him talk about that before, but.... ok.
We found a studio that teaches guitar and piano (oh - and voice). So, Cole started guitar with Blake and Reagan resumed (after about a year and a half break) piano with Jessa. They are loving it and I'm loving hearing them practice. Cole's teacher was kind enough to lend us a guitar so that Cole can determine whether this is "his thing" before we go and buy him a guitar. Cole has practiced, seriously, every day. Reagan practices 5 days a week. Looks like we are back into music and I"m loving it!!!!
Reagan absolutely LOVES Activity Days. The ladies who put on these twice monthly activities for the girls in our ward (and neighborhood) between the ages of 8-11 are amazing! They are always doing something wonderful. This year, they made these adorable signs that say "Welcome Spring". They also decorated little baskets and had wheat grass seeds that grew into grass for their little, yarn bunnies to sit in :)
Finally, they had a project where they were given papers in the shape of Easter eggs. They had to look up the scripture or perform the service on each egg and then they could attach it to a stick and stand up the egg in their basket.... so cute!!!!
I love that they are learning, serving and having a great time. Thanks Bonnie and Beth - you guys are AMAZING!!!!! We love you so much!!!!!
I'm SO not sure what the heck all this is about. Cole was playing while I was making dinner and I went to go into my room to change before heading to karate when I saw this on the hallway floor. Um..... Cole? He said "Don't move them Mom - I just got them the way I want them." Problem was, I couldn't get to my room without stepping through the..... whatever this is. I tried to tip toe my way through the items without knocking anything over or killing the bottom of my foot :)
Cole cracks me up - he's always got something crazy going on.
"Mom on the Run" is the title that best describes me these days. After practicing law for 11 years, I had two little ones and am now a full time Mom and loving it. With a 14 year old and an 12 year old, life is full and crazy. Each day we "run" whether it is to the gym, shopping, guitar, karate, piano, school, lunch with friends, institute class, family activities or church functions. Reagan and Cole keep me crazy busy and we have lots of fun.
Steve (the love of my life) and I have been married for sixteen years and we live in Sandy, Utah. Playing with the kids is our most enjoyable hobby these days. We also try to fit in snow skiing, walking and hiking, and playing in our yard. We love to spend time with Steve's three daughters (and their spouses/kids). We traveled much more before we had our kiddos, but still try to travel when we can. If we are away, we can most often be found on one of the Hawaiian islands and we love to spend time at the beach.
