Return to the Hogle Zoo

For Katie's 3rd Birthday today, she wanted to go to the Zoo - so of course we did! Our good friend Kristi came with us, and we had a really good time. Great idea Katie!

Katie is 3!!!

The girls.... Let's try that again...

Sweet sisters

Mom with Katie (and apparently no bear), and Mom with McKenna

Katie being a panther with the two tiger statues

Sweet shades!!!

Traditional "Katie with the Ape statue" picture that we take every trip to the zoo

Kristi & Katie & the Rhino - Katie's favorite animal at the zoo!

McKenna discovered this time that there are actually animals in each cage! Way to go McKennanator!

Children's Discovery Museum

Thanks to my friend Amber, we discovered the Children's Discovery Museum at the Gateway Mall. It is AWESOME and perfect for children my kids' ages. The whole museum is geared toward creative play. Katie rode the horse and collected eggs & peaches at the farm, McKenna drove a car and picked vegetables at the garden, they both played at the water station, construction sight, and the market. It was so much fun!

Katie on the life-size horse

Katie putting her egg & peaches in the car to deliver

McKenna at the garden

McKenna driving her car across town

Five stars from the Jensen family for the Children's Discovery Museum in SLC

Dinosaur Museum

Scenes from the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point:

"Da-dum....da-dum....da-dum da-dum da-dum..."

Katie escavating dinosaur bones - very "Jurassic Park"

Funny McKenna face

Katie and a dinosaur

She's not sure what to think about this one without glass infront of it...

"Is that dinosaur going to eat me?"

The girls and the Veloceraptor

Katie under the Supersaurus

Katie at the erosion table. Very cool - the kids can create rivers, walls, and mountains and watch the river erode the sand and cover dinosaurs. That's how fossils are made...?

We had a blast at the museum. This will definitely be more and more of a hit every year as the girls understand more. All Katie knew about dinosaurs previous to this museum trip is that Sharp Tooth is very scary and dinosaurs "roar!" I'm not sure that she made the connection that the skeletons used to be dinosaurs...oh well, it still was a great trip and a fun hands-on day.

Trip to Boston

From April 3-April 14 Meg & the girls were in Boston, MA. We had a blast! We went primarily to help out while my parents were in Italy (although I would rather have been there!). We stayed at the house with Brian and helped hold down the fort there, and also helped watch Jen's girls during the day when my mom normally does. It really was a great excuse to take a trip home.

I always love going home for any reason, but this trip was great because I felt like we were there long enough to actually get settled and just enjoy being there. We took a couple trips into the city - one to visit Andrew for lunch and go to the Commons, and one with Jen, Elena, and Sofia to the Children's Museum. We took the train both times and Katie got a kick out of the conductor punching our tickets. It was very "Polar Express." Katie also had fun playing with all of her cousins there - Elena, Sofia, and Jane - and playing with Mica too. We wish we had more time with Grandma & Grandpa, but luckily we will get to see them in June when they're here.

Here are some pictures from the trip. (for more see Staci's blog ashopkin.blogspot.com)

Outside the Children's Museum (Jen & Sofia MIA)

McKenna & Sofia at the water station

Katie loves her cousin Elena

Jane & McKenna (yes, Jane is a year older than McKenna)

Man Truck

Dave got a new truck! It suits him well and he is VERY excited about it. Yay for having 2 cars again!

Happy Easter

McKenna's 1!!! (Last Week)

Happy Birthday McKenna!!!

(last week - March 15th)

I can't believe our baby girl is 1!

She is a professional present opener

New outfit, new kicks, new ride - sweet!

Beautiful McKenna (doesn't she look so grown up?)

Not quite sure...

Mmm, this is pretty good

Yes, I think I like this...

It was so funny - when we put the cupcake down on her tray, she started smacking her lips together. She must have known how yummy it was going to be!

Summer, Here I Come!

I got my Modbe bathing suits today and I LOVE THEM!!!! I never thought I would be so excited or eager to wear a bathing suit! As soon as they came, I put the girls down for their naps, put on my bathing suit, and wore it around the house. I will find any excuse to wear them - they are so cute!

http://www.ajmodbe.com/

We were so lucky to have Dave home from work on Monday, after the craziest, busiest month of work he has ever had. We spent the day at the zoo - it was so fun! The weather was great, we got there early so it wasn't crowded, and we were able to spend the day together as a family. Does it get better than that? Since we were there in the morning, most of the animals were being fed so they were out and pretty active. We got quite a show!

Here are some fun pictures from the day:

This was so hilarious! The bear was just sitting there staring at all of us

Dave & Katie & Muke the Ape

Katie & McKenna looking at the elephants

We were lucky they were so close to us - we even got to hear them trumpet

Cute girls

We saw a baby giraffe!

Dave & Katie looking at the bears.

Sweet McKenna - love this picture (she looks so grown up!)

McKenna and a bunny - very appropriate for the season :)

Pretty awesome picture with the leopard - we couldn't tell if he was happy or mad to see us...

McKenna was our navigator

Dave & Katie with the tiger (my favorite animal at the zoo)

Katie on the caterpillar

HUGE spider

Meg & the girls on the wooden elephant

I Heart Twilight

You're Edward Cullen - You have great taste for the finer things in life, a classic style, and you understand the way people work so you can manipulate easily. You have many talents and a bit of a temper, but you are mostly level-headed and rational.

Take this quiz to find out which Twilight character you are.

I don't know what the weirdest part of this result is - 1) I'm a guy, 2) I'm a vampire, or 3) If I really was Edward, than I would literally be in love with myself...

Very fun Julie :)