Three Good Things

Today was a very nice day. I had three good things happen. I'm sure I could list more, but I'm just going to write about three.

Number One: I went to the grocery store and Emmett went with his friend to the park so it was just me and Melynn. We had a mommy/daughter date. She was so pleasant and never asked for one thing! And the best part? I saved $15.75 in coupons and $13.69 from price-matching for a total of $29.44 in savings. Woohoo!

Number Two: Emmett and I prepared his talk for primary. It was really fun asking him what miracles he wanted to talk about. We found pictures that corresponded and he told me about the picture and I wrote it down for him. Then we practiced. And I got it on video. That's right, you get to see a trial run of Emmett's talk. And it's super cute. I'm so proud. See video below.

Number Three: And the best thing, by the way, is that Josh came home today! He is here giving the kids a bath so I can type for five minutes uninterrupted. Isn't that amazing? I'm so excited to have this week with him. We have lots planned and will be very busy. Just like us, right? I'm so happy he's home!

And while I'm on here, I'm going to post another video of the kids playing together:

New Terminology

Last night I drove two of my Activity Day girls to and from the church. We had a good time making Family Home Evening kits. But the best part was the drive and their conversation. There were a few times that I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

Here is what I learned. There are three main types of bangs (short hair in the front): Chinese bangs, Buh-bangs, and Slash bangs. They explained Buh-bangs first. Those are the kind that fall over one eye at an angle. They also told me that it would be wrong if I had Buh-bangs because I have children. You see, they said, if you have kids you have to have one eye on one kid and another eye on the other kid and if you had Buh-bangs one eye wouldn't be able to see. They also explained how boys should always have Buh-bangs if they were to have bangs at all. Now, Chinese bangs are bangs that go straight across. I would call these Normal Bangs. Third are slash bangs. These are like Buh-bangs, but shorter so they are appropriate for mothers. Not just teenagers and boys that need haircuts. It was very fascinating to talk to them about it. I was also explained the difference between a weave and extensions. Weaves are sewn into the hair on the head using laces and extensions are braided into your own hair. Who knew all this stuff?

The best part was when one of them said to me: "Fashion is my passion."

I had to bite my lip again.

Saturday and Sunday in Denver

I'm back with more of our trip. Oh, and lots more pictures, too. First are some of the kids playing in the hotel room. They are so funny.

See the little feet sticking out? Whose feet are they?

Peekaboo! They are Melynn's!

What better fort to play in than a suitcase full of clothes?

Here I am with Melynn waiting for the "Dinosaur Train" at Dinosaur Ridge. It's not really a train. It is an electric shuttle. The tour guide told us all about the dinosaurs that have been found along the mountains in Colorado, and especially about Stegosaurus, Ornithomimes, and Apatosaurus. Those might be spelled wrong, but I did the best I could. We saw lots of cool things like Emmett sitting on a rock filled with dinosaur bones.

The bone is the darker part. It felt smooth compared to the rough sandstone it is embedded in. The guide said to tell if it is a bone you have to do the "touch test". He also sprayed the rocks with water so the bones color darkened and showed up better.

Emmett and Melynn taking their turns touching the dinosaur bones.

The above dinosaur track is from an Ornithomimes. They were a lot like an ostrich, with long and strong back legs to run fast and a long neck and small head.

The track that Emmett is close to is from an apatasaurus, which used to be called the brontosaurus. It was a long neck dinosaur and these tracks show an adult traveling next to a juvenile. Very cool.

Lots of dinosaur tracks. I guess this is part of something called a "Megatrack" that extends over five states. They also call it the Dinosaur Highway because they have found the tracks of so many different dinosaurs. This picture shows two different kinds for sure.

There's Emmett on the Dinosaur Train!

We love dinosaurs. They are very cool and fun to learn about. Dinosaur Ridge was very fun.
Next we took a tour of Coors Field, where the Colorado Rockies play. Can I tell you how fun this was? No, I cannot. I won't even try. We loved every minute of it, even when Melynn had had enough and wanted to be done. We took lots of pictures:

The front gates

Us standing by "The Player".

Emmett posing again. What a little model. Isn't that funny? This is from the very top. The picture above this one is from the main walkway where the average Joe would walk around. We got to see all different places that I will most likely never be able to afford to see again.
Like the Visitor's Locker Room, for example:

Or the hallway before you walk onto the field as a player:

Or the field for that matter:

Again, with the pose. Where did he get this?
I got to walk out the umpire ramp because of the stroller. I felt important for about 1 second.

Josh went into the dugouts:

And here are some other shots we got:

The above picture shows the press boxes that are covered in plastic. The press like to have it open to the wind I guess. We did get to go in there and sit down for a bit. There are big windows that weigh a whole bunch held up by carabeeners (again I don't know how to spell that) and they have the plastic up to keep the birds and critters out. I guess the press leave a big mess with their food and the critters just LOVE it if they can get inside. Kind of creepy.

This picture where you see the glass windows shows the fancy shmancy restaurant that is a part of the ball field. The tour guide explained all about it but I've already forgotten all the details. All I can remember is $$$$$.

This picture shows their big tv screen on top of the scoreboard. It also shows the Rock Pile (see those seats WAY out there up top?) where adults can get tickets for $4 and kids under 12 can get tickets for $1. If we move to Denver I promise to take a picture from my seat in the Rock Pile.

And this picture shows a better view of "The Batter's Eye". See the all-green wall with ivy growing on it? This all green backdrop is straight out from home base and gives the batters a blank backdrop to see the white ball against. It is a required element of every major league ball field. I did not know all of that until we took this tour. I learned SO much. It was very fascinating and I hope to tour more ball fields throughout my lifetime.

This is where Josh has been working: University of Colorado Hospital. The two tall buildings on the left are administration buildings and the largest one on the right is University Hospital, the inpatient side. I didn't get a photo of the outpatient wing. And here is a picture of the lovely garden in the front of the hospital:

Next is the Children's Hospital where he is working this week:

I didn't get to go inside because both kids were asleep in the car but they look beautiful.

Saturday evening we went downtown to the 16th Street Mall and saw the Big Blue Bear peeking into the Denver Convention Center. Very fun.

He doesn't look too big until you get a person next to him. Hopefully he doesn't sit down!!!
And last but not least are my pictures of the Denver temple. Very pretty and really nice landscaping.

We drove to the temple grounds after church on Sunday because the kids fell asleep in the car again. We were pounced on at church. It was like going to our branch, where new people are quickly asked, "Are you new here?" They were very sad that we were just visiting. We went to the Sable Ward and everyone was very nice. We took a bulletin, just in case we move there and need the bishop's number. You never know...you never know.

And that, was our trip to Denver. Very fun. Very exhausting. I'm glad to be home but we miss Josh!

Casa Bonita

After Josh got done at the hospital and we got back from downtown Denver, we went out to eat at the most amazing restaurant, Casa Bonita. It was very family friendly, budget-friendly and was SO MUCH FUN! They had cliff divers and puppet shows and gun fights and all you can eat Mexican. Can it get any better?

The pictures show the front of the restaurant, including Emmett in front of the fountain. Isn't his little pose the best? It is kind of a muscle man pose I think. I don't know why he does it, but he's three, what can I say? Then you got the pictures of us covering our ears during the gun fight. It was really loud because our seats were so close to the main stage. And the last picture is us as a family in front of the waterfall and pool where the cliff divers dove. It was literally steps from our table to where the divers were. Awesome. The only problem was when all the people came a crowded around for a better view and blocked our excellent view. Oh well. It was fun no matter what.

I'm going to try to get some videos of the divers on here. Just for fun.