A quick trip to Philly

 Since we bought the car, we thought we should go see some close by tourist spots.  1st stop, Philadelphia!

 We spent the night in Valley Forge and then headed over to the Adventure Aquarium..  VERY COOL place.

 The boys loved the touch exhibits.

 Although, we had to warm Luke up to touching the sting rays and star fish.

 We got to see a fun 4D shark IMAX

 And my favorite was the Hippopotamuses.

 Those beasts are huge... I think they might have been my favorite part of the aquarium.

 They also had a very cool shark tunnel the the shark swam right over the top and around you.

 Of course, we had to climb on a few toys while we were there too.

 Then off to downtown philly and some more historical sights.  On the capital grounds we were lucky enough to see a colonial marching group. 

 Taylor loved these guys and we waited in line to see the liberty bell while we listened to these guys.

 The boys got sweet pictures with the soldiers and got to hold their rifles.

 A couple pictures exploring a Hum V.

 This exhibit was cool.  The boys were all trying to copy the original handwriting of Thomas Jefferson's writing of the Declaration of Independence.  He was able to write really small and really neat.

 Of course, we can't go to Philly and not hit the art museum stairs that Rocky Ran up.  They even had a statue built because he has made the place so famous!

 My favorite were the homeless guys that were making money off us.  One was showing us where to park (which was actually really helpful) and one was taking pictures for groups... all for a little tip of course. :)

 Jake's artistic picture above on the footprints of ROCKY!

 All 5 of them ran up the steps... so impressive. Thanks Philly for a great couple days of touring!

We bought a car!

 The kids were troopers taking trains and busses to look at cars with me and Taylor.  We found one, and put it right to use!

FIRST: father and sons (after getting lost for about an hour) the boys were all able to be men by playing in the wilderness and fires.  Lucky for us, they escaped the tick bites that 80 percent of the other ward members came home with! yuck.

 Here they are with their buddies... It's so green out here.  I love all the trees and leaves.

 This is the best part of Father and Son's just exploring and hanging in the woods.  I have to say, they returned home in their same cloths they left in. Didn't change for bed or the next day and the toothbrushes weren't touched.  Next time, I'm packing lighter for them! :)

Um... might I mention I think I had the best night of my life while all of them were gone for Father's and Son's.  I didn't take ANY pictures, but I can paint you a good one.  Dinner (mexican, Taylor hates mexican so we rarely eat it) with amazing ladies (Heather Wigginton and Laura Eyi), then off to mani-pedi's (for only 20 bucks) and instead of a usual Vietnamese shop it was a mandarin Chinese speaking shop (Heather and I both served missions in Taiwan - FUN!).  Nope, not done yet... then Heather and I headed to Pink Berry and got some yummy frozen yogurt - with chocolate on top. :)  And to top it off, I went to bed early and SLEPT IN UNTIL 9AM.  AWESOME!!  It makes me a little disappointed to have a girl that won't be able to attend father and sons... but then again, then I'll have my buddy while all the boys are gone, right?  Who wants to do all that solo!?

SECOND:  Off to the beach.  The boys got home at noon and we reloaded at 1pm and headed out again.  After recommendations from our next door neighbors (Shelley and Burn), we headed to Robert Moses Beach in Long Island.  It was pretty. 

 Never mind it was FREEZING water... they boys had a good time collecting shells. And Battling waves.

 The cool thing about Robert Moses (Besides not being as crowded as Jones Beach) is the lighthouse on the beach.  We had a 15 minute stroll to the lighthouse. 

 We thought we could walk up, but we walked out there too late and it was closed.  The view from the porch of the lighthouse was BEAUTIFUL.. I'm sure the view from the top was also breathtaking.

But, you'll have to agree that the view from the bottom was pretty dang cute.  We also gave the boys summer cuts.  They are a little bummed that the summer has begun for Utahans, so we started our pretend summer with buzz cuts and the beach.  Crazy that they still have school for 3 more weeks, right??? They are NOT happy about that.

 Love my boys and especially their heads.  It doesn't even look weird to me anymore because I just am used to them like this in the summer.  Bye Bye combs, for a few months at least!

Pre-school Graduation

Usually I think it's kind of lame to do graduations for every step of school... but not this time!  I think I'm more invested since it was a CO-OP school.  I absolutely loved these ladies and all they did to teach Sam.  It was perfect for him 2 times a week and something to do while the big boys were in school.  Love my Sambo....

 And these ladies are the ones who made it all happen.  Funny how each of these ladies have become such great friends!  So cool they all ended up with kids Sam's age so I could meet them.
L2R Heather Wigginton (Everet and Talmage) Brittney Allenbach (Nicholas and Grace) Lynda Todd (Lauren and Ava np Jacob), Roseanna Monk (Vivi - np Emmie)

 Cute cute Cupcakes that I need to save for some future cool graduation parties!

 Hate by me... the pinterest version was much cuter, but it worked.

 Complete with diplomas and cute smiles!

 You did it Sam... now off to Kindergarten.  He is already starting to read and loves to practice writing and math.  I'm sad to see him grow up. 

Brooklyn Bridge Fieldtrip

 So, this was a VERY COOL field trip.  I've only been on a couple with the boys, but glad I did this one.  Now, I can take people there... so easy and fun! and FREE!  Well, you have to splurge on Brooklyn ice cream and Grimaldi's pizza of course, but that is a necessity.

 The views from the Brooklyn side are awesome, and the bridge is so cool.  The weather was perfect for our outing...  Just a little warm, but the breeze was just the right amount to keep us from over-heating.  The squirt bottles and ice cream helped too.

 This is the crew I helped cross the bridge.  Some of luke's buddies... Kai and Freddy.

 Nate enjoyed the ride the most --- and got a great snooze at the same time.  One of the other mom's chaperoning said, "I've lived here 12 years and this is the first time I've walked across the bridge."  We really are lucky to live here and be doing all we are doing in such a short time.  I LOVE IT!

I think summer has officially hit NYC

Well, at least the fountains are turned on in the parks now!  We went in the evening and the boys were in heaven.  The trick about the city is finding the times that NO ONE goes to the hot spots.  Apparently, that is at 8pm at night.  This park is called Adventure park and is located on 68th on the west side of CP.

Here is the racoon we look for each Sunday night when we walk through Strawberry Fields... Can you see his eyes reflecting?  Kind of cool, and kind of creepy.  It's right off the path.. like 10 feet.

This one is called Diana Ross playground located on 81st and CPW

This is the Turtle Pond... located just south of the great lawn.  At this spot there are a hundred little turtles that come up to the edge to see.  Plus the boys loved running around on the lawn with our downstairs neighbor William O'Conner.  Cute boys.

 Sprinklers at the American Natural History Museum Terrace.  I love the space exhibit that you can see in the background.  Our favorite museum.....

 The boys playing in the "BIG YARD" after school.  We usually stay for a couple hours everyday.  They love running around with all the kids and Jake plays soccer EVERY DAY!  Love these boys.