Bella and Tristan Turn 2

On Bella and Tristan's birthday, we took them and a little friend to Jumpin Jacks. They all had a blast bouncing around everywhere all day. They got really good at climbing up and we slid down a million times.

Later, we had a yummy poke cake which they loved. The look on Tristan's face after the candles were blown out is awesome. I was trying to teach them how to blow them out and I don't think he realized the flame was supposed to disappear.

They picked out their own gift and Bella chose a Minnie Mouse toy and Tristan picked out a Spider-man one. He is really into Spider-man right now. They seemed to really enjoy the day and for two weeks now, Tristan goes around singing Happy Birthday to you. It is the cutest thing.

Fourth of July

We had a fun Fourth with family and friends. We had a family dinner and then all went our separate ways to go watch the fireworks. We found a spot in a park and gave the kids some glow sticks. Tristan ended up biting a hole in his and then shaking it around, so it turned into a glow fight. It was a lot of fun.

Beach Day

We also took the kids on their first trip to the beach. We had another great family day with our two families. The kids got so sandy and had a blast. Lilly got braver and braver going into the water, but Bella and Tristan didn't want to touch it.

Sea World

For a little family summer trip, we went to Sea World with my sister and her family. It was such and awesome family time together. We made so many great memories. We saw some fun shows and the kids were all amazed and entertained. We rode rides and Lilly went on her first roller coaster and was so brave and loved it. Clifford now has his very own coaster buddy, as I hate them. We saw Shamu perform and got a little wet while my sister's family was sitting right next to us and got soaked. The kids loved calling his name to come splash us and still go around the house chanting it. Tristan goes around the house saying, "Dolphin splash". I think they liked Sea World.

Meet Our New Ride

We recently bought a new vehicle and sold our Saturn, which we lovingly called Rusty. It was a very faithful car, but the kids were sardined in the back and we felt it was time to become a van family. Though we loved Rusty, we now love our new van. And we found Rusty a good home with someone who knows cars and can fix the transmission we didn't realize was bad. It was a bit hard to stomach at first that instead of getting $4500 from it, we could only sell it for $800. And that is after we got some work done on it and got it detailed. So we basically made almost nothing. But we have come to terms with it and feel the person we sold it to was really in need. The money would have been nice, since we just bought this van, and to help us through student teaching, but you just have to take what life throws at you and make it work.

Easter

On Easter, we were very sick. But we still managed to have a good holiday at home. The Bunny left some eggs for them to find and a bucket full of goodies and small toys. The night before, we planted some magic jelly beans and in the morning flower lolly pops sprout. I heard about this Easter magic from Pinterest.

Later we colored eggs and the egg in the whisk was a genius idea. They just loved to dip and dip. And after we did that I set up a glow in the dark egg hunt before bed with puzzle pieces to put together at the end. They loved searching in the dark for the glowing eggs.

We also spent another day of spring break checking out this kid's museum in Salt Lake. It was really more of a big play house. There were stations to play with blocks and magnets and trains and the was a stage to dress up and pun on their own plays. There was this big system of tubes suctioning balls around the ceiling that the kids feed into them and then pop back out. And there were different play rooms like a house with a kitchen, a market with foods, and a construction zone. There was also a farm area. Lilly was running off playing in all the rooms and having a great time.

And Bella and Tristan's favorite place was the really big water area. At first they kept on their water proof vests but then they didn't like it weighing them down and they took them off. I thought it would be fine because they weren't splashing, but then they decided to pour it all over the place and got completely soaked. But at least they were enjoying themselves. It was a really fun place but not worth all the money they charge unless you stay the entire day.

Spring Break at the Zoo

For Clifford's spring break he got a few days off of work and we headed up to the zoo for the first time with all three kids. They all love animals and so this was a really fun day. They were running around getting so excited to see all the different animals in each display. I love going to the zoo.

What We've Been Up To

It's Been a while since I've posted, so here is what we have been doing. I have been following this blog called Play at home Mom and they have so many ideas of simple ways to get playing and interacting with your kids. They stress that the best way to learn is through play and sensory. So I have been gathering bins and spoons and anything I see at the dollar store that might be fun to play with. One day we played with dried beans and using spoons, they transferred them to smaller containers. They had fun and beans were all over the place.

Another day I decided to try out these water bead that are all over Pinterest and Play at home Moms. They are so neat feeling and the kids enjoyed squishing and bouncing them all over the floor. For someone like me, I was going a little crazy with the disorder and chaos, but that is the whole point of PAHM is they encourage moms to just let go and let the kids learn through mess and play. They did want to eat them and it was hard to keep my eyes on two little ones at once but they will eventually learn what they can and can't put in their mouths.

We also celebrated the Lorax by going to a Dr. Seuss reading at Target and they got goody bags with Lorax mustaches in them.

Another great idea from PAHM is playing with glow sticks in the bathtub. The kids really enjoy that one.

This winter we didn't even get our usual one morning of snow to play in but we did get a little flurry that we let the kids out to see. They were amazed by this weird stuff floating around.

And one other fun thing the kids love to do is play together in our little indoor pop up tent. We spent a whole morning pretending and playing in it. So much fun.