Dinos, Dust & Dirt.

For the past few months, we've been going to the Pottery Barn for story time. The lady who reads is excellent and worth the 10 minute drive past my local library. Plus, the kids get a stamp on a special card each time they go... and when you have 5 stamps, you get a $10 gift card at the store. Ben and Luke don't particularly like storytime-- they think the songs and stories are more for Zack's age (even though I totally disagree.. they want ME to read stories like her and sing songs with them.. they just don't want to be doing them in public. Is it already time for the I'm-too-old-and-cool-for-this stage? Apparently it is.) Anyway, I have been telling them to look around at the toys and find something they would like to buy with their gift card.. and this has motivated them to come and give Zack some much needed toddler time. Yesterday was the big "5 stamp, buy your toy day." Of course, Ben and Luke were very aware of this-- they were finally being rewarded for their 5 weeks of Singing Time Torcher. And both boys had their eye on a Dinosaur Excavation kit.. It's a block of sand with hidden bones that you dig out and then eventually put together to form a T-rex. It's perfect for little paleontologist wannabes - but one kit is $30 (and even though they get $10 off) it doesn't jive with our budget. When we arrived yesterday, they went straight to the kit. They turned the box over to find that during this past week the price went from $30 to $12.99. They were each able to get their own kit and after my spiritually high General Conference weekend, I couldn't help but get a little teary-eyed. Was this a tender mercy or WHAT? Heavenly Father knew how much my boys wanted it.. and the very day they could redeem their reward, it goes on clearance. $30 turned into $3.23 and we were all happy. I thought it was my own little miracle and was recognizing the hand of God in my life. When we got home and actually opened the box, I realized that it wasn't a miracle, it was a curse.

These kits should be labeled Catastrophe in a Box.

We covered the kitchen table with craft paper, and the boys started digging away.. The kit comes with tools and brushes and it's actually really difficult digging the bones out. It's the real deal and I kept telling my kids that this is exactly what being a paleontologist is like. It's hard and takes a lot of work-- and there is no chance they are going to find a bone everyday.. I let them dig away while I put Zack down for a nap and loaded a few loads of laundry. When I came back, my dining room looked like a 10 pound bag of flour had exploded on the table. It was SUCH a mess and I would have taken a picture to prove it, but it would've resembled the window view of an airplane flying through a gray cloud. I was lucky to find my kids in the middle of the mess and move them outside.. [The REAL tender mercy in this situation is that the weather is beautiful and my kids can wear shorts, jump on the trampoline and dig for dino bones in our back yard. For all of you who are living in freezing places and still wearing coats-- eat your hearts out! It's 80+ degrees this week. na..na...na...na.. na..na.]

Even though most of the mess was moved outside, that doesn't mean the problem was solved. Right now I have hand prints of dirt on my couches and footprints on my rugs... and the dust still hasn't really settled in the dining room. It is a never ending disaster of dirt-- and I will probably be paying for it for months to come.

But the boys LOVED every minute of it and squealed each time they found the slightest piece of a bone. Maybe all the mess is worth seeing a smile on this filthy little face ? I'm not so sure... yet.