weekend fun

Date Night

Aaron and I went ice skating at a local rink on Saturday night. It actually felt like winter in Vegas! We had a great time, even though we were the only ones older than 15 on the ice... We had hot chocolate, did a little shopping for upcoming birthdays, and came home a watched a movie (We are Marshall... one of my favs) I do not care for Matthew McConaughay. . but he is really good in this one. It's just a good healing movie (true story) that will make you laugh-- but mostly cry. And it's a sports show, so most guys like it too.

I took the kids to the park 3 times this week. It was just so beautiful outside... The sun is therapeutic for me.
On Friday, we met Denett and her boys for lunch. A good time was had by all.

Walking with Dinosaurs

Our field trip this week was totally Out of this WORLD!

And I am not exaggerating here. I woke the kids up early and told them to put on their best dinosaur shirts because we were going back in time! We loaded up in our Time Machine (the minivan) and took off! Unfortunately, I made a few wrong turns and ended up on the other side of town. Ben asked why it was taking SO long to get there and I responded with, "HELLO!! We are traveling back in time 100 million years... and I am not driving a rocket ship here!" That kept them quite for a few minutes. Luckily, we arrived just before the show began.

It was an INcredible show (to say the least!) and we were SO lucky to be in the best seats-- front and center... on the 5th row! I thought I was going to pee my pants! Seriously, the hairs were standing up on the back of my neck. Ben and Luke were so giddy and loved every minute of it. Zack liked it, until the T-Rex tried to bite his head off. There were quite a few kids around us that were freaking out. I overheard Ben say to Luke, "I bet everyone crying in here is a GIRL!" That made me laugh.

My little men in their dino shirts.

The highlights of the day were:

■ Ben naming each dinosaur before the narrator... and he was so excited and was practically screaming each name!

■ Zack saying "AWESOME" at least 20 times.. he really wants to be like his big brothers!

■ Luke telling me (at the end of the show) "You're the BEST mom that I've ever had!"

I felt really bad that Aaron couldn't join us on our adventure. It sucks that he has to work for a living!! It was 100% his idea to buy the tickets and I ended up taking all the credit (and having all the fun.) Too bad, so sad. Here is one last video that we took from our camera. The highlight of the Tyrannosaurus' performance was just after I stopped recording... but I had to cut it because Zack had me around my neck so tight, I thought I was going to choke. He was really scared, or in his language, "willy cared!"

white trash

Luke and I thought we would tease Ben about his missing teeth by showing him what he looks like.
Ben thought it was ridiculously funny. Zack wouldn't have anything to do with us.

Our nightly ritual is cuddling up in my bed and reading Shel Silverstein before going to sleep.
It's been so much fun and the boys think his poems are hilarious...
their giggles are my payment for a long, tiring day. Somehow it makes it ALL worth it.

follow up... on several random topics.

I was going to reply back to a few comments on previous posts, but decided it would be easier to do a whole new post with answers to questions and recent updates..

Smoothies.
The recipe I posted is not a meal replacement. It's more like a dessert for me-- more healthy than eating a piece of chocolate cake. I do make a different shake that is equally delicious and drink it for breakfast every so often. It's skim milk, a banana, ice and a scoop of soy protein powder-- (I buy my powder from Walmart.. AdvantEdge brand in vanilla or choc flavor. I think it's about $9 and lasts about two weeks.) This has a ton of protein... 20 grams in each scoop-- add another 8 grams from the milk and you have yourself one hearty breakfast. It's quick, keeps me satisfied and is very yummy.

My smoothie maker is Back to Basics brand and although the spout is very cool, I don't think it's much better than a regular blender. In fact, I still have to double check if the ice is properly mixed before I drink it.. One thing I recommend is using pebble ice. It makes smoothies that much better. You can buy in it a bag at Macey's or Sonic and it's so worth the $1.50/bag. But, you must also consider that I am a little obsessed with this ice and believe we should all convert.

I have used flaxseed in the past, but don't have any on hand. Is there anyone out there that wants to convince me to go and buy more? I do, however, take Omega 3 fish oil (in the capsule) everyday with my breakfast along with a vitamin and believe it's made me feel much better..

My Starburst Video
Holy cow. I had no idea this would cause such commotion! Not so much from my friends, who already knew I was super talented in this area, but I am getting people from everywhere (who actually do an Internet search on "unwrapping starbursts in your mouth") and the response has been overwhelming!! I am seriously laughing about it. After doing the search myself, I found many individuals who have videotaped themselves and my conclusion is that I am a world champ. Seriously, people think they are cool because they can do it under 45 seconds. I mean, I am running laps around these amateurs. But the truth is, I am still very embarrassed to be found by some random person doing a search on this subject... don't people have lives out there? Do we honestly have time to be taping ourselves, let alone watching other people do this dumb trick? Youtube has seriously changed our world and made us all a little lamer-- and yet more popular at the same time.

Which brings me to Shannon. She was too ashamed (or not able) to comment on my blog about the Starburst challenge. But I will inform you that her husband was proud of her 54 second record. She was ecstatic about doing it under a MINUTE and actually thought she had me. As if. Shan, if you want a challenge, there are a few people out there on youtube you should contact. I am just out of your league in this area. I mean, what else can I say? Heavenly Father has blessed me with a talent, and I am doing my best to share it with the world. In other words, I am the one in the scriptures who multiplies my gifts rather than buries them.

Moving on...

Underground Animals
Who would have guessed that I would find myself FASCINATED with Meerkats? Not only did we have a 20 minute lesson on their lifestyle, but I read about them after the kids went to bed because our lesson was so intriguing. Here is a little report on what I found.

►Meerkats can dig as much dirt as their own body weight in a couple of seconds! They have binocular vision and can see better (and farther) than we can.

►Meerkats are the first non-human mammals seen actively teaching their young. For example, adult meerkats teach the pups to eat a venomous scorpion by first removing the stinger-- the adult coaches the young on how to handle the venomous creature until they are able to do it on their own. (and apparently, their black circles around their eyes protect them from the poisonous venom of scorpions and snakes.. ?)

►They are very social animals, living in small communities of about 30. They also have a social status network.. the dominate female does most of the breeding and the other females are assigned to babysit. If a female in the group happens to get pregnant, she evicted and usually starts another colony elsewhere.

►They have sentry, or a watch dog, assigned to lookout over the group and warn them in case of danger. When a predator is spotted, the sentry gives a warning bark for the rest to go underground. It has been recently found that meerkats have specific calls for different dangers.. one for the approach of snakes, another for birds of prey, etc.

►Meerkats have been reported to have several social gatherings, such as wresting matches, singing ceremonies and foot races. They regularly groom each other to strengthen social bonds. This practice is reported when group members are reunited after a short period apart.

►Despite this altruistic behavior, meerkats sometimes kill members of their own group. Subordinate meerkats have been seen killing the offspring of more senior members in order to advance their own offsprings' position. Isn't that so interesting? I wonder if they have some kind of justice system that condemns these murderers... Do they send them packing or give them a death penalty.. you know, use them for bait next time a predator comes around. I will have to research a little more.

Maybe this report was boring or over the top for some of you, but I am totally fascinated by these peculiar animals. I mean, I have seen Timon on the Lion King but had no idea he was such an interesting creature! Can't wait for next Monday's lesson!!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

The rewards of having more than one child are many... like, for instance when the older children are big enough to take care of the younger child.

The day at the park was beautiful and I just sat back and talked with a friend as Ben and Luke pushed Zack in the swing. They were on each side and Zack was having a blast.

This is my kind of afternoon at the park.. especially an afternoon in January.