Misc. Outings

I don't know how some moms can stay home all the time.  I go completely crazy with cabin fever if I have to be home for more than a day or two.  So I'm always trying to find fun places to take the girls.  I have a pass to the aquarium and Thanksgiving Point, so we hit up those places at least once a month.  Here are some of the fun things we have been doing throughout the year:

Aquarium:

 The aquarium has a 4D theater where we go to watch movies about the ocean animals.  They also recently added a playground that the girls can run around on.  This is my favorite part about the aquarium now.  It is so cute watching Sophie help Aspen find her way around the play place.

Baths:

 

The girls love bath time.  We have to constantly tell Aspen to stop drinking bath water.  I don't know why she likes it so much, but it's a huge battle.  Also Aspen's new thing is to lie on top of Sophie and lick her belly.  Sophie just laughs and laughs, but I think it's strange.

Gardiner Cabin:

Isaac is the chief resident this year at the University of Utah.  So he was responsible for throwing a party to welcome the new residents.  We had a BBQ at my family's cabin.  Throughout the party there were 1 or 2 moose less than 50 feet away from where people were eating.  Some of the residents from out of town were really freaked out about seeing a moose.  I admit it was a little scarey at times when they started wandering around, but they didn't seem to mind us at all.

Dress Ups:

The girls love to play dress ups as cowgirls, chefs, and princesses.  I love watching them play well together.

Hike to Ensign Peak:

One weekend we hiked to Ensign Peak with Hannah and Wade.  It was a good size hike for a pregnant lady and two little kids.

Hogel Zoo:

On free zoo day the girls and I went to Hogel Zoo with some friends.  It was cold, but a lot of fun.  The girls even got to ride the Merry-Go-Round.

Jungle Jims:

I discovered that Jungle Jims has $2 Tuesdays.  So Sophie and Aspen and their friend Makenzie went to check out the rides.  They were pros on the rides since going to Lagoon.  They ran from ride to ride and had a great time.  There are only about 6-8 rides here, so we didn't stay for too long, but the girls had a lot of fun and we will definitely come back this winter.

Ogden Dinosaur Park:

One time with Jarem, Tressa, and their kids were in town we went to the Ogden Dinosaur Museum.  The first thing we saw after walking in was a really cool robotic T-Rex and Triceratops.  I was super excited the whole place would be like that, but the rest was mostly like a normal museum.  There was also a large section outside, but it was fairly cold and we didn't spend too much time out there.

Lots of Playgrounds:

This summer we spent lots of time playing on our swingset.  We also walked to the parks near our house with neighbor friends at least once a week (unfortunately I never took pictures of those outings).

 Splashparks:

 

We also played in our swimming pool, went to various splashparks, and learned to slide on the Slip-N-Slide we gave daddy for Father's Day.

Thankgiving Point:

My Thanksgiving Point pass is awesome because it lets me into lots of places for free.  There is "Farm Country" where the girls get to look at animals.  But the best part is that the girls get to ride the ponies and go for a tractor ride.  There is the Dinosaur Museum where the kids can see lots of fossils.  They also have a few fun sand and water play areas.  And there is the Curiosity Museum.  This has lots of fun rooms and areas for the kids to learn and play.  There is a park outside with a zip-line.  And there is a playground and ropes course inside the kids love (although it stresses me out because kids can easily get lost in there).

Treehouse Museum in Ogden:

Sometimes we go to the Treehouse Museum with Grandma Karla, Lacey, James and Avery.

Tulip Festival:

My Thanksgiving Point membership allowed me to get into the Tulip Festival for free as well.  We went one time with Grandma Sugar.  My whole goal in going was to take new pictures of the girls to hang on my wall.  Sophie is very photogenic and will pose for me fairly well.  Aspen will not sit still or smile under any circumstances.  I tried and tried and barely got any decent photos of her.  So we went back another time with Daddy and I still failed.  Maybe next year.
Wheeler Farm: