Bingham Copper Mine

I've been wanting to take the boys to see the copper mine ever since we moved to Utah. Yesterday I saw a facebook post from Dresses & Messes that the mine is offering free admission for the month of May, so we loaded up and drove on over. It really is quite an impressive sight even from miles away.

The wind was blowing so hard at the top it about knocked us over, so I was lucky to get the few pictures I did.

They say it is larger than two Sears/Willis Tower's stacked on top of one another. Having stood on the skydeck of the Willis Tower just two years ago and feeling like I would pass out as I looked down on the city, I can appreciate just how deep the mine really is. It was dizzying just standing there to take pictures (especially with the wind blowing).

Of course the favorite were the ginormous trucks the size of a 2 story house which look like tiny toys from up here.



The museum inside has a lot of rock specimens, replica's of the mine, a movie about how it all works, and of course a lot of little trucks and tractors (Grant was really upset that he couldn't play with the trucks, he kept saying "get trucks out!")

And as a bonus the road we took to get there went right past the Up house...

If you live in Utah, go print off your free coupon and head on over, it's a fun experience and you can't beat the price! Plus the gift shop has awesome copper postcards and a great selection of copper bracelets for under $10 (a great gift for out-of-towners).

Spring has sprung...kind of...

At least it did for a few days... We were out in shorts one day and it snowed the next. I'm so glad we visited Thanksgiving Point before the official start of the tulip festival because I after this crazy weather they won't be quite as beautiful. We are so looking forward to spring staying for more than two days at a time so we can start having our school here again. Couldn't ask for a more beautiful classroom setting...

Linking up at:

P.S. Don't forget to enter to win a Gift Certificate to Parley Ray Boutique! The cutest darn rufflebutts / diaper covers / bloomers. Simply adorable and they make the PERFECT photography props.

Zion's

The boys and I went down to Zion's canyon for the weekend. Ethan spent the entire week there with his grandparents hiking around (it was fabulous only having two kids for the week!) The weather was beautiful Friday & Saturday, sunny but not too hot.

We all hiked to the pools and the boys of course had to jump in the water and get all wet and then roll around in the red dirt turning themselves into muddy messes.

Sunday was my sister's baby blessing- you'd never guess that at 8 pounds little Lily is 4 months old! She was less than 3 pounds when she was born and is doing remarkably well.

We saw a little snow on our drive back, but fortunately it wasn't too bad. It was a nice little weekend getaway.

p.s. the adorable diaper cover comes from this store.

 

Our new favorite place...

Can I just say that I LOVE IKEA?!? I have never lived so close to one before and it is one of our most favorite places.

In Kentucky our "hang out" place was Barnes & Noble. The kids would play with the trains while I read or checked up on emails, and we'd always take home a book or two. The BN here (in baby central, go figure) has NO chairs by the train table. Apparently they don't want you "hanging out" in their store. So...we had to find a new place to chill. And find one we did.

IKEA offers FREE childcare for one hour (at least for two of my three boys)! After our first visit Ethan said "this is better than Thanksgiving Point!" It is seriously genius. I can shop with only one little rugrat and it is impossible to leave the store without buying something (even if only their dark chocolate bar, YUM).

So, not only is there free childcare while you shop, but on Tuesdays kids eat free. That's right FREE.  Monday they serve FREE breakfast until 11. And when we're out doing other errands and lunchtime approaches, we can swing by for a 50 cent hot dog and they all fall asleep on the way home.

They also have a huge train table with couches for me to sit. We could seriously hang out all day long with all the fun things for kids to do. We go at least once a week, although last week we went three times! I've got a long list of things to buy between now and when we leave here (might have to upgrade from a trailer to a full size uhaul!) and although I try to spread it out over my visits, it's impossible to get out with just one or two things!

Buh-by bookstore, hello IKEA!

Festival of Trees

I went to Festival of Trees this last week. There is such an amazing display of Christmas trees, wreaths, gingerbread houses, and more! All the proceeds go to Primary Children's Hospital, such a great cause and a fun way to start the holiday season!

The Lego tree was a big hit with the boys, and fortunately there were lots of trains too!

I love this frame idea- I'm so doing this when I get my own house again!

And don't forget- last chance to win a free copy of Skousen's book, The 5,000 Year Leap.

Click here to enter.

Linking up at:

Simple things...beauty of the earth

I was going through my pictures today and found an entire folder that was still in raw. When I opened them in Lightroom I was pleasantly surprised to see they were the autumn pictures I'd taken at Thanksgiving Point! I completely forgot about them. We brought our schoolwork and climbed to the top of one of the pavillions and camped out all day. The boys jumped in the leaves and rolled down the hills and just had a fabulous day.

They also have an amazing new exhibit on Jesus Christ and I was excited to see it was finally open. Simple pleasures that make my heart smile : )

link up your simple pleasures...

Sister retreat

I had the best weekend! We got together for the annual Osborne sister's retreat. A weekend full of food, shopping, pedicures and NO children! It was awesome. It was so rejuvenating to just take a break and enjoy being me again (minus my camera which got dropped and the lens guts popped out). We stayed in a condo right across from temple square and it was so beautiful in the morning with all the snow that fell.

There were some fabulous sales going on and I found the perfect pair of skinny jeans to wear with my boots! I have tried on at least two dozen jeans in the last month trying to find a pair that would look cute, but everything seems to be made for little twigs with no hips. These jeans fit like regular jeans until the knee and then are perfectly tapered to fit inside boots. Awesome. In case you were wondering, they're Vigoss from Nordstrom. They go perfect with the two new pairs of boots I got and the trendy mustard jacket I picked up at Boheme, my new favorite store. If you have not shopped there yet, you've got to- they have such adorable clothes and since it's a boutique, each store is different and they get new styles in every two weeks! I love shopping in Utah!

Last chance to register to win Hilary Weeks new CD...

Oh deer!

Meet our new "pets". We have six deer that come to visit us every morning and evening. They are brave little guys and come right up next to the house. They love to eat all the apples that fall from the trees and one even gets up on his hind legs to pick his favorites right off the tree. The boys just love deer watching!

I had to sneak these pictures through the window...

P.S. Here are a couple more pictures of Grant on his birthday!

I heart Bountiful Baskets!

Wouldn't it be awesome to eat healthy for half the cost? I heard a few things about Bountiful Baskets before moving back out west and was super excited to try it since they didn't have it where I lived in Kentucky. This week was my second pickup, and I have to say I couldn't be more ecstatic!

My first pickup I arrived with a small box, not expecting much for $15. I walked in to the school gym where they are distributed and saw the huge round laundry baskets brimming with produce and looked back down at my small box...the lady directing people said "um...I think you're going to need a bigger box..." I didn't realize that for $15. I got TWO baskets of produce! One full of vegetables and one full of fruit. I typically pay $5 for grapes or apples alone...I just love that I can get an entire week's supply of fruits & vegetables for $15 (or $25 for organic).

The fun part is the produce is different every time, the week before included corn, limes and pomegranates. I was also pleasantly surprised at what high quality produce it is, there were no fruit flies or bad spots and the grapes are the sweetest grapes I think I've ever eaten. I also got the tortilla pack which is about 15 pounds of tortillas- plate size, small size, corn...they are fabulous. The only commitment is to help distribute the food once every six pickups. Two hours of my time every six weeks is sooo worth the savings!

They recommend that you wait to go shopping until after you've picked up your basket and then plan your meal around the vegetables provided and with the savings you can afford higher quality meats. I am making a large veggie tray and a large bowl of fruit salad (stir in a little vanilla yogurt to prevent browning & some pecans because they're delicious) to keep in the fridge for the kids to snack on during the week. So not only will my family have healthier options, but we're saving a bundle of money at the same time!

So, if you're like me and don't have access to fresh home grown produce, check out Bountiful Baskets!

And...I just have to mention that I have THE best mother in law in the world! She is amazing. I know you're going to hate me because it's very rare to have such an awesome MIL, but mine is. Just one example of how amazing she is... Thursday when I was preparing for Ethan's birthday, I tried making a cake. I've made hundreds of cakes, but for some reason I thought I could use this yummy confetti cupcake recipe and make it into- not two layer cakes, but one round cake. Well, as you can probably guess it overflowed. Making a huge mess in the oven and ruining the cake. But optimistic little me I thought I'd just scoop half into another round pan and that would fix it. Nope. Two flat multi-colored pancakes came out of there. I should have taken a picture but it was just too pathetic. So I decided he didn't need a birthday cake. We'd have another one at the end of the month for Grant's birthday and that would just have to do.

The next morning after breakfast I saw the pans sitting upside down on the cooling rack and thought I'd better take care of my mess. I lifted it up the pans and underneath were two perfectly baked yellow cakes! I have no idea how she found the time to bake them since she had to leave around 7:30 that morning, but there they sat. I found this adorable monster cake on and set to work. I will certainly never win a contest for my decorating skills, but it made one five year old quite happy!

He had a fun birthday- we went to Thanksgiving Point's corn maze during the day and managed to only lose one of them (temporarily), and Chuck e Cheese in the evening. He saw a commercial once and kept saying he wanted to go because "it's where a kid can be a kid" so I figured I'd take him once and he'd see that it really wasn't all that fun. Wrong. He loved every minute of it, and so did the other boys. 

When we got home he opened his presents... Grandma & Grandpa got him some footie pajamas and I've never seen a kid get so excited! He was literally jumping up and down saying he always wished he could have some like that (he's outgrown all his and gets jealous when his little brothers are wearing them). He then announced that he thought it was time to get ready for bed.

We had to convince him to stay and see what other presents he had ;)  His aunt and uncle got him a fun game- Zingo- and we spent the rest of the evening playing it. It was a pretty fun (and exhausting) day.

Thanksgiving Point fun

We live really close to Thanksgiving Point so I decided to get a pass for the boys. It was well worth it. We are loving it so much! The gardens are incredibly beautiful and peaceful and the perfect place to have school on a sunny day. It's also a great reward for finishing up their school work early.

The boys love walking around the gardens and learning the different types of trees and plants.

The Noah's Ark splash park is the perfect way to cool off on a hot Utah day. Near the tower there is also this interesting contraption and the boys get such a kick out of pulling the levers and hearing the silly noises it makes and getting soaking wet as it sprays and shoots water on them.

The farm is amazing, they can ride horses, feed goats and milk a cow (how cool is that?!?)  The dinosaur museum also has a fun sand/water table and a huge sand box area where they can uncover dinosaur bones. We love this place!

 P.S. we can get friends in for half price, if you ever want to join us!

I also get to run on this awesome trail which is right near T.P., it's so beautiful in the morning when the sun is just starting to rise...love it!