Utah Trip–Cornbelly’s and BYU Football

We have a week off for Fall Break (this is the first year of our new “Balanced Calendar” schedule), and so we decided to head out to Utah for the week!  The fun started Saturday morning when we met the Johnsons and Silvas at Cornbelly’s at Thanksgiving Point.  They had a huge corn maze which we wandered around for a little bit and then cheated our way to the exit. 

The kids had so much fun at all the attractions with their cousins.  So glad we got to spend some time with the Johnsons, even if it was just for a few hours! 

We went to Chris and Amy’s house they’re renting in South Provo for an early dinner and to hang out for a bit.  Then we took our kids to Bryan and Andi’s house, where they had gotten two babysitters for the kids so we could go to the BYU football game!  We took Kate to the game, which I was a little hesitant to do because I thought it would be cold, but we bundled her up good, and it actually ended up being a pretty nice night.  We met up with Scott and Elisha, and had such a fun night at the game!  We hadn’t been to a BYU football game in a long time, and it just made us think that we need to get out here more often!  Go Cougars!

Annie’s Sacramento Zoo Field Trip

Words and pictures by Annie (she took her camera with her):

Today I went to the Sacrament Zoo for a field trip.  We had to meet at 7:15 in the morning at school.  The bus we went on was really really big.  We had some snacks on the way there.  It was 2 1/2 hours away.  On the way there my teacher gave us a scavenger hunt of things to find during our drive.  This is me, Zoe, Nichola, and Kali in front of our bus.  

Once we got to the zoo, we saw people holding two animals.  One was a hedgehog and one was a lizard.  I didn’t get a picture of the hedgehog because it was wiggling around too much.  I think this was a spiked tailed lizard.  

Everyone had to do a report on an animal at the Sacramento Zoo.  This was my animal.  The Himalayan Monal.  So we had to tell the class 3-5 things about our animal.  All the other kids did their reports first, and mine was last because we couldn’t find my animal.  But then we finally found it.  When I saw it in real life, I thought the bird was really pretty.  This is the male bird.  The male is much more colorful than the female. 

And this is the female.  It’s a dull colored bird.  

After everyone did their report, we got to have some free time and just look around the zoo.  So I went with Zoe and her mom.  We went around and took silly pictures.  And we went to the gift shop.  I bought a necklace for Leah, a little toy for James, and a stuffed animal for me.  This was one of my favorite animals. The red panda.  I like it because it is really cute and it looks like a red raccoon. 

We were acting so scared to be sitting on an alligator!

The flamingos were really pretty. 

I saw this one by the water.  It looked really pretty, so I wanted to take a picture of it. 

It was the best field trip ever!!

This is Sarah now.  The only reason I felt comfortable sending Annie on this field trip was that Zoe’s mom, Kristen (one of my very good friends) went as a chaperone and I knew she would watch Annie like she was her own.  I knew Annie was in good hands!  Kristen sent me the following pictures throughout the day updating me on all the fun they were having!  Beginning with this picture at 7:30 am:

Kiah, Karleigh, Zoe, and Annie

Annie had such a great time!  She came home tonight all happy and excited to tell us all about her day.  She gave Leah and James the gifts she carefully picked out for them at the zoo gift shop.  What a sweetheart.  We definitely missed her today!  But I’m glad she could go on this little adventure and spend some great time with her friends.

Conference Weekend

We thought it would be fun to spend conference weekend in Folsom with the Shafers.  Dan had Friday off of work, so we took the girls out of school and headed out of town on Friday morning.  We met Kristen and her two boys at Costa Vida in Roseville for lunch.  Yum!!  It’s just like Café Rio, so of course we had to get our fix!  Then we hit up the shopping scene.  First a fun outdoor shopping area called The Fountains, and then the mall across the street.  Once John got home from work, we all headed to their place for the night . . . . dinner and the BYU football game. 

My parents and Michael left Saratoga on Saturday morning to meet up with us in Folsom.  They weren’t going to be in until 1:00, so we had the morning to go out and do something.  (Don’t worry . . . . we had the conference sessions recording!)  We decided to go to Apple Hill.  It’s only about 1/2 hour from their house, so going up for just a few hours is totally doable.  It was a gorgeous day, and Apple Hill was crowded.  We only made it to 2 of the farms (around 55 farms make up Apple Hill) but it was a great way to spend the morning.  We bought some apple donuts, picked a couple apples, and really just enjoyed the fall like atmosphere. 

 

We met up with Mom, Dad, and Michael, and headed on to our next activity . . . . kayaking!  Lake Natoma is the perfect place to rent a couple of kayaks and have some fun on the water.  Everyone loved it . . . . even my mom!  It was really fun and the perfect thing to do that afternoon. 

Saturday evening the guys attended the priesthood session of conference while my mom, Kristen, and I took the kids to the outlets for a little shopping.  We scored some serious deals at Gap, bought matching Christmas pajamas for all the little boys, and grabbed a few Rocky Mountain caramel apples for dessert.  Then we met up with the men at Macaroni Grill for dinner.  Then home to play Dominion and eat our apples!  Phew!  What a great day!!

Sunday was a lot more relaxing.  We just hung out in our pjs and watched conference all day.  We did make cinnamon rolls and played some more Dominion in between sessions, but it was good to feel the spirit of conference.  

Kate’s first General Conference!

She loved spending time with Grandpa!