Dinosaurs

So Christine was nice enough to take us boys on a dino adventure for her birthday weekend. I have fond memories of dinosaur national monument from when I was young, so I have been wanting to take the kids there for a long time. Unfortunately, the dino wall and visitor center had been closed since we got here due to structural concerns. I think the park got some stimulus funds though and rebuilt everything to open last fall. It was a lot of fun to visit. We meant to get out there during spring break, but had to cancel the trip, so I could train to be a refinery operator (strike training).

We had a blast. You can look at the whole album here and I have shared a few photos below.

Ryan and Colin absolutely loved learning about all the different dinosaurs. They had lots of questions for the rangers (luckily it wasn't crowded) and for me.

Mason even had a good time. He struggled with the hiking a little bit (we did about a 1.5 miles), but he maintained a great attitude the whole time. His favorite part was the allosaurus. He brought home a mini one and it likes to eat everything in sight. Since it's such a naughty dinosaur, he spends a lot of time in time out. Mason is such an interesting kid. He loves Mommy the most (He loves daddy just a little). The other day though he told Christine that he loves his Donkey Kong Wii game more than her. Though he doesn't want to have to choose.

The petroglyphs were really neat to. Apparently the natives were really into lizards:

Jackson is of course our little Doll. He goes with the flow and enjoys whatever we are doing:

Also, don't forget the ice cream:

Mining for Copper

Originally posted April 21 2012

It's been a pretty and fun busy week for us. Unlike Mom and Dad Krogue who are putting the finishing touch on their botanical gardens, we're struggling (somewhat unsuccessfully) to keep the dandilions from taking over the yard and to get the grass to look a little greener. We spent part of today picking out some of the weeds, spraying others and applying fertilizer. We also got the sprinklers turned on for the season.

Yesterday we got the news that Ryan and Colin had been accepted into the spectrum (full-time gifted and talented) program. In Davis county this is quite an accomplishment (they accept about 2 kids per school per grade). Unfortunately the elementary school with the program is a 22 minute drive. Ryan and Colin are unsure they want to leave their friends. We have to decide one way or the other by the end of the month. Any thoughts?

Last night I took Ryan and Colin to see Chimpanzee. It was an enjoyable film about an unlikely chimp adoption story. We really liked it.

Today we went out to the Bingham Canyon Mine to take the tour. Ryan and Colin absolutely loved it, and Jackson went along for the ride. Mason was perpetually bored, but what else is new. It was fun to see the big trucks, the huge open pit and learn new things. They have quite the operation.

From

On the way home we swung by the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was really pretty and there were several wedding parties loitering around the grounds.

And no day would be complete without ice cream of course!