Day 6

Day 6 we headed to Farmington, UT to go to Lagoon! If Disney Land is the happiest place on earth, is Lagoon the happiest place in Utah? Could be...

Ben has never been to Lagoon and I haven't been since my senior year of high school, so we were very excited to go, especially to be taking our kids.

Here is the whole crew in the Lagoon parking lot, minus my dad who is taking the picture.

And the first thing we do when we get inside is.... sit down! We were waiting for everyone to get through the gates and make a game plan.

We started the day off by doing all the kiddie rides.

We were kind of nervous about taking the babies- we didn't know if it was worth it to pay for tickets for them because we didn't know if there was enough rides they go could on to make it worth it. But there was lots of kiddie rides and so many other rides that they could go on with adults. I am so glad we took them.

But it was kind of weird putting my little one year olds on a ride all by them self... they seem way too young. Leah was all smiles until the boats started moving and to keep with true Leah fashion, she started to cry. But once she realized that it was fun, she calmed down. Lexi was the exact opposite- she calmly steered her side of the boat and acted like she rode rides at Lagoon every day.

Chloe was a trooper to ride some kiddie rides with the babies. This shot captures Leah and Lexi's personalities perfectly- Leah all tears, Lexi all smiles. Leah really did enjoy herself the whole day, but she does not adapt well to new environments. This was definitely new to her and crying is how she deals with the anxiety of new situations and activities. But when she warmed up to everything, she was actually much more excited and in to the rides then Lexi was.

And here is my man- what guy he was this day. Although he'd never been to Lagoon before, he was always the one to volunteer to stay off rides and watch kids, or ride as many kiddie rides with the little ones as they wanted. Everyone was very concerned that Ben wasn't having fun or that he was not riding enough rides, but he told me that he's to the point in his life where he'd rather watch his kids have fun then do things for himself. He wanted this to be a fun experience for the kids and he was going to do all he could to make that happen. Our kids had a blast and that made his day as fun as it could be. It really was so fun to see our kids have so much fun.

My favorite Lagoon ride, Rattle Snake Rapids, was closed that day (darn!) but my next favorite ride- The Log Ride- was open and we all rode that about 5 times in a row.

It was an exhausting day, though. Poor Carter just needed a nap, and his mom told me he never falls asleep like this.

He was such an amazing little guy all week. His parents couldn't come on any of our day trips due to his newborn brother just getting home from the hospital, but they let us take Carter with us every day and we are so glad. He is so much fun and hilarious. We loved having him with us every day and for missing so many naps and having no parents around, he was exceptionally well behaved and so much fun.

Me and Mitch, riding over Lagoon

Chloe, Grandma and Paige

Mitch was exhausted too, but waited to crash until just before we were leaving the park for the day around 8 pm.

We stopped for a late dinner in Layton at Chilis, at Carter's request. He has severe food allergies and this is one of the few restaurants where he knows he can safely eat something on the kids menu.

We didn't get back to Logan until 11:30 p.m. What a long but fun day!

Day 5

Day 5 we headed to Ogden.

My two twin divas rocked their sunglasses and sippee cups on the ride up

Our first stop was the Hill Air force Base Aerospace Museum.

There was lots of neat airplanes for the kids to look at.

I wish I could be pushed around everywhere in a stroller!

This fierce looking plane with teeth was a favorite for the little boys

The 3 "big" kids

The museum had a really neat kids area inside. It was amazing. We stayed in there for well over an hour and the kids played non stop. There was so much to do.

Carter and Tristan enjoyed the hand held airplane toys

Mitch thought he was pretty cool keeping a ping pong ball in the air using a hair dryer

Lexi found herself a second Mom, my sis-in-law Charity. We dubbed her the "2 mom." Lexi loved her and wanted Charity to hold her many times all week.

Mitch, Lexi and Tristan- They landed on the moon!

They had so much space and airplane dress up gear for kids and adults. It was so cute. Leah and I loved the helmets!

Mitch was a great pilot. Since his daddy works on airplanes, we thought it was fitting that he finally got to fly one.

We stopped for lunch after the aerospace museum, then headed to the Eccles Dinosaur Park.

We have been looking forward to this place for months. Mitchell is obsessed with dinosaurs and I was very excited to see his reaction to dinosaurs everywhere.

He found the T-rex right away!

Ben decided to let him get up close and personal with the T-rex and it was a little too close for Mitch... That look on his face is terror. It was good for him. One of his favorite movies is Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and he went through a stage a few months ago where he watched that movie daily and would then beg and beg and beg for me to buy him a baby T-rex. He wanted a real one. Maybe this up close encounter will deter him.

Carter is going through a stage where he doesn't like getting his picture taken, so I had to trick him into thinking I wasn't taking a picture of him, but of the dinosaur.

Mitchell also loves the movie "Land Before Time." They refer to the dinosaurs on there as Sharp Tooth, spike tails, 3 horns and Long Necks. Those names are so much easier to say then most of the real names. So here we are posing with a long neck.

It was HOT (especially for us Seattle-ites), and everyone needed a break

Comparing human feet to dino feet

After walking around to see all the dinos, the kids played on a playground and in the grass. It was a nice break from all the walking we'd done all day.

Lexi and Papa shared a treat.

We had a great day. The dinosaur park was fun- it wasn't quite as amazing as I was hoping for, but I am glad we went. I am hoping that going there, if nothing else, will buy me some time before Mitch asks (again) when he can get a baby T-rex.

Day 4

Day 4 started with my sister Amanda, her husband and baby arriving home from the hospital (hooray!)

We all got ready for the day, then headed out to tour Logan. Logan is where Ben and I met, dated and fell in love, so it is a very special place for us. We loved it there for many reasons and miss it a lot. Ben hasn't been here in 4 or 5 years, so he was really anxious to drive around and see what was new and what had changed.

Our first stop was our old college apartments.

We were in the same ward and met for the first time at Ward Prayer, where we found out that we lived close by- in the same parking lot,

to be exact.

Here is all of us in front of my old apartment. Our first kiss was on that door step. Now it's full of us and our four kids!

Ben and I were commenting how when we were here and dating, we probably never could have imagined having 4 kids and living the wonderful life that we do now. Oh, what it was like to be single and kidless! :) Life was much simpler then, but what a blessing have an eternal family is. I don't really miss my single days because having a loving husband and kids is all I ever wanted, but it is fun to reminisce and remember fun and special memories, and occasionally it is fun to remember what it was like to go to the bathroom alone and never have anyone banging on the door tattling or needing anything, or being able to shower without much planning or being able to walk out the door without diapers, sipees and toys in hand! And being able to go on a date without calling a babysitter, paying for a babysitter, or having a babysitter call in the middle of dinner.

And across the parking lot from my old apartment was Ben's apartment.

Reenacting a little bit of the Utah State magic!

After our stop at the apartments, we headed up to campus. We went to the Aggie bookstore and bought the kids some Aggie shirts and gear, then headed outside to explore and walk around. The kids and cousins all love the water fountain that we stopped at in the middle of campus. My mom and I were shelling out pennies and nickels as fast as we could find them in our wallets for them to throw in.

Group shot!

Our next stop was the famous "A" where True Aggies are made. In order to become a True Aggie, you must kiss someone who is already a True Aggie on top of the "A" under a full moon at midnight, OR you can kiss anyone (even someone who is not a True Aggie) on Homecoming Night.

True Aggie wanna be's:

Paige, Chloe, Jace, Carter and Mitch

Ben and I never became True Aggies together- Ben had become a True Aggie before by someone else and I had no interest in it at the time, but regret it now.

Kissing on the "A"- it was not under a full moon at midnight or on Homecoming Night, so it didn't make us True Aggies. But I'll take a kiss from this guy anytime.

My dad is a USU Alumni, but I'm pretty sure not a True Aggie!

True Andros'!

Lexi and Leah, warming up the "A"

Future Aggies!

We tried these shirts on them in the bookstore to see how they would fit (knowing they'd be too big for awhile) and then they both screamed when we tried to take them off, so we left them on. More like little Aggie dresses, I guess.

My two nephews, Carter and Jace. They are cousins (not siblings) and Jace is the most responsible and caring 10 year old boy I know. He helped look after all of his younger cousins all week, especially Carter. They have such a special bond. It's hard being the oldest cousin, but Jace does a great job.

Carter and Mitch matched again this day- they even had the exact same shoes too. (That made for some confusion getting shoes on every morning that week).

Looking at some construction on campus

The last place we stopped on campus was at the Engineering Lab where Ben spent countless hours studying and working. Thank goodness for all his hard work there, which has blessed us with a job that he enjoys that supports our family. Nerds rule! :)

GO AGGIES!