Zoo Trip 2010

On Thursday we picked up Grandma and headed to the Portland Zoo. It was overcast and a little cool, but it made for great animal voyeurism. Everyone else must have agreed because when we arrived at 11 am it was packed. Luckily we found a parking spot near the Children's Museum and were able to walk right in with the tickets I had purchased online thanks to my mother-in-laws suggestion.
This zoo has grown and evolved so much over the years. It isn't a huge, but it is well laid out and the exhibits are wonderful. It makes it easy to go and spend a few hours with your kids without getting exhausted.
We started out viewing the bears in the Great Northwest exhibit and worked our way around the zoo. L's favorite animals were the bears and the giraffe.

K's favorite animals were the goats and penguins. She really enjoyed brushing and petting the goats.


Grandma and I loved the polar bears and the sea lions. We couldn't get over how big the polar bears paws were or how cute the sea lions were.


After looking at all the animals we took a ride on the Oregon Steam Locomotive. L was so excited every time she saw the train going around the zoo that we thought she would enjoy going for a ride. She was, however, very afraid to get on and we had to force her through the door. Once inside the car, she was content to sent on grandma's lap. We were surprised at how long the ride was; it lasted for about 30 minutes. We went through the woods all around the zoo and saw only a few of the animals, but it was a very relaxing trip.

Towards the end of the ride L finally got off grandma's lap.

We were in the second to last car.
It was such a cute train; I loved hearing the horn and bell.

YW's Fancy Nancy Party

Wednesday was our Fancy Nancy party for our young women which we held in the backyard of one of the girls' homes. We had a contest for the fanciest dressed, so all the girls got gussied up. It was fun seeing the different outfits; even the leaders dressed up. Wish I had gotten a picture of us.
We started with a lesson on the Word of Wisdom and avoiding the appearance of evil. Then we learned a little bit about British dining culture. We followed that with a light meal of finger sandwiches, mini fruit kabobs, cream puffs, cupcakes, scones with homemade strawberry jam, and punch. We used M's grandmothers china and Milk Glass punch bowl and cup set. When we were done eating, we voted on who was dressed the fanciest. Almost everyone agreed it was Emma, she was stunning in her cute little tiara.

Doesn't the food look scrumptious?

The two tables all set up.

Avery, Emma, Ashley, Kaeley, Haley, and Becca.

Lea and Savannah.

Natallie and Allie.

Ten of our thirteen young women in the program.
Aren't they just adorable? They are such a great group of girls!

On the Road Again

We left for home on Monday at 7:30 in the morning. We drove straight through, only stopping for gas, potty breaks and lunch at Sonic. The girls did a great job traveling in the car so long without getting out of it much. We arrived home at 5:30 that evening. We had a great trip but were so glad to be back home again. Although I must say, I haven't slept as well since I left Em's house. I gotta get the brand name of her mattress we slept on.

Mt. Shasta was looking gorgeous!

L looking at scenery and playing with her lizards.

Looks so painful!
Oh to be a kid again with the ability to sleep in any position.

K zoning out to a movie on our portable DVD player.

Visiting the Brasher's

It has been so long since we have seen our dear friends the Brasher's. We enjoyed having time to catch up with each other and let the kids play. Early Saturday morning Ben took us to Auburn Ravine to take a little hike. It was pretty hot so early in the morning and the trail was dusty but we had a great walk. The hike took us to the base of a tall bridge where we let the kids have a snack and took some pictures. After our hike we went swimming to cool off at Ben's parents house. The pool was cool and refreshing after being in the hot sun.
On Sunday we all went to church, it was fun seeing a different chapel than our own and meeting the ward members. Their ward is massive and there are tons of kids! L really enjoyed nursery and K got to be in Ben and Emy's primary class. After church, we all took naps before eating the delicious meal Emy prepared for us.
Monday morning we packed up and headed out by 8 am so we could be home by late afternoon. We had a wonderful time and can't wait to see you all again. K has been talking non-stop about having C up to visit her. You are welcome anytime! Thank you for a lovely weekend and sharing your beautiful home with us. You all are amazing friends and we miss you already!

We walked to the base of this bridge.

K and C were almost inseparable on this trip!
It was so cute to see them playing so well together.

The beautiful Brasher family.

Walking up to the bridge.

Our family.

I absolutely ADORE this picture!

The kiddos had a great time swimming in the
cool pool water. I think it was 100 degrees out there!

K loved swimming in the pool. It is definitely time
for her to have swim lessons. She did a great job
and wasn't afraid to put her face under water.

L splashing me at the pool.

L hugging on C.

K and C saying good-bye.

E and N, so long friend. We had a great time.
See you again soon.

Our Trip to the Redwoods

We left bright and early on Friday morning headed to the Redwoods in northern California. We had snacks, drinks, a picnic lunch, and tons of things to entertain the kids. We started out playing travel bingo with K. We gave her a bingo card with different types of vehicles she had to find and mark off. When she got 5 in a row, daddy gave her something from our bag of toys he bought for a dollar or less. Both of the girls loved getting new toys to play with.



We got to the Redwoods around 10 am and found a spot to park so we could hike around. The girls found the huge trees fascinating and climbed all over them. I love the Redwoods, I am amazed at the size and height of these trees. After hiking around we found a road to drive down that took us to the Smith River in Jedidiah Smith Redwood State Park. It is a pretty and clear river with a rocky bed. We sat on the rocks and enjoyed our picnic lunch while listening to the sound of the water passing by.

These are the roots of a Redwood.

Daddy and the girls in a tree.

I love this picture.

Daddy and L relaxing on a tree.

Peaking out through a hollow tree.

The girls and me eating lunch.

Smith River. Isn't it clear?

After a relaxing lunch, we headed back to the highway and drove south along the coastline. It was a drastic change in weather from the redwoods, which were warm and sunny, to the coastline which was cold and foggy. We couldn't get any good pictures of the coast so we didn't stop along the way. We passed the Trees of Mystery and stopped to take pictures of Paul Bunyan and Babe. We didn't stay for the trees, we figure why pay for trees we already saw for free?

Looks like the Oregon Coast in winter.

K was fascinated with Paul Bunyan's ability to wave and talk.

When we were nearing Redding, we found a place called Whiskey Town Lake and decided to pull in and stretch our legs. The lake was large and very pretty but there was poison oak everywhere so we didn't walk around too much.

It was a little after 5 pm when we got back into our car and headed for Redding. We were only a few hours from our final destination, so we picked up the speed. After hitting Chico and stopping for dinner, we called our friends to let them know we were arriving ahead of schedule. They were happy to have us a day early and told us how to get to their home. What should have been a two hour drive turned into a three hour drive because all the roads we took were under construction. But after traveling for 17 hours, we were finally able to get out of the car and rest. The girls did an amazing job! They played games, listened to music, read books and finally, in the late afternoon, watched a movie. It was definitely a much easier drive than I thought it would be.

Fear Factor Mormon Style

For our Mutual activity on Wednesday, we put together a Fear Factor for our girls. There were six challenges for them to do. Some of them required a team effort, some two players to complete and some were individual challenges. We divided the girls into three teams of three. We were one girl short, so our beehive adviser stepped up to help out. Each team picked out their own name. I thought they were quite clever.

Purple Monkeys of Utopia

Graceful Ninja Butterflies

Super Stars

Challenge 1: Glob of Goo.
Two girls from each team had to taste six different jars of
baby food and determine what it was they were eating.

Challenge 2: Quick Hands.
The girls worked together to put together a
50 piece puzzle. The quickest team got the points.

Challenge 3: Mystery Surprise.
Two girls from each team had to drink a mixture we created.
The team that drank it the fastest got 5 points, second got 3 and
third got 1 point. However most of the teams couldn't stomach it.

We blended taco soup, blueberries, spinach, and ginger ale together.
I tasted it and it wasn't so bad, but the girls HATED it!

Kaeley was the only one who could drink it.
Way to go Kaeley!

Challenge 4: Lock and Key
One girl was locked up and another girl was blind-folded.
The blind-folded girl had to crawl down the field and dig through
a bucket of kitty-litter and tootsie rolls to find the key then make
their way back to their partner and unlock them.

Challenge 5: Pucker Up
All the girls from each team had to put a lemon in their
mouth and suck on it for one minute.

They all thought this was easy. I was surprised.
I only like lemon in lemonade with lots of sugar.

Challenge 6: The Plank
All the girls had to hold the plank yoga pose for as long as possible.
I was impressed by how long they were able to hold it.

Kristy, one of our leaders, was able to hold it the longest.

The Final Challenge: Ice Cream Scarf
This was our dessert part of the evening.The girls made a
sundae on the table with ice cream and assorted toppings.

Then they ate their sundae as fast as they could with out
using their hands. Stefanie was the winner of this challenge.

The final tally for Fear Factor. The girls had a great time and
were willing to try all of the challenges. We were so proud of them.
Next year maybe we will include the boys.