Andrew got laid off about a month ago. During this time, we have tried to do something exciting as a family once a week, so not all of our time is spent job-searching, stressing, subbing, teaching piano, etc. Honestly, sometimes it has been tricky to find a time to schedule the fun.
Museum of Natural Curiosity
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
A new addition to our PBS kids' reading passes this year was a free pass to Thanksgiving Point. This was excellent news. We decided to go to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Andrew had never been before and it was fun to show him the ropes. We were bummed we missed the Daniel Tiger exhibit, but there was still plenty to do. The kids played there for a couple of hours and on our way home, we picked up a free pizza. Perfect.
Ice Skating
Saturday, February 4, 2023
I have wanted to take our kids ice skating for over a year! Thank heavens illness didn’t stop it from happening again. We went to the Cottonwood Heights Rec Center which has a large ice skating rink. The pricing was reasonable ($22 for the 4 of us including skates), it was fairly close, and there were aids available for new skaters which was the most important thing to me. I wanted the kids to be able to push something to prevent as many falls and tears as possible. The rec center had “seals” the kids could push. We could even give the kids a break and let them ride on the seals while we pushed them. These were so handy. One child wanted to be independent and return their seal after a short time. (Can you guess which one?)
I had low expectations going into ice skating. Our kids are young. I wasn’t sure if they would like it. Our kids thrived!! By the end, James had improved so much and was even getting good. Isabelle loved doing spins and holding both of our hands. I was so proud of the kids for trying something new and getting back up and trying again and again. This activity really wore the kids out. We lasted for about an hour before the kids (and in all honesty us too) were utterly exhausted. Ice skating made me feel old. Those skates hurt my poor ankles. Andrew’s feet were throbbing. I guess this is what it means to enter a new decade. We will be ice skating again. Maybe next time we’ll hit up a nearby outdoor rink. (This was out of the question when we went due to the nasty air quality.)
Outback Steakhouse, Provo Rec Center Pool, and Alexa’s final project
Friday, February 10, 2023
For Christmas, I got a gift card to Outback Steakhouse. We decided to bring the kids along which is rare. There were some noteworthy quotes:
Isabelle: Mom, where's the baking spot? (Kitchen)
James: We should come here every day!
I lost count of how pieces of bread James ate. The waiter couldn't keep up. It was enough to give James a bellyache. The cheesy fries were also popular with our crowd and we polished off a full order. It was special to eat here with my family. Growing up I went with my parents. Our kids are well-behaved and did better than we hoped, however, we had 2 potty emergencies and some restlessness at the end.
The Provo Rec Center Pool is known to be the best indoor pool in the state. We finally got to experience it ourselves and now we see why it has that reputation. (I had been to the pool before, but I don’t think our kids had been.) I wish you could see James jump for joy endlessly after coming down the big slide. Isabelle was uninterested in the slides/playground after a bit which isn't typical. I took her to an indoor playground and she found a gang of friends and was holding hands with strangers and crying when we had to leave.
We wanted to support Alexa and her Capstone project. She recently graduated from BYU and this was her final project. She is such a talented photographer; seeing her photos and creativity was enlightening. We sure made a grand entrance. Isabelle fell back into a canvas/backdrop hanging from the ceiling. It fell down. I was so embarrassed. Alex and Alexa were very gracious about it, but man I felt bad. It was a late night for us.
Other happenings...
Grandma Ditto turned 90 on February 1st
We had Grandma Ditto over for dinner the night before her 90th birthday on Tuesday, January 31. I was busy subbing that day/week, so pizza it was. I did throw together some tasty m&m cookies while she was here. Isabelle loved playing catch with Grandma. We also played Uno and Memory. Andrew deserves a shout-out for picking her up in Centerville and dropping her off after. (70 mins of driving each way.)
We got a dollhouse!
I have had my eye on dollhouses. Someone in our neighborhood posted a free ginormous dollhouse and I immediately claimed it. The kids have already spent so much time playing with it.
We're doing our best to cherish this extra time together. Now to decide what we'll do this week...
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