Happy Birthday!!

So for Justin's birthday we went up the canyon and went hiking. No small event of course but a good time was had by all (particularly after it was over if you ask Sam). The kids did good, they all carried their own backpacks for the most part. They walked the whole way up and back (Michelle was carried on the way back). It was a 3 mile hike. There was still snow so we had ourselves a snowball fight. Justin's comment was "I've never had a snowball fight on my birthday before." Now he has. :)

My friend came over and babysat for us (thanks Tracey) on Friday night so Justin and I went on a date. We went on a picnic and a walk along the Jordan River. I have to show off his gift he got. This fabulous blanket! Doesn't it look great? This would be me bragging since I am the one who made it. I was most excited that I was able to get the top completely done without Justin knowing I was doing it. The back will be the U of U fabric and there will be flannel in the middle. It is meant as a nice blanket for wrapping up while he sits down in his office, either studying or playing computer games. Now just to finish it and more importantly finish it in a reasonable amount of time.

Happy Birthday to the greatest Dad and Husband around (of course we are biased). :)

Field Trip

Kennecott Copper Mine
by Sam
We went to a mine. We saw rocks. We saw movies. We saw how the mine worked. The mine looked like an upside down pyramid. The truck tires were huge. It took years for the mine to develop. Trucks went down into the mine. There was a HUGE tire. I was not even half of it. I liked the mine.

Kennecott Copper Mine
by Hannah
We went to the mine. We saw rocks. We saw the big tire.

By Mom: This week was free at the mine so we headed out on a field trip. We were shuttled to the visitors center on buses. The kids loved the bus ride up because the little TVs were showing Tom and Jerry. I think Tom and Jerry were the highlights of the trip for a little bit. We walked around and looked down into the mine and then looked at some of the exhibits. They also had a movie but the line for that was too long and I think we got most of what they would have shown in the movie looking at the exhibits. The last time I went to the mine, about 8 yrs ago, it was kind of cool to see but they have a much nicer visitor center now. Lots of fun displays, pictures, and yes, short movies that tell how the mine works, how they process the copper, and even light up displays (push the button ones that kids love). And then, being the mean mom that I am, I made Sam and Hannah write reports about their trip. Then for fun I let them type them up on the computer, so above are their reports: 7 sentences was the requirement for Sam and I don't have a requirement for Hannah but she wrote 5 lines. :) ah, good times!