Our 2nd week started off with a lazy “recovering” day on Monday… The kids haven’t really been getting good "down /nap time each day so here and there we would throw in a down day and just relax and enjoy Park City. The kids love the park at the bottom of the hill and sometimes if the park was empty I took the kids to the park in the middle of the outlet mall… The kids love meeting New friends… and I think really think it’s important for kids to have a lot of interaction with new children. I think it will help Connor when it comes time for school to start.
Tuesday we had a train redo… it was a beautiful day and the kids were so excited. Especially with the tease the week before.
We got there early enough to get great seats on the train. I knew it was super important to get seats with a great windows.
The train moved at a slower but steady pace. It was beautiful scenery. It took us half way through the Provo canyon we made it to the end the kids and Grandma got off to run around a little, while I stayed on to save our seats and try to put Curtis down for a nap… very unsuccessful. My Little cat napper was too excited about what was going on. I think he took a 15 minute nap. They sounded the 10 minute warning and everyone started to head back to the train. We got into motion heading back into Heber. We were only on the track 10 minute when we made a stop….. an unexpected stop…. everyone was a little confused and started to worry when the conductor came into our car and told us our engine had died and they had another one coming….
so after a 45 minute stand still wait…..we were back on track… during those 45 minutes we tried to keep the kids entertained. We went and got ice cream bars from the concession car. I am sure they have NEVER sold that much merchandise in one ride, ever.
On Thursday, Connor’s real birthday we wanted to do something special so we ventured to Thanksgiving point to explore. I didn’t realize how much there was to do there. We decided to visit the Dinosaur Museum. Connor loved it.
We wandered around a lot of the exhibits and then went into the 3D theatre to watch one of their dinosaur movies. I think Connor liked the 3D thing... something I am not particularly into but for this movie it was fun. Have way through the movie I could tell Chloe was getting tired… so I tried to keep her attention with some gummy bears I had in my bag… when she asked for more and I told her “no” (she doesn’t like that word….) she started to break down. She started to throw a little fit… which escalated pretty quickly. So with Curtis and Connor with my Mom I tried to stay calm and took Chloe out of the theatre. At this point she was devastated and continued freaking out…. I was shocked at how far she was taking this tantrum. Usually I can talk her out of it and calm her down but I could tell I had lost her. I did for a brief moment have my Chloe and we were in a good place… but as we waited for everyone else to get out of the theatre she lost it again. So as I was taking her out of the museum we ran into grandma and the boys. I told my mom to enjoy the museum with Connor.. its his day…… so she went back in and they had fun.
I took Chloe to the car and let her continue with her fit. This is the worst fit I have ever experienced with Chloe…. I ended up in the front seat sipping on a diet coke trying to keep my cool while Chloe was on the floor in the back. When a window of calm came I took advantage and invited Chloe to come sit with me. She came and sat on my lap and we talked. I hate seeing my kids that upset but she was just so tired it was worthless fighting with her. I explained it was because she was so tired.. and its ok to be tired…. I told her I was tired and it was ok. She nodded her head and put her teary face on my chest and slowly drifted to sleep. So here I am in the Jeep with a 3 year old drooling down my chest, sweaty, uncomfortable and tired. Why share this story? Well while I sat there with a dead phone (so no entertainment) all I had were my thoughts…. kinda scary. but I thought of how I love being a mother and I thought of my mother and all the sacrifices my mom made for me. Maybe she never held me in her arms while I drooled all over her…etc… but I remember so many times she went above and beyond the call of duty for me. I remembered the time she drove me and 2 or 3 of my girlfriends from a soccer game somewhere in Maine into Boston (right mom?? ) either Boston or Connecticut somewhere to go see Christina Aguilera in concert. She didn’t even have a ticket. She had planned on staying in our Big Van the entire concert and then drive us home.. After all the effort and money and stress of it… Christina canceled her concert… so we rolled out of the parking lot blasting Britney Spears music with the windows down. Now I am sure my Mom could’ve have been a million other places but she was with me… and I LOVE her for that. I just hope I can be there for my children like she was for us. love you mama.
ok back to our trip….. Love you Chloe :)
My Mom was so sweet and offered to watch the kids so I could go visit the temple… not only once but 3 times… The day I drove to the new Draper temple, we didn’t think to check but it was closed due to Pioneer day. But the 2 temples I went to were the Jordan River and then Mt. Timpanogos. 2 I have never been to. I really enjoyed being in the temple and have that time to get some answers I have been searching for. Thank you Mom.
On Friday while Grandpa was working we drove up to Layton to spend the morning with Grandma and Grandpa Pedersen. They were so sweet, they had little birdhouses ready for the kids to paint and then hang up in the backyard. They painted 2 each and we brought home 3 and left 3.
I helped Curtis out a little with his. Surprisingly his birdhouses turned out the cutest : ) They showed off their Gorgeous garden. I was so impressed on how much they have out there. I would save so much money on produce if I was half the gardener they are! Great job guys!! like I said I am happy if our grass is green…. We had lunch, the kids played on the floor with Grandpa’s cars and we played in their basement. The kids enjoyed exploring the house. We had fun… anytime we get to spend with the Pedersen clan is a treat. We always wish we lived closer we could stop by more often : ( someday…. if not in this life… in the next.
While Grandpa was in town on Saturday they took us up to a lake somewhere in Oakley? I don’t remember the name of the lake you’ll have to read my Mom’s blog for that info : )
But before leaving we found some friends in the backyard eating Grandma’s Bushes… urgh!!! we tried scaring them off but I am sure they found their way back after we left.
Once at the lake the kids were a little nervous at first and the water was a wee bit chilly compared to Arizona’s bath water pools…. After the kids got comfy riding the kayaks with us they were begging for more and more. Chloe and I saw, what I thought to be either a beaver or an otter in the water. We didn’t get a great look at it but I saw it dive down so I saw it’s back…. so fun. The Utah sun always surprises me… even though it was a little “chilly” ( My dad will scoff at that… ) but we all came home with a little tan. Wonderful!
Monday morning we decided to do something on the spiritual side so what’s a trip to Utah without visiting Temple Square?
Due to the temple being closed, the grounds were quiet… well at least until we got there : ) Its been awhile since I actually walked around both of the visitor centers. The one on the south side had really changed, it was really interesting.
We went through both visitor centers, the tabernacle, the little chapel and then the conference center. By the time we got to the conference center the kids were a little worn down but they were really amazed at how big the conference center was.
After the conference center we had lunch at the Garden at the top of the Joseph Smith Building.
(picture courtesy of Connor)
Delicious.
*look at those beautiful girls… it’s amazing to me… I came from one and I created the other… such beauty.
One of the waitresses came over and told me that Curtis was “pretty” She said I know that’s not what you say about boys but he’s “so Pretty” I thought that, that was sweet. My little pretty boy.
Next on our list was to visit the aquarium. I was surprised at how cool it was on the inside, from the outside appearance I wasn’t expecting much. But they had a little bit of everything. My favorite I think was the otter. They are just so cute and playful and it confirmed my theory of what I saw at the lake the previous weekend in the water. 
It was fun… a little tiring chasing the kids from one exhibit to the next but it was fun watching their faces light up at each new window. Chloe of course loved the penguins… 
I think we could have stayed there all day watching them waddle around. I’m sure that’s how I walked when I’m 9months pregnant….
After seeing all we could see we ventured out to get some lunch.. we decided on Burger King which had a play place for the kids to get completely exhausted on…. we told the kids if they ate their lunch all gone they could go play…. so here’s a look at our table side entertainment. This is seriously how Chloe eats a hamburger. Love this little girl. She ate Every last bite. She loves her burger! And then she was off and probably burned it all off climbing up the slides and then sliding down… over and over and over again!
We Enjoyed our time in Utah this summer. Arizona heat is exhausting so 3 weeks in Utah might sound like a long time but it really does break up the summer for us. We love being with Grandma and Grandpa….. and… Suki I guess… :) 
We had an amazing time and we look forward to the next visit with grandma and grandpa!! We love you and thank you for sharing your summer with us!
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