Merit Badges Galore

It has been a merit badge extravaganza this week. The boys had two classes at Hogle Zoo for Soil and Water Conservation and Bird Study. They also worked hard on finishing up their Insect Study badge and got that passed off when they went back for these classes this week. Whew. Getting to Eagle is not easy, that is for sure. Yesterday was the soil class and I dropped them off at nine and then had to kill three hours before I could pick them up again. There was no way I was going to drive home and back again. Not worth it.

Instead, I took my little kids to Liberty Park. They have completely redone the playground area and it is now quite fabulous. There is a splash pad and all new equipment. Three hours sped by, especially since we made a quick stop at Trader Joe's for some treats to hold us over.

Noelle just loved the swing.

And she loves her brother Eli. He was so cute with her. Julia and Harry each found kids to play with and keep them occupied, but Eli seemed content to just hang around with me and play with her. It was charming.

Then when we got home from the zoo, the boys spent another hour finishing up their insect scrapbook. It took us about 5 hours to find bugs and then have them sketch and observe and research. Oy.

Today, I decided to take the little ones to the University of Utah bowling alley, a popular spot for my husband all through college. He wasn't too sure where the library was, but he found the billiards and bowling alley the first day of school. And boy, my kids fit in well. We played with bumper lanes. I even bowled one game. And I really, truly stink at bowling. Believe me, I tried. I think my score was 65, with bumpers!  Harry and Eli beat me handily.

Harry even managed to get two spares in a row, and Eli threw a strike. Julia has inherited my bowling prowess, unfortunately.  And I think she is about as interested in it as I am. But Harry and Eli really enjoyed lobbing those balls down the lane. They bowled a second game and Julia quite after the 4th frame. Harry and Eli would each bowl her frame for her. And they both broke 100 on their second games. I think Harry's score was like a 114. He has got his daddy's skills for sure.

We then walked down to the bookstore and got a couple of kids books so that I could get the parking validated. It was free popcorn Wednesday, so four bags of popcorn was a nice consolation prize as well.

We then picked up Raef and Zach, got some lunch, and then went to the Jordan Water Plant in Sandy. The boys did a tour to learn about how we get our drinking water and then I made them write everything down when we got home. Like I said, it was a Boy Scouting extravaganza these past few days.

I am wiped out!

Lunch Dates Galore

Exciting things are on the horizon for the next few weeks. We are taking Raef and Zach on an American history trip. We will be flying into Baltimore and then flying out of Boston. My mom is coming to take care of the kids while we are gone. I feel very blessed that she could do this for us.

Unfortunately, this means I am not going to see my four little kids for two whole weeks. That is a long time.  Eli suggested that I take him on a date, so I committed to taking all three of them individually on a lunch date this week. It was interesting to see what they picked.

Eli got to go first and he chose Panda Express. I was sure surprised by that.  He thinks it is the best restaurant in the world and that it is a fancy place. It just makes me smile. I made sure to get him some chopsticks and he did surprisingly well with them. Only a couple of pieces ended up on the floor. And boy, he sure had a lot on his mind. He would bombard me with the most random questions...how do light switches work? How do cars work? Did I ever have a coin collection when I was a kid? etc. etc. etc.  I can't even remember the questions because there were so many and they were in rapid fire succession. He is really at the gathering stage of his life, soaking up as much knowledge as he can.

Harry was the next day, Thursday. His choice? Well, where do you think a 4 year-old boy would choose? Yep, McDonald's. We didn't do much talking. He would go and play on the playground. Then he would come back and talk a little bit and then be off again. Harry was excited to get the french fries, chicken nuggets and toy. It was a Spiderman electro guy. He kept forgetting what it was called and would ask me repeatedly. He also really wanted chocolate milk, so after a quick stop at the thrift store, I splurged and bought him a bottle. The boy was really happy about that.

In the evening I took everyone to Hogle zoo. Raef and Zach were there to do a merit badge class on insects. So we spent a little bit of time at the zoo seeing the animals.

It was a cool moment when the gorilla decided to get a closer look at the kids.

Rinar flew in from Denver and was able to meet us for dinner after I left Raef and Zach at their class. It was a happy reunion. We are always very happy when daddy comes home!

Today, Julia finally got her turn for a date. She didn't really care where we went, just as long as she got to eat some pancakes. I decided to take her to The Egg and I, the newest restaurant in Draper, that happens to be super close to our house. She was an adorable little date, and had lots to talk about also. It was funny when they brought her a drink. I showed her that the straw was bendy and her face just lit up in amazement. She was wowed! It is good to be reminded of the cool little things in life. Bendy straws are pretty fantastic when you think about it. Julia also really loved the flowers on the table. She adores flowers, a whole lot. If you want to unlock her heart, give her flowers.