Mall Time with Mommy

Yesterday I wanted to get out, so Lucky and I went to the Provo Towne Centre mall to go up and down escalators, race coins down a hole, and play in the play area.

I pointed out different places in the mall and told him stories.  "Daddy used to work in a store that was in this spot."  "Daddy and Mommy used to make balloon animals on New Year's Eve on one of these bridges."  "I used to ride the bus here when I was in college to do some shopping."  And Lucky showed me the colored tiles he likes to dance on.

Good bonding time.

Today, January 31, is Backwards Day.  For breakfast we had spaghetti and salad (what we would normally have for dinner).

Lucky decided to wear his clothes backwards.  Jr. Jr. decided that for Backwards Day, he was going to wear his shirt frontwards since he often wears his shirts backwards.

Jr. wrote his name on his lunch backwards so you could read it the right way in the mirror.

While the kids were in school, Lucky and I took a trip to the Provo Library to explore.  It's been many years since I was a patron of that library.  I had more stories to tell Lucky (like yesterday's mall stories).  "This is where Nichole learned to crawl up and down steps when she was really little."
"Like this?"

At one point we were walking down a set of stairs when Lucky just stopped.  He told me, "I'm on an escalator."  Ha Ha Ha.  But it wasn't moving.

Ah, that's better.

After our library trip, we went to the mall again to play some more.

Later in the day, we had cereal for dinner (Backwards Day).

Nichole and I went to the Orem Library even later to pick up some books and for Nichole to fill out a goal sheet in the teen section about wanting to read 30 new books.  We picked out a few while we were there.

It was quite the Backwards Day.  Lucky was really cute walking backwards down the ramp from the parking lot to the library.  It was fun to celebrate.

National Inane Answering Machine Message Day 2019

Well, it's National Inane Answering Machine Message Day, January 30.  This doesn't quite work the same as before since I don't have an answering machine.  Well, technically I still do, but it's not set up.  What I do have now is voicemail.  Jeremy was kind enough to put an inane message/greeting on my voicemail for me this morning.  So if anyone wants to call, you are welcome to leave an inane message.  It's possible I'll answer, and in that case, just tell me you want to leave a voicemail message and I'll let you call back.  I figure if you're going to be calling me then that means you have access to my phone number and it won't be weird if I answer and you tell me you want to leave a message.  Sound good?  Good.  O.K.  Have a good day and don't expect this to work again tomorrow.  I'll go back to having a normal voicemail greeting tomorrow.

Annual Taco Soup Day

Here we go again.  The day that used to be known as Fill the Stock Pot to the Top Day has come upon us again.  However, now we only do a double batch of taco soup instead of a seven times batch.  We've gone back to the original name of the holiday, National Corn Chip Day.

January 29 is also National Puzzle Day.  We didn't start on our new Eric Dowdle puzzle.  Instead the kids and I played Go Fish with Jr. Jr.'s spelling words.

National Kazoo Day

Today is National Kazoo Day.

We had squid pups for dinner.

Those statements are not related, but Lucky wanted to show his person he made out of hot dog and spaghetti.

In another completely unrelated statement, a very wonderful and helpful birder took me out today to find my current (not anymore) nemesis bird.  Thanks, Suzi.  Not only did we find a northern pygmy owl, but we found three.

Trust me. There is an owl in these pictures.  Pygmy owls are just teeny things.  Can you spot it?

Click on the pictures to see them larger.

It was a wonderful morning/afternoon and just what I needed.

Orem Centennial Celebration

Well, it's later.

Orem City turns 100 this year so there will be activities and events throughout the year at different venues.  Yesterday's was the Opening Kickoff Party at the Orem Fitness Center.

Jeremy spent three days building balloon sculptures for this event representing different aspects of Orem's history and values.

From left to right: "Famous for Families" The children running around represent Orem being known as "Family City U.S.A."
"Celebrating 100 Years of Orem" From 1919-2019, this shows Orem's mountain logo and celebrates the centennial.
"Good Things Grow Here" The fruit at the top represent how Orem used to grow and ship fruit to all over the nation.  Now, other good things grow here such as schools, businesses, and good people.
"Birthplace of Silicon Slopes" Technology is represented by the computer beneath the fruit.  A lot of technology companies began in Orem then moved to other areas of the state and country.
"Always Moving Forward" The red train represents the "Orem Line" which was a big part of helping the original city grow.  It was such a big part, the city was named after the man who was responsible for the railroad coming to the community, Walter C. Orem.
"UVU Wolverine" Not a part of the history a hundred years ago, but definitely a big part of the community.  I remember when it changed from Utah Valley State College to Utah Valley University and opportunities grew for those now attending university instead of college.  Many community events are also held at UVU.

There was a Centennial Kickoff Ceremony with entertainment and an unveiling of a book by author, Charlene Winters, all about the city of Orem.  There was also an unveiling of an Orem Centennial painting by artist Eric Dowdle.  The painting was also made into a puzzle.  We got one and it's really fun to see so many things we recognize in it (including the building where we go to church).

After the program there were a lot of free activities and snacks and swag.  It reminded me of Vernal Holly Days except that it was all indoors.  They even had a trivia scavenger hunt where you could learn about the city of Orem's history and get a ticket punched for each question you answered.

It also didn't last as long as Vernal Holly Days.  Since Jeremy wasn't working during the event, we stayed as long as we wanted and left before it ended.
It was a fun event and I'm glad we got to help celebrate Orem's Centennial as a family.

Fun With Balloons

Fun family time with balloons for Orem City's Centennial Celebration.

I'll blog more about it later.

Mommy, Look

Lucky:  It's your favorite dinosaur.

Bird Nerds

Last year, Jeremy, Nichole, and I participated in a challenge to see lots of different birds in Utah, as well as going on field trips and to Utah County Birders meetings.
This evening, Jr., Nichole, Jeremy, and I went to a dinner for Utah County Birders where they awarded certificates and prizes for the challenge.  Based on points (birds have different points based on rarity- so the blue-footed booby Jeremy traveled to Lake Powell to see got him some decent points), Jeremy reached the silver level.  I reached the bronze level.  Nichole didn't reach the bronze level, but she got up a couple times at 4 o'clock in the morning to go on birding trips and was an active birder when she was able to so she received an honorable mention.  Joshua isn't quite there yet.  He just started a life list and hasn't done as much even as Nichole but he got to go to dinner with us.

As far as prizes go, Nichole got a wildlife calendar and Jeremy and I both got something we'd really been wanting.  We'd seen other birders with these license plate frames so we each picked out one for ourselves.

They say, "Utah County Birders" on the top and on the bottom, "I'd rather be birding."

We had a nice dinner and it's always nice to chat with other birders.  I felt like I knew quite a few of the people there. What a nice evening we had.

Polka Dot Pie

Yesterday, January 22, was National Polka Dot Day.  We had English muffin pizzas with polka dots of pepperoni on them.

Then Jeremy and I got out for a date.  We went to the Orem Library for a writing workshop on research with author, Scarlette Pike.  I recently finished reading her novel, In Spite of Lions, where I could tell she researched a lot for it.  She had some great things to say at her presentation.  I'm so glad we went.

Today, January 23, is National Pie Day.  I made impossible cheeseburger pie for dinner.  Yummy.

National Hug Day 2019

January 21 is National Hug Day.

Lucky: This picture looks like you're saying, "My precious."

Penguin Awareness Day with No Pictures

For actual Penguin Awareness Day, we ate more fish sticks. No pictures.  It's okay, though.  I've put pictures of fish sticks on this blog before.

Penguin Awareness Day (Observed)

January 20 is Penguin Awareness Day, but we don't watch movies on Sunday (except for home videos or Bible Videos or other things like that put out by the Church). So we celebrated Penguin Awareness Day (Observed) today by eating fish sticks and the kids watched Penguin: Spy in the Huddle.
Nichole also started making plans for a crocheted penguin.

We'll eat more fish sticks tomorrow.

Winnie-the-Pooh Day

For Winnie-the-Pooh Day, January 18, Nichole shared with us some of the things that happened in the A.A. Milne books.  Oh, that Tigger.

Popeye's Birthday with No Pictures

Sorry, guys.  No pictures for this one. 
January 17 is Popeye's birthday so I watched one Popeye cartoon short online.
For dinner we had pizza with olives so... Olive Oil, right?
There you go.  Celebrating.

Scripture Study with Jr.

Jr. has gotten into the good habit of coming and telling me something about what he's been reading in his personal scripture study.  I love it because you know I like to do that, too.  It opens things up for good discussions and allows the Spirit into our home. I just love my family so much and I love when my children make such good choices.

I Am a Beautiful Butterfly

January 14 is National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day.  We had hot pastrami sandwiches for dinner but we didn't take pictures.  What we did take pictures of was our work in progress.
This weekend is the grand opening of the Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point.  We're making giant balloon bugs to hang inside the building.
Today we worked on a blue morpho butterfly.

Lucky was such a big helper.  It was a long day yet he helped with some of the twisting, he worked on some activity pages, watched a little "Dino Dan: Trek's Adventures," played a little on an electronic game, and stayed with us instead of wandering off.  Later Jeremy was able to take us around to see some of the exhibits.  So cool.  I'm looking forward to coming as a family later to see more.  Jr. and Jr. Jr. have already visited with their school for a field trip.

Ward Potluck!

And we all ate everything on our plates. Wow. Nichole made cinnamon rolls but I didn't take pictures of those.