National Punch Day

September 20 was National Punch Day.
We had tropical punch color flavored sugar water with dinner.

The End.

Talk Like a Pirate Day 2016

September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
We continued the tradition of going to Thanksgiving Point wearing a balloon costume to hand out balloon swords for children who talk like pirates.  We went to the Ashton Gardens this year.
I put up a YouTube video showing our past balloon pirate costumes.  This year's costume was based on the zombie pirate LeChuck from the computer game series Monkey Island.

Jr. Jr. and Lucky had a lot of fun helping hand out swords and having sword fights with kids.  When Thanksgiving Point heard we were going to be coming again for the holiday, they changed their theme for their Tales for Tots story time to be pirate-themed.  It was terrific.  The kids went on a treasure hunt with their pirate swords and made a pirate ship on paper out of cut out shapes.  Good stuff.

Since Jr. Jr. is in kindergarten this year, we told him that this would be his last year to do this for Talk Like a Pirate Day since he'll be in school all day next year in 1st grade.  He seemed disappointed with the idea.  Apparently this is a good tradition for him.  Later he told us that this wouldn't be his last year doing this because he could do it when he's a parent.  Awwww.  
We never have time to get free donuts at Krispy Kreme anymore so I just bought some at the grocery store this morning while I was getting supplies for dinner.  Nichole requested "squid pups," carrot hooks, and cupcakes with skull and crossbones on top.  We also had cream soda.  It's amazing what kind of traditions happen because these kids expect certain things to go with certain holidays.

Jeremy did put together a pirate ship out of furniture again, but it didn't last very long before some of the kids had some trouble with it and we had to put parts of it away.  So no epic balloon sword battle this year. 

It was a busy day and Jeremy and I stayed up late last night and got up really early this morning working on the balloon costume, swords, and that video (while watching Pirates of the Caribbean this morning).
He is currently sleeping on the couch and I am trying to hurry to get this post up so I can get some rest, too.

Ooh, ooh.  And I finally got to wear my pirate ship necklace that my parents gave me several years back.  I keep forgetting about it on Talk Like a Pirate Day but I remembered this year.  Hooray!

Belted Kingfisher

Friday, September 16, I had a chance to try out a new (to me) park.  Bicentennial Park in Provo.  It's a big park.  They have a fenced in dog park (with a fire hydrant in the middle for the dogs- heh heh).  Huge open grassy area and hill.  Frisbee golf course.  Playgrounds.  Restrooms.  Trees.  A duck pond with a bridge over it.  And... and... and... they have a boardwalk that goes through a wetland and willow forest.  :D  Yeah, awesome.

At one point I was walking along an area of the boardwalk and I heard a familiar bird sound.  It sounded like a belted kingfisher.  Jeremy and I had seen and heard some just this Summer while we were in Oregon.
Well, to make a long story short, I found the belted kingfisher that I had been hearing.  So awesome.

And I have to share this because even simple things can make me happy.  I found out looking back at my blog that the last (and first and only) time I saw a belted kingfisher in Utah was... wait for it... September 16, 2015.  Exactly one year before I saw this one.  How fun is that?  I tell you.  It's the simple things in life.

So You're Sick? How About Some Fresh Air?

Jeremy went to a Hawkwatch event this morning up Squaw Peak Road.  He saw lots of raptors flying by.  He even saw a new life bird in a tree- a Northern Goshawk.

They had some injured birds there for education purposes as well.  Always great to see birds close up, isn't it?  But sad at the same time because of the circumstances.

Ho Ho.  That's so funny.  These pictures make the Western screech owl look bigger than the Swainson's hawk, but if you look at the birds in relation to the glove, you can see how small the Western screech owl really is.  It can sit on one finger, but the hawk uses the whole hand.

Jeremy came home and picked us up and we drove out to Strawberry Reservoir area to the fish trap for their salmon viewing day.  The timing was just right this year.  Last year, we did see the kokanee salmon swimming up the river and to the fish trap, but we weren't there for the event.

This was fun... and educational.  The kids even got to feel some of the fish.

Jr. Jr. was excited to let me know, "I got to touch both a male and a female fish."
They also had free hot dogs and cookies at the event which made the kids happy. 

Don't worry.  They washed their hands after touching the fish.

After the event, the kids watched a movie in the van, while Jeremy and I drove up the road a little bit farther and got to do some birding.  We got to see quite a few mountain bluebirds.  It's no wonder people go searching for the bluebird of happiness.  I couldn't help but smile at those beautiful birds.

It was a nice day.  It was beautiful to drive through the fall colors- well, the leaves are just starting to turn- but they're gorgeous.  The kids had a good time and so did we parents.

Yay for fresh air.  Now we just need to get through the rest of the colds that people have and we can celebrate a lot more.

One more thing.  Jr. Jr. was bummed that we missed Collect Rocks Day yesterday, so he and Lucky picked some up to carry today while we were walking back to our van.  As usual we let them know they had to leave the rocks behind, though.

Hooray for traditions, too.

So Busy, Even in Sickness

Poor sick kids but still so much going on.  Nichole had her first dance class of the season this evening.  I took her down and while she was there, I went to a certain place to look for a certain bird.  I didn't find that bird, but I did see some lovely Virginia rails.

After dance class we came home then Nichole and I headed out again to a friend's housewarming party.  We brought Princess Leia buns to share.  We stayed for a while then came home to trade places with Jeremy so he could head out to visit our friends.
Life is busy.

Sickness Strikes Again

Sadly, we're going through sickness in our home again.  So sad.  Poor Jr. has had it the worst.
Earlier today, Lucky was being fussy.  I told him he was tired and needed to take a nap.  He finally decided to lie on the couch and it didn't take long before he was out.
I got Jr. a washcloth to put over his eyes and told him to rest and it didn't take long before he was asleep, too.  They both got a nice long nap.  Hopefully it helped.

So that's what we've been going through lately.  Let's hope it doesn't last much longer.

National Video Games Day 2016

For Family Home Evening activity, the kids played video games on National Video Games Day, September 12.  I didn't take pictures.