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Sunday, September 30, 2012

Hogle Zoo

Today was a day to visit the ZOO!  It has been a few months since we had used our zoo membership...and my how things have changed.  They shut down about 1/4 of the zoo area for another remodel/expansion that won't be done for another 1.5 years.  The boys were a bit sad because they shut down the ride on train and the kid playground area as part of the remodel.  We didn't let that keep us down though, there was still plenty to keep exploring.

We made sure to hit up the elephants (one of Logan's favorites)....

The kids made it back to the nest....

Daddy bird also made it back to the nest....

Wild animal Logan....

We love the new "Rocky Shores" area with the new animals.  They were doing a demonstration with the sea lions...

Polar Bear decided to come out and play...

Our tigers met up with some native tigers....

We always finish up the day at the zoo with a ride on the carousel...

They will be doing "Zoo Lights" the month before Christmas here at Hogle Zoo, we can't wait to see it!

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Cornbelly's - Trip #1

It is that time of year again....Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point! This year we noticed a Groupon that was running for the 'unlimited bounce back pass' for $25 a person. We decided to buy it because - A) Logan was still free since he is "2 and under", and B) we would only have to go TWICE to pay for itself! They were also throwing in some extra perks with the pass - a free pumpkin and lots of activities and treats!  The place is just HUGE now - they keep finding more and more activities to add.

The kids enjoyed the horse races...


Logan decided to ride this bull....

Then Logan decided DUSTIN needed to ride this bull....

We always enjoy the corn box.  Yes, a sandbox with dried corn kernels instead of sand!

We attempted the corn maze - Jody was leading us along....

...and scaring Zach

I think Zach is still a bit scared, you can see it in his face!

The boys took turns having a dance competition on top of a wooden bus....yes, we are proud parents!

At the end of the day everyone was happy...the kids got candy, pumpkins, and lots of time outside.

Bring on OCTOBER!!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Jody Ross

We love it when Jody Ross comes to town to visit with us! Dustin takes a few days off work and they play video games until they can't handle it anymore.  Then we sneak off for some other fun!  Tonight we got a babysitter and then hit up Nightmare on 13th - an awesome Haunted House in SLC.


The sweet memories!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

The Circus

Every fall the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus make their way into town.  The last time we went was two years ago, Zach was 2.5 years old and Logan was 9 months old.  We were FLOORED at the prices they charged for all the 'extra' stuff at the show...really, $10 for cotton candy? So when we decided to take the kids to the circus this time, we planned a bit more ahead for the extra expenses.

We scored tickets in the last row of the lower level.  With two kids that don't always like to sit in their seat, this was perfect for us - they could stand as much as they wanted and not be blocking someones view behind them.  We all enjoyed the show this year.  Logan LOVED seeing the animals do cool stunts, Zach LOVED the food and the 'extra' things Dustin bought for them....

Yup, the $10 cotton candy (x2!) - at least it came with a hat....Logan is modeling it in this picture.


What is this?  Necklaces that light up?  Every kids dream!


You CAN'T forget about the huge snow cones in the glasses that light up!!


Yup! We're ready for the show!!!!!



$$, but yes worth it.  Watching our kids get excited and have their eyes glued to the acts was priceless.  We will be back.....


Saturday, September 22, 2012

Logan's first 'emergency' visit

We figured that our first ER visit for a broken bone or stitches would always be for Logan.  He is the one that climbs on anything, has no fear and is extremely curious.  Well, today we had an emergency visit to the DENTIST for Logan...yes, 7pm on a Saturday night.  Looking back at all of it, Logan wasn't doing anything 'crazy'...this just happened to be dumb luck.

So you remember this?


Yes, that is the motorized green 'dump truck' the kids got for Christmas.  We are responsible parents that require they wear bike helmets when they ride it.  We are NOT responsible parents for letting the kids sit down and ride in the back (the dump part) of the John Deere.  Zach was driving, Lily (neighbor girl) was the front passenger, Logan was in the back.  The kids had been riding for a while and Zach stopped the truck.  Jen went over to Logan and reminded him that he needed to hold on with both hands in a specific location if he was going to ride in the back.  Logan decided that he wanted to get out and stood up...Zach decided he wanted to drive....both these things happened at the same time.  So what do you think happens if your 2.5 year old is standing in the back of the dump when your 4.5 year old decides to start driving it?

Logan fell, face first onto the road.  Thankfully he was wearing his helmet, but somehow from the whole ordeal his left lateral incisor decided to come out - yes, the full tooth - root and all.


Lily's dad was outside chatting with us when this whole thing went down and ran over and found Logan's tooth immediately in the road.  Jen grabbed Logan and ran inside to stop the blood from coming out of his mouth and asses the damage.  Once Logan was able to get the blood flavor out of his mouth, he calmed down pretty quickly.  He chilled on the couch (trying to stick his finger in the hole where his tooth was), while we did some googling and made some phone calls trying to find a dentist that was available after hours.  Do we try and save the tooth, or just have him look like a pirate for the next 4-5 years until his permanent tooth comes in?


Dustin found a dentist in Orem that was available, he was actually already in the office working on another emergency patient.  We consulted him on what to do....put the tooth back in or just leave it out.  The first question he asked was, "how is your child's speech?"  Logan is delayed in is speech somewhat, he tries to say all the words we say but tends to keep his mouth shut while pronouncing them.  Apparently if you lose one of your four front teeth you have to "re-teach" yourself how to speak properly.  So the decision was made to try and re-implant the tooth.

We drove 20 minutes to his office.  Logan climbed right up in his chair, cuddled with his blanket and let the dentist do what ever he wanted.  The dentist numbed him up, he did cry a little bit.  The dentist proceeded to put the tooth back in the hole in Logan's gums.  The dentist then glued a wire on the tooth and secured it to the two adjoining teeth.  As you can see, Logan is still all smiles even with his little braces on.


*update 10/3* The wire remained in place for 10 days, then was removed by the dentist and a 'mini' root canal performed to remove what ever dead tissue was left inside the tooth.  Once again, Logan was a trooper through the whole process.

Never a dull moment in the Gray house!

Rolly Polley's

The boys decided to play in the backyard this morning. After a while, they realized that the 'rolly polley's' were everywhere! Every few seconds a rolly polley would come out from the grass onto the cement patio. This went on for over an hour...and Zach and Logan had quite the stash of collected bugs!



Boys :)

Monday, September 17, 2012

Denver Broncos

Dustin has been talking for quite some time of getting Denver Broncos jerseys for the entire family....well, he finally did it.  We all wore our Bronco jerseys tonight and snapped some crazy family pictures!






What do you think?  Christmas card worthy?

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

There ain't no cabinet high enough


Do you think I have a monkey on my hands?

The Perfect Models

Tonight the kids cooperated and were great 'models' for Jen to do some more playing with her DSLR camera.

First we started with some summersaults....


Then we moved on to doing the 'robot' dance....


Then came the REAL fun.....running full force towards MOM!



We finished it off with some jumping action....


Who says you can't have fun at home?

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Sport Shooting!

Dustin and a co-worker drove to Cedar Fort to do some clay shooting today. The weather was perfect! Dustin's Dad has a couple 12gauge shotguns that he left at the house for some future clay shooting when he's back in town. Dustin wanted to make sure if him and his Dad were to go to this park that they would have fun.. He had a "BLAST" (literally)  :-)
 
 
 
Dustin's co-worker Marc Najem loading the over-under shotgun.. Ready.. Pull!
 
 

Dustin loading a pump action shotgun.. Plenty of ammo in the vest.. check! Ready.. Pull!





Now THAT was fun!!  Yes, the boys are already planning another trip to Cedar Fort.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Spanish Fork Air Show

Today there was a small air and car show in Spanish Fork.  Dustin wanted to have ThunderPig in the show, but that didn't work out....so we still went to the show because we figured the kids (that includes Dustin) would get a kick out of the small planes and activities.  They were offering very short helicopter rides as well for a price.....the helicopters only held three passengers, so we decided that Dustin would go with the two boys.  We had about a hour and a half wait until our turn on the helicopter so we walked around and checked everything out.

They had a boy 'ride' for kids.....they all go to take turns using the oars...


Some planes flying above to watch...


Quite a bit of small planes to look at up close!



Logan found his favorite car....


Zach found BUMBLEBEE!


Firetruck to play in and on...


Army Hummer!


And now for what all the boys had been waiting for....the helicopter ride!  They filled it up with gas right before they boarded.


Here they are taking off.  Zach was able to sit in the front with the pilot, while Dustin and Logan sat in the back.





Apparently the kids enjoyed talking to each other through the headset intercoms.  They flew around the Spanish Fork area and were able to spot Horvath Hotrods from the ride!  That was where ThunderPig was!


They made a safe landing and exited the helicopter and ran over to Jen to tell her all about how cool it was!