Last Weekend--Crazy or Brave?

Before I start writing about last weekend, I wanted to say a couple of things about why I started my blog.

1. I found some blogs after googling "Mormon Mom blogs" and thought that some were really cute!
2. I wanted to have a place to post pictures for my sisters (and other family members)
3. I decided that I needed to have a family history/journal about my family. They are growing up so quickly, and as much as I love traditional scrapbooking, I thought that blogging looked like a great place to store my photos and memories.

• Readers beware--I guess my disclaimer would be: Some of my blogs are solely for my benefit (more boring, less creative) while others might show a little more of my creative side :)

I know that it is already another weekend, but I am finally getting to posting photos of last weekend. The weather was FABULOUS!!!! It was in the high 60's and 70's, from Thursday to Wednesday. Since we are on a 4-day school week, my kids asked if they could set up the tents in our back yard last Thursday. I told them that they must be a bit crazy, but go ahead.

The low temperature was still supposed to be around 35 (brrrr) but those brave crazy kids set up 2 tents, pulled out all the camping bedding, and carried most of the camping chairs to our backyard.

Brienna even invited a brave crazy friend to spend the night!

They had a blast, bundled up, piled on the blankets, and slept in the tents Thursday night, and Friday, and Saturday. Sunday came (another gorgeous day), and the kids begged to sleep in the tents again--on a school night.

I wasn't brave crazy about this idea, but reluctantly (and with stipulations of "If you guys stay up too late and/or have one fit about getting up in the morning, this will NEVER happen again!!!") agreed to let them try.

The actually went to bed better than when they are in their own beds. So they slept in the tents Sunday night, and then Monday they had to move them (so not to kill the brown "dead" grass), and then slept there Monday, and Tuesday night.

Zane was excited, thrilled, happy, overjoyed to be out in the tents. But thunderstorms were overhead Wednesday after school, so the tents came down & were "thrown" in the bedrooms--just as the first of 100 rain drops fell from the sky. It sprinkled just enough that we were soooo glad everything was inside!

Callum gave me the thumbs up to sleeping outside! But getting the sleeping bags, blankets, and tents folded, rolled up, and put away was another battle!

Grouse (the bird) Days are held every year in our town (since we have breeding & nesting sites nearby). This year a safari exhibit was brought in, and so we had to go and investigate. We were thinking there would be a few skins/furs to feel, and photos to look at , but were we wrong!!! I was so impressed with the display, I made Callum ride his bike home to get our camera!

All the animal displays were impressive, and there were signs everywhere that stated: IT IS OKAY TO TOUCH & PLEASE TOUCH THE ANIMALS.

I had to get all my children over to the school (where the animals were) so they could experience touching animals we will probably never see!

Brienna & Benjamin by a Kodiak (I think that's what it was) bear.

Callum didn't want his picture taken this day--but finally agreed to 1 picture--by the bear :)

Brienna tried on the fox hat--there was a cloth lining. Emmalee decided it would be okay to try it on too.

Emmalee is cute--even as a red-head!

She wore this for about 5 minutes, and had me take about a dozen photos--so she could see herself in the "camera mirror". When she first tried it on, she wanted Callum to ride home and get a mirror so she could see herself :)

Brienna & Lindsay had to try the hat on Benjamin--"really girls, do you have to dress me up???"

Emmalee really wanted her picture by the lions, but was too scared to go by herself. Can you blame her? Look at the size of them from her perspective!!!!

The halls were lined with animals too--everyone had to pose for a picture by the zebra.

And this is a red deer behind Lindsay & Brienna.

Emmalee wasn't as nervous around this crocodile & his dinner--but Brienna is cautiously stepping over his tail to get a better look (& feel).

And since I am trying harder to have pictures with me in them, I had Brienna take a couple of me w/Ben--wow, this croc was huge!!!

Ben's getting big enough to sit in the stroller--as long as I have a blanket around him and the straps snapped snugly. Sometimes Emmalee is a little too "lovey" with him, and he lets her know!

Split time--and I don't see any bananas!

There was just enough of a breeze to make it a perfect day for flying the kites.

The boys went to the school football field and flew the kits there for a few hours! We had to go and get them at 8 o'clock on Saturday so we could force them into the tub!

Last weekend was a close to the perfect weekend as you can get--except that it ended too quickly!

This weekend the weather regressing, and there is a slight chance of snow/rain with the high of maybe 40. Then back to only the 50's. We were spoiled. I guess it is a good thing that it is town day on Friday (tomorrow) and then my "overnight" scrapbooking at the community center from 5 pm Friday to 5 pm. Saturday.

I say "overnight" because I will be coming home to nurse Benjamin and I won't camp out (unlike my brave crazy children).

I will come home for a few hours of sleep :)