entertaining the fam

While the kiddos were here we tried to keep them as entertained as possible. It was a fun excuse to go out and enjoy all that Utah has to offer...because turns out there's a lot to do! And we didn't even get to it all.

Leila was recovering from Roseola during their stay, had a fever and broke out into a rash. She was teething on top of that so some days were harder than others. We always left for the day after her afternoon nap so make sure she got all the sleep her body needed. Towards the end of the trip she started to feel better and warm up to everyone. She wasn't as fussy and irritable.

Oh...and I'd love to put these pictures in a collage but photobucket decided to all of a sudden do away with their ez collage. I'm pretty upset about it and clueless when it comes to photoshop so I'm forced to upload them one at a time.

Utah Olympic Park:
We always bring out of towners here...because it's just that cool. We were sad the zipline and alpine slide were closed though!

Aquarium:

I've never been to the Living Planet Aquarium. It was fun and had sharks, otters, penguins, a huge sea turtle, an octopus, sea horses, sting rays...but it was still a lot smaller than I'd expected. Maybe because it was as packed as Disneyland! Is it always that busy or did everyone just have the same agenda? You had to wait to see most of the exhibits and when you could see them there were like 15 people huddling around you. It was nuts. They're building a new aquarium in October and it looks rad and high tech. I'm not gonna lie, this one's a little outdated but still cool. The kids had fun and that's all that matters.

Snow:

As we all know, Utah's weather is very strange and unpredicatable. Well, during their week here it was the hottest of hot and the coldest of cold. Enough in fact that Nadja and Johan were able to see it snow for the first time. They played with the little patch in our front yard before it melted. Which was by the afternoon.

Roasting S'mores:

I'm so glad our home came equipped with a fire pit because we've been wanting one for a long time. We used it for the first time to introduce the kids to s'mores. Of course, they were a hit.

Lagoon:
The last time we saw Nadja and Johan was a few years ago in LA when the whole family went to Disneyland and Legoland. These kids absolutely love roller coasters and this time around Johan was finally tall enough to go on all of the rides. We convinced him to go on Wiked (the fastest ride at Lagoon) and he might have cried and almost pee'd his pants but he was a brave little boy and went on for a 2nd time.

I've always loved roller coasters. I remember as a kid my dad would bribe me to go on rides with him by paying me a dollar to go on the scariest ride at Great America. It worked and now I'm the biggest theme park enthusiast. Except I dunno what happened to me this time because when we went on Samurai it wrecked me! I was dizzy for the rest of the day and felt sorta nauseous, I didn't let that stop be but am I really getting old because I've never, ever been affected by roller coasters. Leila stayed with grandma because we thought Lagoon would be too much for her.

City Creek:

Shopping:

Whenever my family from Mexico comes to the States we always do a lot of shopping...a lot! Clothes are cheaper and there's more of a selection here so it's a given and my family always has a list of things they want to buy. Nadja is 12 and is no longer interested in toys, all she wanted were clothes, clothes, clothes, and shoes! She's becoming quite the teenager. All Johan wanted were legos and stuff for "Tiburon" (shark) his new build-a-bear buddy. That kid wanted everything under the moon for his bear, including an ipod and passport. He outfitted that bear with everything...even a skateboard, helmet, and knee pads. He was so cute with his bear, fed him, etc. And I must say, Tiburon is the raddest bear I've ever seen. After going there so many times, we eventually got a bear for Leila. 

I wanted to wait until she was in a better mood so she could enjoy the experience...but she was still a handful. We let her pick out any bear she wanted, she loved one, then dropped it for another. Miss Piggy was the ugliest thing there, but that's the one she kept going back to so that's the one she got. The kids introduced Leila to the Muppets, muppet you tube videos, muppet songs, and the Muppet Movie so it was only fitting. Whenever Leila would get fussy, Johan would bust out his iPad and show her the "Mahna Mahna" song. It made her smile every time.

Nadja and Johan each kissed a heart and put it in Miss Piggy. So Miss Piggy has extra love to give.

She loved carying around the house for Miss Piggy.

Bounce House:

Home:

We didn't go out to eat once and ate my aunt's delicious cooking every night! We were in heaven. Spanish rice is always hard for me to make because I always burn it. Well, my aunt gave me her recipe, well told it to me. I hope I don't forget. But they key is to frying the rice in a little bit of oil first.

Wow, those were a lot of pictures. What can I say, I'm snap happy. And I had a lot to snap this time.