Elle the Dinosaur

One of my favorite parts of this weekend, was Elle’s impression of a dinosaur. Words cannot express the love I have for this girl and her enormous (dinosaur size if you will) imagination.

Western Idaho Fair

Johnny and I, along with the kids, attended the Western Idaho Fair Friday. The fair boasted of their many thrilling and exciting child exhibits, and I thought we should go and check it out for ourselves. One can only trust other people’s opinions to a point. We only attended two of the exhibits at the fair—that’s all we had time for, considering how long Elle spent at the two exhibits—but both were thoroughly thrilling and exciting. The fair had every right to boast.



The first exhibit we attended was the Days of the Dinosaur. This exhibit contained life-sized dinosaurs that moved and roared. They were huge, loud, and very cool. Elle was just sure they were real. She spent forever running around and viewing each of the dinosaurs. Seeing as how she is a huge Land Before Time fan, she was in pure bliss viewing all these life-like dinosaurs. Hudson was confused and frankly a little baffled by our enthusiasm and excitement. He was not overly impressed with our dinosaur encounter.



After viewing all of the dinosaurs, and touching the tyrannosaurs rex’s tail, we went to the next half of the exhibit. Here Elle was able to ride a dinosaur—or Spike to all Land Before Time fans—hunt for fossils in the big sand box, and test out a few hands-on dinosaurs. Elle loved every minute she spent in this exhibit. She was bubbling with excitement. Everywhere she turned there were things to entice and spark her imagination. She really couldn’t get enough of the dinosaurs.



Our next exhibit was the Lego Experience Tour. Here one could play with endless Legos, view amazing exhibits of Legos, and then play some more. This exhibit was more Hudson’s style. He loved playing with the blocks—especially the yellow ones—and he loved walking around and exploring. Elle, too, was captivated by this tour. There were Legos and fun everywhere she turned.




As a bonus for attending the fair, we got to see the Navy Leap Frogs jump out of a plane and parachute to the ground. These SEAL commandos were very impressive. Definitely something to see.



Johnny and I were both glad that we attended the fair. Even with only attending two exhibits, it lived up to all of the boasts.

Her Nose Stuck in a Book

The other day, while I was outside with Elle, she was trying to get my attention. I happened to be reading in a book at the moment, and so my attention was directed at the words on the page instead of being directed at her. Elle was not impressed with my multitasking—I wouldn’t have been either if I was in her shoes. So finally, after several failed attempts at getting my full attention, she exclaimed, “Mommy, you’re just like Belle with your nose stuck in a book.”

Wet! Wet! Wet!

Two kids + one trampoline + one sprinkler + two buckets + four balls + one grocery cart + lots of water = fun.

11 Months

Hudson turned eleven months today, which means he is only one month shy of his first birthday. I am both elated and sad to see my boy grow up so fast. I am loving every moment with this sweet, happy, giggly, content, tough, easy-going, loving, curious, silly boy. He is such a joy to be around. He can always make me smile. In short, I love him.

Hudson loves to clap his hands (especially when he is excited); Hudson loves to play in my kitchen cupboards (especially the pots and pans with lids); Hudson loves to giggle (especially at things that only he knows are funny); Hudson loves blueberries and watermelon (especially when they are all over his face); Hudson loves to eat dirt, leaves, and sticks (especially when no one is looking); Hudson loves to walk/run (especially when there are no shoes on his feet); Hudson loves the toilet (especially when no one is there to monitor him); Hudson loves to unroll the toilet paper (especially when he gets the entire roll unrolled before anyone notices); Hudson loves to be outside (especially now that he can walk and explore on his own); Hudson loves his sister (especially when she is not bugging or bossing him); Hudson loves kitchen utensils more than toys (especially the dangerous ones he should not have); Hudson loves the washer and dryer (especially when the front loader doors are open); Hudson loves to play (especially with his dad and sister).

Hudson really is a wonderful eleven-month-old. He is constantly entertaining and amusing us. We all love him dearly, and are so glad that he is a part of our family.

Carousel

We went to the zoo the other day and Elle wanted to ride the carousel with her yard sell earnings. So, she paid the zoo staff member one of her hard-earned dollars, and chose an animal to ride. And since no one else wanted to ride the carousel at that moment, Elle had the entire carousel to herself—definitely worth the dollar.