November News

Flipping through some old blog posts, I noticed last year's No Boredom November post and thought gee-whiz!  We sure were busy back then.   Browsing through this year's photos, I guess we've been plenty busy this November as well.

Illuminate Salt Lake!  We checked out this community art event at the Gateway and saw our city in a whole new light.

We especially liked this interactive art piece where you write your dreams for our future.

Mais oui.

Behind the Scenes at the Natural History Museum.  The Utah Museum of Natural History hosted a fantastic event where members could take a peek at all the hidden collections.  While most artifacts were to be enjoyed with our eyes, this table was for touching as well.

Check out the size of these mastodon bones!

I found the folded frill of the lower dinosaur skull to be particularly intriguing.

Brooklyn made a new friend.

Did you know that you can tell the age of a dinosaur by counting rings on a cross section of its bones, just like with trees?

My only regret is that we spent so much time exploring the dinosaurs that we had to race through the remaining collections.  Not only were there amazing things to see, but the vaults were filled with experts to tell you all about them.

Rushed as we were, we still left time to grab a few cookies before leaving.  Yup, we were in love.

Library Reading Party.  Later that day, we were the party van as we headed to a reading party at the Main Library.

Coloring with a couple of Annie's friends.  With so many four year-olds to keep track of, I'm just grateful we didn't lose anyone.

Thanks to preschool, Annika's finally learned to write her name.

Reading to the dogs--Annika's dream come true.

Last but not least, running off some excess energy outside.  The kids had a grand old time, but I was flipping out since I had misplaced my keys.  Ack!

Tracy Aviary.  Once a month during the winter time, admission into Tracy Aviary is only a dollar.  Annika and I sure enjoyed getting to see all our favorite birds again.

Pelicans...

Flamingos...

...and a scarlet macaw that Annika wanted to kiss.  Fortunately the keeper put a stop to that before Annie lost her nose.

UMOCA.  Brooklyn needed to visit an art museum for a class assignment, so we headed to the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art.  Since UMOCA was both fun and free, I'm looking forward to going back soon to take a closer look around.

Speaking of art, Talia did some beautiful painting right at home.

Our kitchen is also the perfect place for using vinegar to dissolve baking soda pumpkins.  (No, I'm not that creative.  They were just left over from preschool.)

While on the subject of preschool, I can't resist sharing a picture of this little guy who came to school on picture day practicing the wink he planned to give the photographer.


Moving ahead to second grade, Eli's class hosted a presentation all about animals they invented.

As for Brooklyn, she performed with the Youth Chamber Orchestra in November.  The music was challenging, but she definitely learned a lot.

After so much hard work, it was time to celebrate.  Here are our munchkins at their very favorite joint, Cafe Rio.

We even shared our pulled pork infatuation with Grandma Hansen.

Grandma Hansen was just about to catch a flight to California to see Christy and her sister.

We are so grateful you stopped to dine with us well.   Ninety three was never so beautiful and vibrant.  We love you!