Thursday, October 8, 2015

The Living Planet Aquarium Labor Day 2015

We decided to take a last minute trip to the Living Planet Aquarium in Draper on Labor Day.  Todd and I have always wanted to go there, but we never have.  It's not very cheap, that's for sure.  But we had a good time walking around and seeing all the different animal displays.
 
Toucan...
 
 
 
Turtles
 



 
They had this rope/bridge thing that you could go across.  It was high up.  I decided to just go to the other side and take pictures...pretty smart, wouldn't you say? :)
 


Funny kids!
 


 
Here is a blue frog.  I'm not sure why I felt compelled to take a picture of this little guy, but since I did, I couldn't leave him out...
 

 
 
I believe this is a picture of a crocodile (or alligator).  Can you see his eyes sticking out just above the surface of the water?  Creepy!
 

 
 
More turtles...
 


Turtle...and me and Jacob.  (I must secretly like turtles.)  :)
 

 
 
I have no idea what kind of birds these are, but they were sleeping (well, trying to) and they were so cute standing on one leg. Does anyone know why they do that?  I would definitely fall over...
 

 
 
This is a dolphin.  They were so cute.  We loved watching them swim and "waddle" around on land.
 

 
 
The shark tank was at the end.  I love these next two pictures of the kids, as they are taking pictures themselves.  Kind-of cool.  :)
 


 
 
And here is everyone!  We definitely missed Brandon!
 


 
Having a rest before we went home. 
 

 
 
Sharks...
 

 
...and more sharks.
 

 
We had a good time at the aquarium.  I'm glad we went.  Happy Labor Day! :)
 


Happy 16th Birthday to Dallin!

Dallin turned 16!  (Oh my gosh, what is happening?)
 
Dallin wanted pizza for dinner, so that's what he got. :)  Grandpa Jones came over during dinner and that was awesome.
 

 
The birthday boy and his amazing cake!  I mean, really, how much more spectacular could that cake be?  (Well, there could be decorations, candles, and bday greetings, but besides all of that...)
 



Smile for the camera, Dallin. :)
 


 
Yea, boy!  What's better than kit kats and a rapid ramen cooker?  HA!
 



And chocolate milk....let's not forget that.
 



His real present, however, was a phone!  That was Todd's idea (mostly).  I just went along with it.  :)
 
Dallin loves having a phone! 
 I think this is the most I've seen him smile in a very long time. :)
 


 
Me and Dallin
 


 
Dallin and Grandpa Jones
 


 
Grandma Johnson and Dallin
 

 
 
Grandpa Johnson and Dallin
 


Happy Birthday son!  We love you!  And we are so grateful that you are a part of our family!

Jones Backpacking Trip August 2015

The weekend before school started, Todd took all of our boys (except Brandon, of course) on a backpacking trip.  They had a lot of fun.  They went to Twin Lakes in the Uintahs.  That is where Todd has been going for years, even when he was a kid.  I've never been there, but apparently it's pretty awesome! :)
 
Here is some of the camping gear...they're getting ready to load up!


Oh, I just love this picture.  All my cute boys! 


 
Jacob is prepared with his walking stick!
 

 
And here are some pictures of them at their camp.  Matt and Rob joined them the first night, but then they went home the next afternoon.  They all had a great time!


 
Matt, Eric, Jacob, Kyle, and Dallin  (I love the toilet paper in the picture right by Eric's foot...that's funny!  Don't leave home without it!)  HA!
 


Dallin, Eric, Jacob, Kyle, Matt, and Rob
 



 
It really does look pretty there.  Cool!
 

 
 
One of the new activities they have started doing the last few years is stacking rocks.  There are tons of rocks around the area where they camp and they try to stack as many as they can without them falling over.  The crazy thing is that they are all different shapes and sizes.  It's really all about balancing them.  Physics at work... :)
 


 
Todd loves doing this activity and it seems that he's pretty good at it too.  Pretty awesome. 
Good job honey!
 


They all had a great time and they all survived.  Whew!  And what did I do, you ask?  Well, let's just say that I had a whole 48 HOURS to myself and it was over way too quickly!  :) HA!
 
BUT, I was glad when they came home.  Life is meant to be shared with families! (Of course, breaks from families are good too...just sayin'!)