OGDEN NATURE CENTER

Last Saturday, we spent the afternoon with Jake's teacher, Ms. Segura, her husband (Mr. Alarcon) and some of his classmates at the Ogden Nature Center. Both Ms. S and Mr. A have been here numerous times, so they were great guides!

We started out by going out on a hike hoping to come across some deer. Some of us were able to see a few deer in the trees, but for the most part, the turkeys were the closest thing to seeing wildlife out in the open.

At the end of our hike, we headed to the picnic area for some lunch before going home.

It was a very nice, leisurely activity to share with Ms. S and Mr. A before they head back to Spain for the summer. When they get back, we told them that we will take them to Thanksgiving Point's flower gardens.

Take care, Ms. S and Mr. A. We'll see you in a couple of months.

FRONT RUNNER is a SLOW RUNNER

Thinking we would try and be spontaneous (which really isn't in our nature and I suppose since we were "thinking" about it, we weren't being spontaneous at all.), we thought we'd hop on the FrontRunner and head to SLC to treat the kids to a nice graduation dinner.

We thought it would be a lickety-split ride down to the Gateway and back to the Layton station.

Not so, Joe! It actually took about an hour to get to the SLC station (granted we got on the 8 o'clock southbound train). By the time we arrived, it was dark and a bit cold and we weren't dress appropriately to go walking around in search for a restaurant. So, we stayed on board and headed back, which meant we arrived at the Layton station at ten o'clock.

Not a lot of selection to choose from at this time nor a lot of time to go driving about since all of us were STARVING, so we thought we'd go to the closest place, IHop.

The last and only time we ate at this place was about the time it opened. I do know Jake and Liv were with us and maybe Ian was (though he would of been a little baby) or maybe I was prego with him, can't remember, but I do remember what the experience was like. And needless to say, it was memorable in a very horrible way.

But beggars can't be choosers. And IHop it was.

We really wish it wasn't. This time it wasn't the food. It was the type of crowd IHop tends to welcome thru it's doors. Let's just say...we're not that type of crowd. And after waiting 45 painful minutes to get our food (Why it took that long, we don't know. There were only three full tables. Go figure?!?), we shoved our food in our mouths in about 10 minutes and got the hell out of there.

Of course, a lesson learned AGAIN. We shall not go back. EVER!

ANOTHER YEAR OLDER AND WISER TO...HAPPY GRADUATION TO ALL FOUR OF YOU!

Ian and Maggie successfully passed preschool this year (not that it's very difficult to pass). Maggie finished her first year and Ian, his second year. They will both be back this fall. Ian's bday misses the cut-off for kindergarten, so he has one more year of preschool to go.

Both Liv and Jake passed with straight A's this last term. Liv was recognized in her class as the only student to read 200 books this year. Her teacher presented her with a special book, Black Beauty. Jake got recognized, along with other third graders in the awards assembly, as being in the top 10% in the nation in passing all the year-end levels tests. Also, Jake's winning drawing made the back of the school's yearbook.

Great job, kiddos!