June Hail Storm!

This has been a very active storm season so far. We usually only have a handful of strong thunderstorms a summer and mostly spread out. But, this June we have been having some unusually strong storms almost daily. I never thought I would ask, "Where's summer?" in Utah!

The last two summers we have been here, it has been miserably hot, with very little rain. Believe it or not, I prefer hot, humid Florida summers to Utah's hot, dry days with little rain and lack of any relief from clouds or lush green trees.








Check out this short video. The kids also have a guest appearance!

Our Day at the Aquarium

The boys had a great time at our local aquarium. It is actually only about a five minute drive from the house, so we finally decided to become members and go more often. I also used the aquarium setting on my camera which was great when shooting the fish tanks, but not as great for the portrait shots. I switched the settings for some portraits, but most are a little fuzzy. Oh, and notice the boys' matching outfits. Aren't they cute! Thanks Terri for the cute helicopter shirts!

Be sure to watch the short video at the end of the post!



This is a fun boat exhibit where there is a flat screen TV that simulates driving the boat. The full size boat also vibrates. Dylan was too scared to try this last time, but he had fun driving this time!



Austin loved these frogs. He still makes a fish sound with his lips any time there is anything close to a fish tank and lately he has started making the sound for birds too.









The main attraction is this large sting ray tank. Unfortunately, none of the rays came up close and splashed the sides this time. Dylan was getting quite exasperated with them and finally proclaimed that we should move on to something else!






We tried to get a picture with both boys in the canoe, but Austin wasn't having any part of it! Dylan loved posing for this picture.



Dylan is now trying to hide from the small sting rays in the tank above.






Like my new haircut? I decided to go a little shorter for the summer.






This is the piranha tank. We were trying to get a good picture of the teeth, but they are hard to see.



The boys loved playing in these kids caves. It was hard to get both of them together, so this was the best shot. Taking pictures was much easier with only one moving target! The staff have story time weekdays at noon in these caves. I think we will try and go this summer now that we are members :-)

This is a short video at the aquarium. The quality is a little low since it was from my digital photo camera and not my video camera. But, it works well for short videos. Notice how much Dylan loves to talk and repeat himself ;) Enjoy!

Fill 'er Up!

Our generous firefighters offered to fill our neighbors pool today. They usually come to the church behind our house at least once or twice a week to practice, so this time they just pointed the hose toward the pool instead of the church grounds. The kids loved watching and it is always fun to see them at work!

After they finished filling the pool they turned the hose at full blast toward the church grounds.

Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh My!

We all enjoyed a great day at our local zoo!





Dylan is still scared of this mechanical elephant, but at least he was willing to walk near it. In previous trips he would cry and run away from it. I think it helped that Austin was willing to sit on the elephant's trunk, although Dylan still wouldn't sit on it.



This elephant makes all kinds of noises and water mist even sprays out the trunk. I think it is these noises that scare Dylan the most.






Dylan now rides carousels, but he still won't sit on the animals. He feels most comfortable in this peacock seat.



Austin was also fairly nervous on his first carousel ride and Mike had to put him in the peacock seat with Dylan mid-ride.



Austin was still a little nervous, but he made it through the entire ride without crying.









It is so hard getting two active boys to stand still for a photo! This was the best shot I could take of Mike and the boys at the gorilla statue.






This is the next best shot of both boys near the statue.



I love this picture. Austin is in mid-fall with a big smile!



Here we are waiting in line for the children's train. It is so hard keeping the kids in line. Dylan had scaled the fence once and was put back in line by an employee. How embarrassing! Austin was also very restless climbing on the fence.



We finally made it on the train! Austin was fairly nervous and squirming at first, so I couldn't take any good pictures of him on the train.



Ahhhh...the water ball! All the kids love this attraction. Austin's hair was so wet!



Dylan still loves it, but it doesn't entertain him as long anymore.



Austin only wanted to stand right in the middle of this see-saw. He also didn't want to be held, which was quite hair raising for us!





















Dylan begged to go on the train a second time, so off we went! Mike and Austin watched from a quiet table overlooking the duck pond.



Dylan crashes out in the car with his new shades!



Austin also slept on the ride home.

Memory Lane:

These are some pictures from Dylan's first trip to Utah's Hogle Zoo. He was about the same age as Austin in the current pictures.



Dylan was scared of this gorilla statue and it was hard to keep him near it long enough to take a picture. He was so scared of the elephant statue that we couldn't even take any pictures of it.



Of course, he loved this water ball and had no problems squeezing in!












This is Dylan at about two and a half on our second trip to the zoo.



This is Austin's first trip to the zoo when he was a little over three months old. He pretty much slept in the baby carrier or the stroller most of the time.



This picture was taken in September 2008, which was our last trip to the zoo last year. Dylan loved this push-up popsicle. I actually thought it would be less messy than the regular popsicles! Oh, well...he had a great time eating it.


Austin loved seeing the zoo as he kicked back in the stroller. He was a little over eight months in this picture.