Natural Curiosity

While cousins were here we took a trip to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. We had tons of fun. We certainly didn't get to see or try everything so I'm sure we will be going back!

The rainforest was a hit with the kids because it was a gigantic playground. Not a hit with the parents because it was impossible to keep track of your kids, even with a 1:1 adult:kid ratio. 

Zeke loved the rope bridges. They were a little scary for him but he was a champ about it. 

Nora started on the rope bridge, backed out, decided to try again, and almost backed out again but we struggled through it. She did awesome for being really scared and having to work really hard. [Flip flops are not the optimal footwear for this sort of thing.]

We probably spent the most time in the water room. The kids had a blast at the water tables. 

Ponchos and galoshes for everyone! My kids loved the boots. 

We almost couldn't get them away from the water physics experiment. 

Then we sampled a hurricane. 

The kid-sized city was really fun. We got to play music, drive a train, and go to the bank.  Zeke is still talking about going back to spend more time in the 'drive-thru' of the bank. 

We also put on a pirate show in the theatre.

After a yummy picnic we headed into the gardens in the evening. We walked for a bit then headed back to the fountain and the playground. This was my favorite part of the day. It was more relaxed than the museum and I could just enjoy watching the kiddos making wonderful memories. The garden closed and we had to leave long before anyone was ready to be done.

Family Reunion-ing

We always look forward to the big Loertscher reunion. This year we got to spend it with cousins from out of state, as well as the cousins and 2nd cousins that live closer. 

Nora loved the water games and practically lived in her princess swimsuit. 

Riding the train is something the kids look forward to all year. 

This year we had something new - sno-cones and cotton candy. It was a hit! I had to go get my own after Nora took over the tiger's blood cone we were supposed to be sharing. After sampling all of the options she decided she liked grape the best. 

Zeke had never had cotton candy before but was so excited to try it. He loved it. 

B-25 Mitchell Bomber

We truly loved the couple of hours we spent visiting the B-25 bomber that came to Heber in June. It was a beautiful plane. It is based in Arizona but tours the country, so it is very well kept and totally functional. 

Big wheels (taller than Nora!)

Huge propellers (x2)

Zeke next to the bomb, which has been repurposed as a monetary donation collection device. 

For a $10 donation we got to tour the plane. We went looked over the seats into the cockpit, then went into the back. 

We walked around a couple of other planes that were sitting nearby. Zeke took a picture of the under-wing on all of them. 

About the time we got done seeing the additional planes, they asked everyone to move off to the side so the bomber could fly. We sat to watch it start up, then moved over towards the runway to watch it take off. 

  

The take off was phenomenal! The video is good, but in person it was just thrilling. Much more exciting than I expected!

Nora was really bummed that we couldn't go up for a flight in the bomber. It was cute. And somewhat overdramatic.  

Our Summer Staycation

We planned a staycation this year to save some money, and to do some of those things around home that we say we want to do but never actually do. We had expected it to be several single days scattered throughout the summer, but it turned out that we were able to take a whole consecutive week!

Very conveniently, a B-25 bomber was visiting the week we were staycationing. We spent a very enjoyable morning at the airport with this beauty. 

Nora has never been on Trax before (it's hard to believe it's been 4 years since we last rode the train!). She absolutely loved it. On the trip back, we were in the first car, and Zeke spent the whole trip looking through the window to the cab so he could watch out the windshield like the driver.

They were checking tickets at one of the stops, and the kids got police badge stickers. They are showing them off in most of the pictures we have from our train ride. 

We spent another day at the Hill Air Force Base museum. This is another place that we love but haven't visited since Nora was a baby. 

We fit in lots of playground time too.

We tried to go flying on Flag Day, but it was super windy and cold. The only thing we flew was the flag! Still fun though.

It was so great to just be together for a whole week with a lot of free time to do what we wanted instead of our normal daily routine of trying to fit everything in. I took a whole bunch of pictures and we did a lot of playing. It was wonderful.