Outings with my girls..

Let's face it. Husbands sometimes work alot - especially mine. Many times just the girls are together and finding different things to do can be challenging. We have had many outings.

• We have been to the zoo so many times that we have the entire layout memorized & could probably direct anyone to the nearest exit in case of a wild animal escape. (Christianna insists on getting a map every time we go! And yes, animals have escaped - last year one of the wolves got out! We were not there that day to help, I am sure we were missed...)


• We will go down to the Gateway - an open outdoor shopping mall - and walk around. In the summer the girls like to play in the huge fountain there. It is actually level with the sidewalk - so no real swimming is possible. They have different water shows w/ & w/out music & kids just run under the falling water. Summer is almost here, so that will be something we do soon....they actually asked when we went a month ago & it was pretty chilly! (Little Crazies!)


• Bike rides together are a frequent activity. A way to get out of the house and have some "quieter" time.


• Today we went to the Red Butte Gardens in Salt Lake. It was the first time we have ever been there & we loved it! So many beautiful flowers & plants. They even have this great program for kids. They can check out a backpack that has different activities in it, a field guide for things we can see there, and even a pair of binoculars! The coi fish were a big hit with the girls. We even went into the mountain area behind the gardens and hiked a bit! We were on a trail for just over an hour and it looped around a rather large hill - mountain...whatever you want to call it. But they did awesome. I was very proud of them - and to think of it, there was hardly any whining! Just the occasional - "I'm hungry" from Christianna...it was close to lunch & that girl could seriously eat all day if I let her! We ended up getting a membership so we can also go there as often as we want.

Even though I get a little frazzled when it is just the girls sometimes, it is great when we can do something together without the arguing, of course. (Besides, I think Chirs would have whined a little during the hike.) We were free of any schedule and could just do what we wanted & take as long as we needed. That is relaxation in it's truest sense.