Fambily Resemblance

I get the feeling that my Great Grandma Jeannes' genes will forever be impacting my kids looks. Its a good thing , she is dang cute and so are the relatives who resemble her. Here is Grandma(who the kids call Gma Tractor) R., T. and N. a few Christmas years ago
S. pulling her sly Uncle T. face. Which actually should be credited to G.Gma. except we dont use sly as a way to describe grandma usually.
Handsome Uncle T. and a most recent Grandma who didn't know the kids were sneaking around taking more pictures.
Thanks to Grandma for the cute, handsome, sly, face genes!

Lego art and the train place

Field trip to the Kimball arts center in Park City with Grandparents Merrill and an Uncle and Cousin. Like a big artsy family reunion.Z.'s fav. was the still life. You would think that with all the different types of art she has been exposed to the last few years she would be attracted to something more modern. She has a love for paint and especially for fruit still life.
N.'s fav. was an easy guess. Does it have to do with money or a game he can win?! Monopoly, of course.
T. was a little hard to keep behind the lines. These sculptures are all made of Lego bricks so what kid wouldnt want to touch?! He didnt really have a favorite, it was all very fun for him to see.
A stop for lunch at the Train Place (I think its called dairy keen) topped off the day in Heber. I love the action shot of T. jumping off the train table. He can ever just walk or do things the easy way if there is a possibility of running and jumping instead.


All the kids on the outside freezing train. Who needs icecream when its freezing outside, Oh yeah, we're Merrills?!

Scott wins

Secretly Scott has always wanted to be scary, but also secretly wants kids to love him. Maybe this isn't a secret.
Z. told us last weekend after spending an hour with him, "I Love Uncle Scott" in her fondest, most affectionate tone with a sigh.
After being asked why, she answered ,"He scares me."
Yes Scotty, you win.

Pine nut Farming.

Not exactly the pet store

"Pet 'see ums" (as T. calls them) are good option if you like to see beautiful wings and fuzzy things and want to avoid the cage smell of a real pet store.
It took the little ones a minute to figure out if the big scary animals were going to jump the rope barrier and eat them or not.
Then the challenge was to enforce the "Do not touch" signs.
N. and Z. appreciate the butterfly mosaic made of butterflies at the Bean Museum in Provo.

S. acts as our tour guide telling us all about the bears, she is an old pro at the museum.

It hardly even looks like it hurts to have your hand bit by an alligator.

Offering your head to a Hippo is only safe in a carpeted building.

Can you see my muscle?

What is it about kids that makes them have to prove their strength? I prefer kids who cant hit the ball over the fence(again,and again), and who can't outrun me by age 4.

Apple time

We are blessed with not just one apple tree but 2! Its great for shade in the summer and great for apple picking in the fall. Unfortunately we pruned them for easy mowing access and greatest shading ability so the apples are way up high. This year we had a million blossoms and then put off thinning for too long and the apples are about half the size. Cute and tasty.
D. is on the lookout for falling apples and falling kids.

N. found a good perch for enjoying what he picked.Z. chucking apples down for Don to catch.

S. thinks she is helping by picking up the windfall and holding them up high.
Anyone have a good applesauce recipe?

scouty boy

N. earned his cubscout Bear award. I'm glad he has fun with the scouts once a week and is learning some fun stuff. My regret is that parents have to attend Pack meeting once a month. Not fun. Not even sort of. I understand wanting to recognize the scouts achievements, I dont understand the torture aspect. Noise. Chaos. Stuffy room. Cheering. I am obviously a party pooper. Maybe its more fun if you are the actual scout.