B-29 Superfortress

A week ago, the only B29 Superfortress with active flying status came to SLC and so OF COURSE I had to surprise Scott and take us all up to see it. It was incredible (and much bigger than it looks in the picture).

There are some moments in life where you get close to an object and can almost feel the life that was lived and lost in it and the stories that were made there seep into your bones and your emotions. This plane represents the thousands (3,970 to be exact) of B-29s that were built during WW2 and that were used to fight for us. Being so close to history made me a bit teary when I thought of all the men that put their lives on the line, and many that lost their lives, after climbing into a plane just like that one, for the purpose of saving others lives and bringing peace to a war torn world.

While driving up to see the Bomber we found out that Scott's grandfather helped build some of the B-29's in WW2. Knowing that made the day extra special, since I didn't have the opportunity to meet him and our children won't either.

Now that I've been sappy enough for one day I'll tell about standing in line for an hour an a half in hundred degree weather with a 3 year old and a 1 year old at lunch time.... enough said.

My bangs were definitely wind blown but wind in a desert, on top of the tarmac at an airport is HOT wind. We couldn't keep Lilly confined to the stroller so we let her run free, which for her meant pushing around the stroller, which was fine with me, as long as she was happy!  

You can see that Abby was super reluctant to get close to the big wheels. She told me that she didn't want to get run over! (At least we know that some of the things I tell her about why we don't run across people's driveways is sinking in....

After a l.o.n.g. wait in the sun we were finally able to go "inside" the plane. It felt like we were stepping back in time. I feel bad for the tour guides sitting inside the plane, wilting, because the temperature skyrocketed once you were inside!

 

It was pretty crazy to realize that a B-29 just like this one is the plane that dropped the atomic bombs. Looking at the technology that seems so archaic, but was cutting edge then, it almost doesn't seem possible.

Despite the heat and the cranky children it was a wonderful experience and I would definitely recommend going to see the Superfortress if it makes a stop near you. 

Many thanks to the Commemorative Air Force for making this plane and it's history available to the public.

Weekend Update

Forgive me for giving you a weekend update on Tuesday, but I've been a little under the weather.

We'll start the weekend on Friday for this posts sake so you can see the awesome lengths I will put my family through for good, free food. Thanks Chick-Fil-A for dinner!

I decided we needed to get out of the house and so I cut out lots of black cow spots, rounded up the safety pins and attached "ears" to tiaras and fox ears (from Halloween last year). Scott was quite surprised when he walked in to find his family had turned into cow costumes.  The wait wasn't too terrible and we ended up with awesome free Chick-Fil-A dinner that we took to the park for a picnic (is it a picnic when the food isn't made by you?). The sweltering desert heat (don't let the mountains in the background convince you it it isn't hot here) and the semi long line were the only drawbacks to our first Chick-fil-A free food experience and I think we'd do it again!

This weekend I also checked something off my bucket list! It may sound silly but I've always wanted to go to an estate sale. While out running errands I happened to pass a sign for an estate sale in my neighborhood. I flipped the van around so fast I'm sure the girls heads were spinning and off we went. This particular estate sale wasn't the things dreams are made of, but I have a feeling most estate sales are a little more professional and I have high hopes for the next one I get to go to (hopefully without the little one in the stroller and the toddler wanting to run from room to room trying on all the clothes and asking me to buy everything. 

Did I buy anything you ask? Why yes I did. Of course I had to buy something at my first estate sale!! Two LARGE umbrellas and a handful of scarves for the girls dress-up box. Maybe not the biggest haul or most amazing find but I'm pretty happy about it.

The weekend was rounded off by baths on Saturday night. When Abby informed me that Lilly was going to poop in the bathtub they were sharing. I, naively, brushed off her concerns since that has never been a problem with my kids. Lets just say that next time I will listen more attentively when Abby shares her sisterly insights with me (and I will not allow myself to run out of bleach ever again)! And don't worry, there are no pictures to share and thus scar your mind!

What things made your weekend memorable?

First 5k

The 4th was packed full of fun and firsts and we loved it!

I've been wanting to do a 5k for a few years now. I registered for one a few years ago and when I discovered I was pregnant with Lilly I dropped out for fear that training for my first race while pregnant would put too much strain on my body. (I have a harder time carrying a baby to full-time than the average woman, which I'll tell you about someday)

About two weeks ago Scott signed us up for the Freedom Run 5k and I was both excited and nervous! 

We ran as a family and I give major props to Scott for pushing the double jogging stroller the entire race, of which almost the last mile was very much uphill!! He set a great pace that kept me going steady for most of the race. We got some great shout outs from race officials on the loudspeaker for pushing a double jogging stroller.

It was an awesome race!! A good part of the race ran along the 4th of July parade route, before the parade started, and they had music playing and people cheering (those who had camped out along the parade route to get a good spot) which was a great motivator since I wasn't in quite as good a shape as I had hoped to be. It was a great feeling to hear my name called out as I crossed the finish line. 

And yes, we got the girls straight out of bed and put them in the car with snacks so those are their pajamas you see.

We are hoping to do another race soon, keep getting better, and maybe do a 10k by the end of the year!

Later we met up with friends at a park up the canyon, that the river runs through, for lunch and playing in the river.

After lunch we played games (learned some fun new ones) and eventually went home, grilled chicken for dinner and attempted to put our over-tired kiddos to bed early enough to sleep through the massively loud aerial fireworks that the people in our neighborhood light off at every opportunity.

Overall it was a great 4th of July and we had some awesome firsts as a family.

The Freedom 5k is supposed to one of the more fun races. What races have you enjoyed running?

Provo Park Hop #1 Bicentennial Park

Every week this summer a group of friends and I will be visiting a new park in Provo to try it out, learn more about our town and find fun new places to play! Hopefully every Friday I will be posting an update about the park we visited the day before.

Yesterday we played at Provo Bicentennial Park. To be honest, the park was almost to Springville and didn't really feel like it was in Provo. Lots of parking spaces right next to the grass which was awesome, no walking through a crowded parking lot with kids in tow.

My friend Melissa brought a bow and arrows and helped each of the kids take a turn. Definitely the highlight of the trip!

The playground was nice and big with plenty of swings, which meant no fighting over swings which was great! Lots of big shade trees for the mammas to camp out under while our kids played.

The duck pond was kind of muddy, we only saw two ducks and they were hiding behind a big fallen tree in the water and weren't interested in the bread Abby brought and was so excited to feed them so that was a bit of a letdown for her. Lilly loves ducks, with a PASSION so I was hoping she would be able to see them but she didn't know what she was missing out on.

Lilly wore her tutu to the park and spent most of her time on the blanket eating snacks or chasing bubbles.

Overall it was a great park with tons of nice lush green grass for the kids to run and play. It was almost too big of a grassy area for little kids as we had a harder time keeping track of them. There is a HUGE hill that they can run up and then roll down.

We loved the playground, shady trees and large grassy area the most. 

What things are a priority for you when choosing which park to take your kids too?

Things we didn't do: 

Wetlands area with a boardwalk to walk on while you check it out.

Sand volleyball area

Disc golf course

F.H.E. and Goal Zero

 I picked up this pool at a consignment sale as ours had a hole that continued to increase by the day it seemed. When I started filling this one up I realized just how much bigger than our old one it was, it took a while to fill up.....

 This is how we do Family Night at our house!! Abby had been begging to go in the pool all day and so we had a lesson about the creation (land and water being separated, etc....) so I could justify playing in the pool as our F.H.E. activity.

And this is how Lilly does F.H.E.....

Eating time at the Twichel's house!

Company party for Goal Zero at a park. It was stiflingly hot, so it was a welcome relief for Scott and Abby that they had water balloons, snow cones and most importantly, squirt guns!! 

Can you believe this mellow cutie is the same baby as the one sitting in her high chair cheering for more food? Six and half months old and cute as can be! 

Camping and such

A few weeks ago we had a friend over for dinner while his wife was out of town and we mentioned that we all needed to go camping before it got to cold. Abby heard the word, "camping" and was so excited!! Hooting and hollering and carrying on because she thought we were going that night. When I told her we weren't camping that night but that we would go in 2 weeks her face just crumbled. It broke my heart! Scott set up the tent in the living room and the two of them had a daddy daughter camping trip right there in the comfort of home.

What I found the next morning... 

She had to take some of her babies and animals camping with her. 

That next weekend we set up the tent in Scott's parents backyard and Abby loved it!! We put Lilly to bed just inside the house in the port-a-crib and took the baby monitor outside with us. 

Lilly checking out the leaves in our front yard a few days after the camping trip.She is fascinated with leaves right now. Even the ones on our fake ficus tree in our living room seem to call her name, so to speak. 

The past weekend we went "real camping" with our neighbors. Abby kept asking if we were going to "go cahmping in the wooods" like Little Bear and Curious George. 

The first few hours were a bit rocky since I drove up and met our friends while Scott was still at work. He ended up having to work a bit late that night so it made things a little tricky but we still had a great time and can't wait to go again soon!

This was Lilly's first camping trip and she was quite the fussy baby while we were camping as she was still recovering from soon kind of "bug" in her system. 

If you look closely at her face you can see the remains of the chocolate pudding that she decided would be breakfast. 

Abby put in a lot of miles running around the campsite playing with her friend Beth. 

Hanks Family Reunion Part 2

Half of one day was spent at Smith and Moorehouse reservoir and our last full day was enjoyed at Rockport Reservoir.

Abby playing in the water at Smith and Moorehouse. This girl loves the water and became so much more brave after this reunion!

Our day at Rockport reservoir was AWESOME!!!  I had never been on a waverunner and I've always wanted to try one. Scott and my brother Matt rented one and it was so much fun!! Now, I want one!

We brought our kayaks with us and rented two canoes with the lodge so we had quite the assortment of watercraft. 

Lilly spent most of the time at the reservoir playing on her mat and taking naps! The towel made it an awesome tent! 

Abby wanted to ride in the small kayaks and so Scott had the brilliant idea to push her through the shallows and she loved it!! 

My sister in law Amy and I having a fantastic ride on the tube!

While out on the waverunner, Scott and our niece Madeline hit the wave from a big boat and flew about 7 feet into the air. The ride back to shore was a little more pain filled than I think they anticipated when they climbed on the tube!

Lilly didn't really enjoy the lifejacket and being in the water but once she was away from those things she did great! 

Our trip to the reservoir was great. There were a few huge crazy things that happened though! While pulling my two13 year old nephews on the tube I must have run over the rope and it got tangled under the boat. We were so far out in the reservoir that no one could tell we needed help. We climbed off and started swim/pushing the waverunner back to shore. It was excruciatingly painful!! We were making a little progress but it would have taken FOREVER to get back to shore. Another nephew went by on a kayak and so we sent him back to shore to get help and my brother Joe came out and towed us back to shore. Eventually the men were able to cut the rope and get the waverunner working again!

Hanks Reunion 2013 Part 1

About a year ago my mom asked if my sister Stephanie and I would plan a family reunion for my immediate family in the summer of 2013. After many months of planning, many phone calls, and a few extra pounds from the stress the reunion actually happened!

We rented a FANTASTIC place called The Harston Heartland Lodge. If you've never been there you are missing out!! There was plenty of room for our huge family and so many things to do that the kids stayed busy! It had been a long time since we had seen this much family and so this was a real treat to see those who could come! Hopefully at the next reunion everyone will be able to make it!

This is just a smattering of pictures from a few of the weeks highlights.

Each family had a different bandanna color and the kids were gracious enough to model them for us!

Our first night there happened to be my niece Rachel's birthday and so we had a party. The kids decorated hats, made balloon animals and had a great time.

 My sister Stephanie holding my cute little Lilly. Lilly was such a happy girl with her auntie Steph!

My mom and Lilly having a bonding moment!

We had a White Elephant gift exchange that was a bit of a riot! My grandparents and my aunt Michelle came for a day and got to join in on the fun and an early birthday party for my grandpa's 90th birthday.

My brother-in-law, Darren was nice enough to entertain Lilly while Scott was in charge of the White Elephant and I tried to relax a bit(in the background looking out the window).

Lilly spent most of the reunion being held by loving cousins and aunts and uncles who couldn't get enough of her! When she wasn't being held she loved playing with her toys and practicing her new skill of rolling over. Even while playing on the floor her cousins couldn't leave her alone! 

We roasted marshmallows in the firepit one night and had a blast.  

Abby enjoying her roasted marshmallow. 

Scott hanging out with my dad, watching the kids playing on the grass. 

Lilly playing on her mat on the grass after our family pictures. 

Abby sharing her candy with her cousin Emmeline. Would you guess that these two are almost the same age?