Les Miserables

This last week I was able to go with Kaitlyn's girl scout troop to see Les Miserables. It was such a wonderful night. I remember my parents taking me to see it when I was in sixth grade at the Kennedy Center in D.C. and it being impressive. But this time the story just clicked with me. I absolutely loved it!!! The music is beautiful and the message of how this man was able to turn his life around for good, it was amazing. I was telling Ryan that it reminds me of the story of Alma the younger in the Book of Mormon, a little. I also was touched by the men fighting in the war and the lives which were lost. I have two brother-in-laws who have been deployed and through the play could empathize with how hard it would be to sacrifice everything for what you believe in. Also it touched my heart to watch the actor as he came back from war and so many of his friends were not able to. How hard it would be to see all that you do in war and then to come back to normal life. I probably read way too much into the play, but I loved it.

Ryan and I were able to go see the play together two days later. This picture is with Fantine and the little boy who sings "Little People".

Overnighter at the Zoo

This weekend Kaitlyn's girl scout troop and I were able to spend the night at the zoo. The zoo always does a phenomenal job with their programs!

This baby rhino is only one or two months old. He was running like crazy everywhere. Baby rhinos come out 500 lbs., their poor mothers!

This owl's name is Hootie. He was super cute. I guess owls like him only live one or two years in the wild but he is fifteen years old, since he is taken care of at the zoo it has prolonged his life.

I love these girls! It is hard to believe that we have been a troop for five years!

Pinewood Derby

Reuben was so excited to participate in his first Pinewood Derby! He had fun working on his car with Ryan. They didn't get to spend as much time on it as they hoped since Ryan has been working more hours than any sane person should. But Reuben was happy with how his car turned out and is already planning his for next year.

Mario and Luigi K'nex

(The Luigi motorcycle stands up great. My kids just had fun posing it.)

We were lucky enough to try out some more K'nex this week. We were sent the Mario cart and Luigi sets for free in the mail. The only catch is to blog about what we thought about them. The kids were super excited to open the package as soon as it arrived. Reuben was stoked that they were Mario and Luigi! Everyone huddled around the table to put them together. Both sets went together really easy. The only negative feedback for the sets is; on the Mario one the rocket booster/exhaust pipes fall off really easy, as for the Luigi set when you press Luigi on the bike to ride it then the motorcycle breaks in half unless you support it right. The positives were that they are easy to put together, very cool characters, and the Mario Kart propels forward if you pull it back and then release it. When all is said and done I would definitely recommend both of these sets! The kids were fighting over who would get to play with them first!

Nacho Libre

Nacho Libre has become a new member of our family. Reuben reminded him of his outfit a week ago and it has been like pulling teeth to take it off, even for bedtime. I have put it in the laundry just to have it pulled out and and Nacho insisting on wearing it. Yes, he does respond to "Nacho" and actually refers to himself that way. Luckily I babysit full time from home so we don't have to worry about changing to leave the house. He had fun posing for these photos :)

Blue and Gold Banquet

Last night was Reuben's cub scout Blue and Gold Banquet. I (Ryan) remember as a kid my older brother, Matt, had a Blue and Gold which they had to decorate a cake. It must have been in October, because it was a halloween themed cake. Matt and Dad built a fence of pretzels and ghosts of marshmallows in a pumpkin patch. In my mind it was a perfect cake and I thought it was so cool.

With Reuben's banquet each boy and their father were to bring a decorated cake that they did together. The theme was "...seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning…" (D&C 88:118). So with a great coach (Kristen) we endeavored to make a cake together. Reuben and I worked for a few hours on this cake and feel great about how it turned out. Kristen was awesome, while I'm sure it just killed her not being able to help. She stood by and watched.

The teddy bear was 100% Reuben's creation, while the rest we worked together kneading and rolling out the fondant. We had a blast working on this together and Reuben was so proud of it at the display.

Boys Day Out - Monster Jam

For Christmas we thought we would try something new. We wanted to take the kids to an activity that they would, hopefully, never forget. Kristen recently took the girls to "Toy Story 3 on Ice" and last weekend the boys and I got to go to a Monster Jam. I have never been to one so I was just as excited to see the trucks as Reuben and Lincoln. Reuben and I tried to guess who of the great trucks would be there. While it was a long shot I was hoping for one of my childhood favorites Big Foot, but my other favorite Grave Digger would be awesome. Reuben hoped for Grave Digger or Donkey Kong. To our great surprise our common favorite appeared.

I hope I am not too much of a dork to say this, but it was TOTALLY AWESOME. The competition ultimately came down between Grave Digger and Tazmanian Devil, as pictured above. In the end Grave Digger dominated, with a tire that exploded at the end of his run. How exciting!! Reuben and Lincoln enjoyed the show, too.

The entire time Lincoln sat with his hands over his ears, though he also had ear plugs in. Everytime a truck came out he yelled "no". But when all was said and done he could not stop talking about the big trucks and the loud noise, in fact he frequently plays with his trucks saying, "vrooom, too loud". We all had a great time together and look forward to the next event we can do together.