New Favourite Game

The boys were going through the games in the basement the other day and came across an old game of Jason's - "Axis and Allies".

They brought it up and begged Jason to teach them how to play.  It is a strategy game, really meant for kids and adults much older than our boys, and Jason was sure they would get bored and not like it.

Well - he was wrong!  They both love it, especially Bowen. Each round takes about an hour to play and they have spent days in a row playing in the evenings.

I think it is great as it gives me a bit of free time.  The only downside - it takes over the dining room table!  I'm thinking it is time for a games table in the basement.

Summer Fun - Nanton

Everytime I drive through Nanton I notice the "Miniature Museum" and think to myself - we should check that place out.  It used to be in Cardston and I'd say the same thing there as well.  But I have never visited.  Anyone who knows me knows I love miniatures, so I was determined to visit the museum this summer.  We found a free Saturday and headed to Nanton.

Such a fun "little" (pun intended) place.  Alot of it has a western theme, but there was certainly tons to look at.  Jason and the boys enjoyed it as well.  With lots of talk of wanting to build some miniatures at home and what they would like to build.  I noticed the general theme was Star Trek and Star Wars - go figure!!

This section made me want to build a doll house so bad!!

The little food and dishes reminded me of dioramas my grandma used to make for her seminary classes.

My favorite miniatures!!

After the museum we headed over to the Nanton Candy Store - love it!  I'm such a creature of habit I almost always buy a curly wurly and a laffy taffy - that day was no different.  Another fun summer day for the Atwoods!

Summer Fun - Heritage Park

Each summer Jason's work has a party for their employees and their families.  This summer was no different - except for the venue.  Due to the extensive damage the zoo sustained during the June floods the event had been moved to Heritage Park.

We hadn't been to Heritage Park since Ashton was about a year old.  It has changed so much and we'll definitely be going back.  I didn't take any pictures in the first building but we started out looking at all the old cars.  As expected the boys enjoyed this very much.  Then they checked out a petting zoo.

Then they tried out the vintage amusement rides.

My favorite part of Heritage Park are all the old buildings.

Really creepy mannequins

Found a great view of downtown from a hiking trail.

They fed us a great lunch and we finished up the day with an ice cream cone.  It was a fun family day and we'll be sure to return.  Maybe next time we'll check out the train and boat rides!

Summer Fun - Calaway

I have been so neglectful to my little blog.  We've been getting back into the swing of things - with school, work and music lessons.  So I will attempt in the next few days to get my blog up to date and then start posting on a regular basis again.

No summer would be complete for the Atwoods without a few trips to Calaway Park.  We went alone, we went with friends and with family.  We made one trip with my sister and her family.  The kids all had a great time.

Silly Ashton stopping for a snack!

We'll try and get in one more visit while they have the park decorated for halloween.

Summer Fun - Drumheller

After we got back from camping, Jason still had a week off work so we thought we'd take the boys to Drumheller.  Unfortunately by the time we decided to go when we looked for a place to stay everything was completely booked.  So we just made it a day trip.

We headed out and went to the Royal Tyrrell Museum.  It had been about 3 or 4 years since we had been. Ashton remembered a little bit, but it was all new to Bowen.  The boys had a great time looking at all the exhibits and sharing with us everything they already knew and were learning.

After a few hours at the museum we headed to Reptile World. The boys really like this place.  They have tons of spiders, snakes, frogs, crocodiles, turtles, etc. on display and we spent quite a bit of time looking at all the animals.  The boys even got to hold a snake.

Then we grabbed some dinner and headed home.  One last stop on the way home.

Another great family trip this summer!

Grade 2 & 4 - Yikes!!

I still need to post a bunch of stuff about summer holidays but that will have to go on hold for now. Yesterday was back to school - the "most wonderful time of the year"!  The summer sped by so quickly, but the boys didn't seem too upset about school starting.

Bowen is in Grade 2 this year, and Ashton is in Grade 4 (his final year in elementary school - what!!)

Oh Bowen - is that 3 little girls he seems to be talking too?

Getting to know a group of boys.

Mom isn't needed as much anymore.  I helped them both find their teachers and then they said they were fine on their own - I didn't need to walk them into the school.  So I stayed around and spied on them until their teachers led them to their classrooms.  They both seem excited about their teachers and I hope they have a successful year!