Gabe and Jacob's Prehistoric Adventure!

Friday I decided that Gabe and I needed to get out of the house before we both drove each other crazy. We have a annual pass to Ogden Dinosaur Park and it expires in November, so we might as well get some more use out of it. After making the decision to go, we called up my friend Rachel (Gabe's friend Jacob) and invited them to join us. It was nice outside, not too hot, and Jacob had never been, so it was perfect timing. We all rode together and after parking and unloading continued to the front desk for admittance. As we got up to the line, I remembered that we now have to bring ID in with our member pass or they will not let us in, besides a manager was telling people at the front of the line the same thing (because some people can't follow the rules, the rest of us have to pay the price). Oh well, anyway, so I ran back to the car to grab my license and head back to the front desk where I realize that I grabbed the wrong wallet (I have two in my purse because I just have too many cards and things for one wallet). Another trip back to the care for the right wallet, then it is my turn to be admitted and the young worker doesn't ask for my ID. I ask him if he needs it, and he says no. His manager had left during my two trips back to the car, and even though the manager had just given a lecture to previous guests standing next to the employee, he continued to ignore protocol. I tell him that I just made two separate trips back to my car for my ID because they were telling people that the rule had changed and he just stands there and shrugs. Sheesh! At least I got some additional exercise.

Now, back to the boys. They both were too afraid of the robot dinosaurs upstairs inside the museum to really enjoy them (Tristan loved these), so we headed outside. Gabe was very excited to show Jacob around. We headed over to the excavation area where the kids can use brushes to uncover dinosaur bones from the sand.

(Gabe, Jacob and Tristan discovering fossils.)

However, the park has the sound effects for the dino statues turned up so loud, the boys are a bit frightened by that as well. So it's off to the playground, and....it's a hit. They come out of their shells, and have a lot of fun posing on the climbable dinos and playing on the playset/swings. We walk on over to some more photo ops and take our share of pictures, and then continue around the park for more viewing pleasure. Jacob was a bit more timid about some of the dinosaurs, but we got him to enjoy the adventure by the time we left. The boys weren't ready to be separated so we headed back to our house for some pizza and play time. Gabe has VERY few play dates, so he had an extremely hard time sharing toys that belong to the whole family, not to mention his own. After a bunch of time-outs, I decided he was due for a much needed nap. We said our good-byes and they walked down the road to home. Thanks Rachel and Jacob for hanging out with us. We will have to do it more often, so that Gabe can learn how to play with friends better. We had so much fun!