Utah Vacation - Day 1

After months of planning and anticipation we took off on our long awaited Utah vacation. Wahoo!!! We left bright and early the morning of Monday August 10th. OK so it was 8:00, but we have 3 kids to get up and ready. Our first stop was Smith and Edwards "The Country Boy Store." This has got to be Kris's favorite store. It is packed with all sorts of crazy gear as well as Army Surplus. The kids each got a pair of "cheap sunglasses" as Kris kept singing and we found a lid lifter for our dutch oven. Then we loaded back into our van for a short drive to our first real attraction - Hill Air Force Base Museum.We enjoyed wandering around the museum and looking at the planes. This is a bomber that flew missions from England to Germany. Tal was fascinated by all of the machine guns and of course the bombs.

The coolest part of the museum is the Aviation Center for Education - ACE. Here Abi and Tal tried on flight suits and got to sit in real cockpits. There were also displays that helped you understand how airplanes work and flight simulators.

Tal flies a fighter jet. He has always been fascinated by airplanes. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a real cockpit someday.

Abi flew a little puddle jumper. Here she gets a little help landing it at SeaTac airport. Only 3 bounces, good job.

Our second stop was the Ogden Eccles Dinosaur Park and it was awesome. Inside the museum many real fossils were displayed in cases but the coolest part were the replicas of real dinosaur skeletons. Several of them had interactive kiosks that helped us learn the differences between the types and the periods in which they lived. This one is a cousin of T-Rex, Ankylosaurus, I believe.

This woolly rhino was fun to touch. Leah liked petting his thick fur, ( and playing with the rocks.)

Aaaaagh!!!!! This T-Rex is going to eat us.

Upstairs there was a robotic display of a T-Rex taking on a mama Triceratops who was defending her babies. The babies kind of purred and Leah loved them. Don't worry, the fence is turned off. :)

Outside we wandered around the park looking at the replicas of many other dinosaurs. We are dwarfed by this Brachiosaurus. I'm sure the ground shook when he walked. The kids also got to dig for fossils in a sand pit and play on a little dino playground.

For dinner we visited a "Diner's, Drive-In's and Dives" recommendation - The Blue Plate Diner - in Sugar House. We were all in the mood for omelets and they were scrumptious. After dinner we checked in to our motel, the Crystal Inn Downtown. Kris took Tal and Abi for a dip in the pool while I put Leah to bed. And then we all zonked out after a day of fun so we would be ready for more tomorrow.