An outing

Because of parent teacher conferences (which went great, by the way! So proud of my kids!) we had a week of early out days. It wasn't fabulous. I had lots of plans to do fun things with the kids after school but because of playdates and lessons and homework and such things, our days were pretty much normal. But on Friday, we took off as soon as the kids were out of school and went back to a place we visited when Marissa was a baby and have always wanted to go back to: Noah's Ark! It is such a cute and creative and fun-filled place to visit with my kids.

The entrance to the ark is accessorized with a "loading ramp". You load the animals onto the conveyer belt, spin the wheel and they are dumped into the ark.

Endless entertainment.

Inside, Maylan organized the mini animals two by two. There were lots of other things in the first room, too, but I didn't take very many pictures this time. The kids also loved the storm simulators and the crates where the animals sleep and the puppets.

The climbing room was their favorite place last time we went and it was their favorite place this time, too. Since Marissa is no longer a baby, I was able to get in there with them, too. It was a little squishy.

The climbing room is full of ropes and wood and fun places to relax.

It is also full of "poop" from the animals which Marissa happily cleaned up.

My favorite thing about the whole place is the animals. They are everywhere and are so fancifully made. Most are made from recycled everyday random objects, like the snake made from dryer vents

and the lion made from mops. Everywhere you look there's some sort of cool animal.

And outside is where the rainbows are! It was a little cool by the time we made it outside, so we didn't stay long, but it is also very cool. We love this place!

After we were done with Noah, we took a short ten minute drive to the LA temple. The kids don't remember ever being there, so it was a neat experience for them. They loved how big it was and the reflecting pool in the front. We toured the new visitor's center, which was very impressive.

So, even though we had an almost two hour drive to get home, it was a fun little outing and completely worth it!

And in case you were wondering what Ryan was doing while we were touring LA, here he is! He spent the weekend in Catalina and was able to go scuba diving with his brother. What fun!