Brace Yourself. Airplanes AND Animals in this Post.

Meanwhile, at Team Anderson's in Salt Lake City......

(1) It's a Bird!  It's a Plane!  It's a...!  No, Wait, It's a Plane.  And It's Not Even Flying.  It's on the Ground.

We visited Hill Aerospace Museum over the Christmas holiday (yes, this is a wee bit delayed), because... guess why?!!  It's FREEEEEEE!!!  And there are lots of big, shiny airplanes there!!!

It was pretty brisk that day.  I was wishing that I had a Teletubby suit like Cole. 

Our visit started with a (frigid) exploration of the outdoor area: 

Nice. 

Check out that big fella!! 

(Having an artist husband means finding weird, random pictures like rusty metal siding every now and then on my camera.) 

Eventually we moved into the warmth for an exploration of the indoor displays! 

Naturally, we had to take a picture with the Sikorsky MH-53, a.k.a. Blackout (the Decepticon from the beginning of the first Transformers movie): 

And naturally we had to take a picture with the F-15 Eagle (even though it's not exactly the F-14 from Top Gun, but that's okay): 

Aaaaaaand finally we had to cuddle.  (He's cute and squishy now, but watch out!  He may enlist in the Air Force and become a hardcore fighter pilot a few years down the road.  Preferably, he'll exchange the Teletubby suit for a flight suit that's a little more bad-A.) 

(2)  The Terrain Seems a Bit Unstable...

Another fun thing we did recently was visit Bouncin' Off the Walls for their Wednesday morning Mom-n-Me playtime.  Okay, it's not free, but it's only $5, and Weston loves it SO. MUCH.  I cannot overemphasize his love of bouncy places.  I decided to see if Cole would be as thrilled as Weston by the giant slide:

Jean's reaction:  HAHAHAHA!  WHEEEE!  WE'RE HAVING FAMILY FUN!!!

Weston's reaction:  Okay, next?

Cole's reaction:  Binky clip.  Binky clip in mouth.  More binky clip.  In mouth.

(3)  What?  There's a Rare African Mammal Over There?  Check Out This Snowball!

This past week we visited the Hogle Zoo.  Guess why?!!  It was ALSO FREEEEEE!!!!  (And it will be again on the last Wednesday in February!  Woot woot!)

First of all, I would just like to say that I want to be this lady when I'm old: fluffy, snow-white hair and a large-taloned hawk perched upon my arm.

 

Anyways, we went with a few buddies (Dawson and Katelyn and my friend Kira) and had a grand old time. The kids seemed to really enjoy seeing the animals, but I'm pretty sure that they got slightly MORE enjoyment out of running around, throwing snow, and generally romping about like hyperactive puppies.  Kira and I managed to wrangle them for a picture with the giant elephant display: 

Oh fer cute's sake: 

And every time I took a bunch of pictures of Weston, I felt a little guilty and snapped a couple of Cole, too, just sitting like a mellow-marsh in his stroller: 

Look!  A BABY ELEPHANT!!!!!!!!!!! 

And look, a ginormous orangutan!!!  Oops, sorry, I mean orangutang:

And here are those wacky little hyperactive puppies! 

Despite the two-year age difference, these guys have SO much fun together: 

(4) Cole in the Bathtub.  Why?  Just Because.

Look at that little face.

Look at that little smile.

Look at that giant monster baby mauling C3PO.  Crush him!  CRUSH HIM!!!