Since the entire state of Utah was on Spring Break at the same time, and half the week we had snow and freezing temps, we had to get creative with our time spent. On Monday the kids just played with neighbors. On Tuesday we had a Henry family spring cleaning day. I took inspiration from Mymixofsix and paid the kids in tickets for each chore completed. I made a list of chores needing done, and they chose which ones they wanted to complete, by initialing next to them. I told them ahead of time what was "on sale" and for how many tickets, so they could choose how much they were willing to work for. To their credit, they completed enough to buy everything. Even Irelynd was able to stick with it until she was done, which is a HUGE accomplishment for her, with her ADHD. I was so proud of my girls; we cleaned for hours and they stuck right with me, with very little reminding. I will definitely make this a yearly, or maybe a bi-yearly, tradition in our house. It worked beautifully! And it was fun! (Well, the movie night, maybe not the cleaning!) Some of the chores I listed included wiping baseboards, cleaning windows, and wiping down walls and doors; pretty much the stuff I HATE doing, because of all the bending over. Now I have clean baseboards, windows, and blinds!
This is the "store". Target sold all out of their popcorn holders just days before we went to get some, so Scott got creative and bought mini-planters. The tickets we found at Walmart for $3, and the candy was leftover Easter candy.
Even Brighton got involved and was able to earn some tickets. He held on almost until the end of the movie, but crashed before it was over.
Wednesday and Thursday were more play days. Friday we went to Goblin Valley in central Utah. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive each direction, but the kids watched a movie both directions and it went quickly.
This is called the Three Sisters and greets visitors on the way in.
We started with a picnic lunch in the parking lot. Even here in the middle of the desert was crammed full of people. Luckily, the park is large and it didn't feel crowded. It was such a nice change from the cold, snowy weather we left behind!
We discovered letterboxing last summer and have fallen in love with it. We looked up a few clues for the area and found the hidden boxes. The first one was stashed in this cave, below, where the people are climbing in. We felt like Indiana Jones.
I had to laugh as I was taking this picture of Savannah. We finally, after over a year, changed the batteries in her camera before we left, and she kept stopping her siblings to pose for a picture for her. Like mother, like daughter!
After a few hours of climbing over, under, and through the formations, Brighton could go no farther, and lay down in the dirt to rest.
After leaving Goblin Valley, we went to Little Wild Horse Canyon to hike the slots. We found our second letterbox clue here as well. As we had to get back to pick up our twins from Scott's parents, we only spent a short time here. I would have liked to hike the entire 8-mile round trip, but it'll have to wait for our return trip next spring.
