The Wilhelmsen Botanical Blog

I have had a couple people ask me where I hear about various promotions, free activities, and other activities.  I thought that I would share some useful links as well as tips on how to find these things in your area.  Some things like 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins, a free meal for dressing up like a cow at Chic-fil-a, or a free corn dog at Hot Dog on a Stick are things that you can check on each year to find out when or if they will happen again.  One thing that I do so that I don’t have to remember to go checking is when I hear about a promotion like a free hot dog, pretzel, or $1.00 smoothies at Jamba I go to their website and sign up for the e-mail mailing list.  That way when they have promotions in the future I will hear about them.  A few that we go to yearly are 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins and free slurpee day at 7-11 on July 11th.  Some new ones that I have heard about this year are free pretzel day at Pretzelmaker, free donut day at Krispy Kreme, free corn dog at Hot Dog on a Stick, and of course the $1.00 super fruit smoothies at Jamba juice.

As for activities, a lot of those I have learned about from hear say.  It is important to note that thanks to the zoo, arts, and parks tax you can take advantage of free days at several venues in Salt Lake.  Once a year Discovery Gateway has a free day.  Hogle Zoo has a free day the last Wednesday of the month from October or November (not 100% sure which) to February.  Every month of the year you can go to the Utah Museum of Natural History for free on the first Monday of the month and to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts on the first Wednesday of the month (both of these are at the U of U).  I recently learned that the Monte L. Bean museum at the Y is free all the time and we intend to make a trip out to see it.  Wheeler Farm has a free May Day Festival every year during the month of May.  Salt Lake City holds a festival called Living Traditions festival each year in May or June and it is free admission.  Canyon Rim park holds a yearly Venture Outdoor festival which is usually during the month of June.  You can go to a family fun day at This is the Place for free during the month of July as part of the Days of ’47 celebration.  They also hold an annual Easter Egg hunt that is free admission as well.  Gallivan Center has a free lunch bunch concert series all summer long and they also have Radio Disney Days.  You can also attend the free concert series at Brigham Young Historic Park.  They have concerts every Tuesday and Friday June through August.  http://www.lds.org/event/s/ConcertsParkSchedule_2010.pdf Barnes and Noble book stores do reading activities and story times through out the year as well and Home Depot has Kids Workshops the first Saturday of the month all year for 5-12 year olds.  Lowe’s does kid workshops as well and that info. can be found at https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com

The other thing that I do is go to my city’s web page and look at their event calendar.  A lot of cities have free movies in the park weekly or monthly during the summer.  I know that a near by park is doing free family night in the park every other week through out the summer.  You will also be able to get information on any special events going on in your city as well as Independence Day and Pioneer Day details.  Most city websites also have info. regarding the parks in the city, hiking trails, and other recreation.  You can go to the website of the rec center in your area and it will have event info. for their facility.  I know that South Davis Rec. Center does a free swimming day during the summer and that Alta Canyon has dive in movies (for a fee) in the evening a couple of times during the season.

Lastly, I have found a couple of good websites that post activities on them.  My favorite is the No Bored Kids calendar found here.  A couple more good sites are Nowplayingutah.com and http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com (you will need to put your location in on this site so that the info. is for things in your area.)  You can also visit the local library (or their website) and check out their events calendar.  Many libraries have story time and some will even do other activities.  For instance, I recently took my toddler to our neighborhood library for a one time music class.  He LOVED it.  At the Salt Lake County libraries you can check out a discount day pass for Utah State Parks.  I have also gotten books from the library and compiled a short list of easy hikes in the Salt Lake County area.  If you want this list comment on this blog entry and be sure to leave your e-mail address so that I can send it to you.  I would also recommend picking up a copy of the Utah Mama’s Handbook because it is chock full of things to do.  It doesn’t have to be the most recent version, just be sure to double check with the facility before assuming that the activity/hours/prices are the same.  I hope that all of this info. helps you to keep your kids and family entertained through out the year.  Let me know if you have any questions and happy discovering!

Happiness is when your child starts to tell you, “I love you,” unprompted and of their own will and choice.

Happiness is lay in bed after finishing a middle of the night feeding and hearing your husband burping the baby a bit and then kissing the baby a bit.  😀

The above movie is why we LOVE flying Southwest…that and of course the lack of extra fees.  Kudos to Southwest Airlines!

In life we cross paths with many people of many types.  Sometimes we become friends with these people and with that comes wanting them to have a good life filled with the same kind of happiness or joy that you have.  Many people find happiness in life and are satisfied with that but I want more for them.  I want them to have the deep abiding joy that come from being eternally married to the love of their life.  The joy that comes from knowing that my family is linked together and will be together forever.  That I will see them again and be with them again in Heaven and that our time together is not just for this short span of our lives here on earth but for always.  As hard as it is for me to be away from Brandon or Aiden I can not imagine how much harder it would be if I ever lost them and didn’t know that they would be in Heaven waiting for me.  I am grateful for the temple covenants that I made.  I know that the joy, safety, strength, richness of life and peace that is found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can not be matched fully anywhere by anything else (religious or otherwise).  It is God’s kingdom here on earth.  It is the church spoken of in the bible returned to earth for these the latter days.  If you are looking for more in your life, look no further simply get up the courage to ask someone about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  If you are open to it, I promise that you will find what you feel has been  missing from your life and haven’t been able to fill with anything else that you have tried.

I have been reading Dr. Laura’s book called, “In Praise of Stay at Home Moms” and it is a wonderful reaffirmation for my choice to stay at home with Aiden.  I have never really liked working.  It was always simply a means to an end and I often blamed it for things like not being able to study abroad because I needed the money to pay for my car…etc, etc.  My plan has always been to stay at home with my kids.  Honestly, I have often felt like I was born in the wrong era because my ideals were so “backward” in today’s society. 

I am not “just” a mom.  I am a mother, a teacher, a doctor, a tree to climb, a chef, a friend, a singer, a storybook reader, a maid, a comfort, a playmate, a photographer, a writer, a bill payer, a hazardous materials collector, remover, and cleaner, as well as many other things to meet the needs of my family.  Despite the many highs and lows, ups and downs, of being an at home parent I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I want to be the one who gets to enjoy each and every single “first”, to watch as my child learns new things almost daily, to cuddle them when they fall and scrape their knee, are scared, or don’t feel well.  There is a phrase that I have heard many times and it is so true.  Once a mom always a mom, even when your kids are 50 and have 4 kids of their own.  It is not a job that you can leave at the end of the day, even when you get a break you are worrying, missing, and thinking about your little ones.  For me being a mother is the most rewarding, most challenging, most inspiring, most amazing, most fulfilling “job” any woman could have on earth.  It is not for the faint hearted, it is not for the weak, it is not for the lazy, it is for those who are patient, perservering, strong, loving, nurturing, and have a strong stomach. ;p

Way to go stay at home moms!  Keep up the good work and know that in a world where a majority emphasize that women should be in careers and not in homes that you have at least one personal cheerleader who will stand by you in saying, “I am a stay at home mom and proud of it!”

So, since I have been up since six with my mind a whirring (I don’t usually get up until 7:30 and today I was going to try and sleep in) I thought that I would write about the things I am most grateful for.  This is not a “top five” or “top ten” and they are in no particular order but here goes…

1. A place to live/a roof over the heads of my husband, son, and I. (Thanks dad!)

2. Food to eat.  Seriously, I like food alot (and so does my son).

3. Being a mom.  I waited 17 long months for a successful pregnancy and let me tell you, it makes the rest that much more sweet.

4. My eccentric, silly, loving mom.  She adds a certain richness and spice to life that is unique only to her.

5. My generous, intelligent, loving father.  I know that if my family is ever in a bind he is there for us.  He is also good for some stimulating conversation as well, this is nice after you have been talking to a babbling baby all day.  😉

6. Family in general, I have been blessed with having a very close extended family who all live within 45 mins. of me and with whom I have shared many memories with at various family functions.

7. I better mention my sister.  :p  She is a strong, beautiful woman (yes woman, she is all grown up, married, and living in Florida with her hubby, sometimes I forget she isn’t little anymore) who knows her mind and isn’t afraid to speak it.  She is also brave and willing to take risks that I talk myself out of.  You rock little sis!

8.  I am grateful for all the people whose paths I’ve crossed in my life who have taught me a little bit more about myself and the world around me.  This includes friends, teachers, church leaders, colleagues at work, and the random people I have passed on the U of U campus, at the grocery store, or walking down the street just to name a few.

9. I am grateful for my education.  I am so lucky to have been able to go through all of the public education system K-12 and then go on to earn a college degree.   Only a precious few (what like 25%) of high school graduates even get that priviledge.

10. I am grateful for my religion.  I don’t know how many times I can say this.  The church of Jesus Christ brings an added measure of peace, love, joy, security, and strength into my life.  It also binds me to me family eternally.  Which means that neither on earth nor in Heaven will I be apart from them.  Considering how much I love my family this is a truly marvelous blessing.

11. My health.  Sure I have asthma, allergies, and a slightly curved spine, but those have been the extent of my ailments despite my lack of excercise until now and indulging in too many tasty sweets.  I am grateful to have been so lucky.

12. My talents.  Sure my whole life I have thought that I didn’t excel at any one thing (I still don’t think I do), but I have been able to use my talents to help others or to bring joy to their lives and that is pretty cool.  My talents also provide me with joy, and a sense of accomplishment.

Well, I am sure that the more I “count my blessings” the more I could think of to write but in order to not ramble on and on I will stop here.  I have a friend blogging 5 things she is grateful for every day.  Maybe I will do that…I will think on it.  Have a happy Thanksgiving and don’t stuff yourselves to the point of belly ache!!  There are always leftovers for later…  🙂