Frampton Zoo

Proof Reading

2010-03-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was writing a paper while the kids were still awake (BIG no no!) Max came in and wanted to know what I was writing about. I asked him if he wanted to read my paper. He said "sure!" A few minutes later Max had a suggestion. He thought I should change a word in a sentence from "pretty well, to reasonably well." I was thinking about his suggestion when he added "you don't have to take my advice, it's just a little "Max scholarly speech."

So if anyone needs to add a little "scholarly" vocabulary to anything...just call Max. I'm sure he is available!

Best Quote EVER!!!

2009-08-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

Recently I found this quote that completely defines me.

"I am so clever that I don't understand a single word of what I am saying."
-Oscar Wilde

Pretty perfect eh?

Swimming with Green Sea Turtles

2009-03-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

Here we are at a reef on the west coast of Oahu. We sat on a wall here with our friends from Texas (I forgot to get a picture of them) and watched the turtles swimming all around. They were beautiful.

We did a little talking to a really nice Hawaiian lady who was watching us watch for turtles. She told us of a place where there were alot of turtles. Some even come out of the water and sit on the beach.

We went to the little hidden cove. There weren't any turtles sitting on the beach, but once we got into the water...WOW! There were turtles all over the place (and some pretty cool fish too.) I just layed there and watched them swim all around. The water got a little murky so I couldn't see very far in front of me, so every few minutes I was startled to see just how close the turtles came up to me. One got so close to Quinn it almost hit him.

We were close enough to touch every turtle we saw, but it is against the law to touch them, so we didn't. It's even against the law to come too close to them, but it's hard to control how close they come to you. They're pretty amazing.

We didn't have a water-proof camera, so we tried to get some good pictures from above. You need to look close. If you click on the picture it will get bigger.

Polynesian Cultural Center

2009-03-26T01:07:00.000-07:00

Today we spent the entire day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. What a fantastic place! We learned all about Hawaii, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, Fiji, New Zealand and one other, but I can't remember the name.

We learned how to throw spears!

Quinn and I both won these shell leis in the spear throwing contest!!

We saw two Samoans climb coconut trees. I think their nuts! (literally!) If you click on the picture you can see the two guys in the trees.

These are some of the people who were in our tour group. We really liked the lady in the middle. She was pretty funny.

We had a fantastic Luau dinner. The kaluah pork was the best. I also really liked the purple sweet potato salad, and the purple rolls. We met some really nice people from Texas at dinner. We liked them so much we hung out with them the next day!

After dinner, we went to the Horizons evening show. HOLY COW!!!!! The fire dance was amazing. This guy could hold the flames on his feet!

We started our day at the "PCC" at 12:00 pm and we left after the final show at 9:30. We were exhausted, but it was worth every minute. In fact we could have spent two more days there.

The Dole Plantation

2009-03-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Dole Planation. We rode on the plantation train then went on the garden tour. We really enjoyed ourselves. I think our favorite part was the "starving Koi" Poor little things probably thought the fish food Quinn was throwing them was all they would get to eat for a year!

Sunset Beach & Shark's Cove

2009-03-24T22:27:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the beach. First we went to watch the surfers at Sunset Beach. Funny thing about beachs, I can't seem to stay out...even if I still have my clothes on. I was soaked! It was fun though.

After that we decided to change into our suits in the car, then we headed south about a quarter of a mile to Shark's Cove for a little snorkeling. As Rex would say... it was AWE-SOME!! We saw "Gil" from Finding Nemo and a few spotted puffer fish and about 100 others. It was fantastic.

After that we went to watch the sunset at Sunset Beach. While we were there we were approached by a very friendly black lab with a VERY slobbery tennis ball. I threw it for him once and he ran after it. Once he got the ball he took it to some other peopleon the beach. He did this over and over until he was out of sight. He came back once and tried to get Quinn to play, but the poor dog was out of luck. Who knows who's dog he was. It was pretty fun. He reminded me of the Lang's dog Reilly.

Wall of Flowers?

2009-03-23T22:53:00.000-07:00

I just about died when I saw all of the floral prints at Wal-Mart. This was only one row...there were two others!

Pearl Harbor - USS Bowfin & USS Missouri

2009-03-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

While we were at Pearl Harbor we also visited the Submarine USS Bowfin and the Battleship USS Missouri. I can't believe the size of these vessels. The USS Bowfin was commissioned on December 7, 1942, exactly 1 year after Pearl Harbor was attacked. The submarine was dubbed the "Pearl Harbor Avenger." It went on 9 missions and had 41 kills. It never suffered any serious damage, no one ever died, and they only ever had 1 injury (someones leg.) I thought it's "stats" were pretty cool.

Next we toured the USS Missouri, the battleship where Japan surrendered, ending WWII in the Pacific. We walked 1 1/2 miles touring the ship. It is HUGE! I can't believe the size of the cannons.

This is one of the beds where the enlisted personnel sleep. There are 3 bunks, I am in the middle one. There's not too much room to turn over. I wonder how they decide who gets the top bunk. I also wonder which bunk is the best...

It makes it easier to understand why the Arizona sunk so fast when you learn how much ammunition it takes to fire these cannons. When the Arizona was bombed, all of the ammunition in the forward magazine exploded. It tore the ship apart and killed everyone. The USS Missouri is moored in a way so that it watches over it's sister ship, the USS Arizona in her final resting place.

Pearl Harbor - USS Arizona

2009-03-23T21:40:00.001-07:00

Today we decided to visit Pearl Harbor. I can't think of any other way to describe it other than reverent and serene. It reminded me of the feelings I have at Liberty and Carthage Jail. What is really inspiring it that the memorial was designed to focus on serenity and introspect rather than sadness. It was amazing, I can't believe I was finally able to come.

This is the second gun turret of the USS Arizona. I couldn't believe how much of the ship you can see. A silhouette of the entire ship is visible from the air.

The BEST Surprise EVER!!!

2009-03-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

My awesome children gave me THE BEST surprise. They sent me to Hawaii! I thought I was going to go to work with Quinn in California, but right before I left for the airport, Rex gave me a hug and said "Have a great time in Hawaii!" I was sooo surprised! It turns out Quinn had this planned out for months and the kids NEVER breathed a word of it. They are amazing.

Disney World

2008-12-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

We had a great trip to sunny, warm Florida!
Disney World was one of the big highlights. The kids are a bit older than they were last time we came here so now all they wanted to do was ride all of the "BIG" rides. It was really fun. Occasionally Dexter wanted to sit off a few, but for the most part he rode everything!

Puerto Rico

2008-11-14T19:36:00.000-08:00

Quinn let me tag along on yet another trip for RedBox. Puerto Rico is beautiful yet filthy all at the same time. My favorite part was the rain forest. It was unbelievable. The size of the trees were breath taking, and I couldn't believe how much of the sun they blocked out. It felt like dusk when we were hiking around under the canopy at 2:00 in the afternoon. I tried to catch several lizards, but I'm not quite fast enough. One of these days I'll succeed and my boys will be so proud!

Tarzan eat your heart out!

I wore really smart hiking shoes, my feet were so sore the next day but it was completely worth it.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Haley as a vampire. She did her own makeup, and was especially impressed with herself when she remembered to make her arms pale too. Too bad she couldn't figure out a way to make her skin sparkle like diamonds.

Dexter as Indiana Jones. He likes to be called "Dexta Jones", he practiced for months perfecting his smirk.

Max as a mummy, we wrapped him up really well, so good in fact that he couldn't walk, sit or even move. This is how we had to transport him to school and we had to use his scooter to get him to class. It loosened up after a while so he survived.

Rex as Superman. He wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a picture. I finally caught him in class. He insisted that I make the perfect curl in his hair right on his forehead so he would look "exactly like Superman."

Halloween in always fun at our house. Especially when it is time to carve pumpkins. We love to watch Dex clean his out. Every year he reluctantly digs the seeds out of his pumpkin and "dry heaves" the entire time. I try hard not to laugh, but it's such a good show. Poor kid, I'm sure I am damaging him for life... I tried to be a little nicer this year and I scraped all of the seeds into one clump, but I still made him pull them out of the pumpkin. Yes, he still dry heaved.

Lint the Frog

2008-10-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

I guess time-out didn't work this time. While staying at Cabin Jack, Dexter was a little naughty and had to be sent to time-out in the laundry room. While there he spent his time staring at the floor. Suddeny he started yelling "there's a frog in here!" Over and over. Frustrated, I went to see what in the world he was calling a frog. It was very cold in late October and we hadn't seen any frogs outside. I thought Dex was just trying to get a little attention. Low and behold, there really was a frog. It was tiny, dehydrated, and covered in dryer lint. We were all really excited, espically Dexter since I completely forgot all about time-out.

We cleaned him up and brought him home to Utah, we took very good care of him untill I forgot to close his lid tight and he escaped. We are still looking for him...

p.s. In the picture mom is touching the frog. Can you believe it?

Dexter's Big Day

2008-09-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today Dexter was ordained a deacon. We are so excited for him. I wish I could take a video camera to church to video tape him passing the sacrament. It's fun to watch the whole ward help him remember where to go. He tries to hard and he does a really great job.

p.s. He thinks he looks REALLY HOT in his suit. I agree.

2008-09-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

Quinn took me on another trip with him. This time we stayed in Connecticut. This place was the highlight. Louis Lunch is the birth place of the American hamburger. This place has been featured on numerous documentaries. It's pretty cool, but don't try to add anything on your burger other than tomato and onion,you also need to speak up if you don't want your burger medium rare. Yuck! And yes, this is how Quinn spends most of his time on trips. It was fun though, I am very grateful for RedBox and frequent flyer miles.

Happy Birthday Dex!

2008-09-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

Dexter turned 12 today! He wanted to have his favorite dutch oven cake for his birthday. I happily obliged,however it never dawned on me to let it cool BEFORE I put the candles on. Did you know that even the giant number candles will melt into a cake? I do now...

Hangin' Out

2008-09-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

Rex changed his mind about hanging from the tree the second Quinn let go. Can you tell?

Max's first airplane ride.

2008-09-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

After waiting 1 long year, Max finally got to go on his trip with his Daddy! They spent Labor Day weekend in Chicago. Max flew there all by himself. It was a little nerve racking to put him on a plane alone, but Max had a great flight and he loved everything in Chicago.

Rex's 6th Birthday

2008-08-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

Rex had a fantastic time on his birthday. Quinn was out of town so we took Gammy and PawPaw to dinner with us to celebrate. We ordered cake for dessert and they brought it out with 6 candles in it. Rex loved the cake...and the sauce too. We don't have any problems with manners at our house...Really!

BOO!!!

2008-08-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

I am going to be in REALLY BIG trouble! Haley will kill me when she finds out I posted this picture....but I couldn't help it! Can you really blame me? I think she lookes awesome in her braces, and this was the perfect picture to show them off.

Haley's Cool Picture

2008-07-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

Haley took over my camer for a while and she shot this fun picture of the Bay Bridge.

Salad & Tide Pools

2008-07-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

So, they call the Salinas Vally the salad capitol of the world. There is lettuce growing everywhere, with strawberries and artichokes in between.

We had so much fun exploring all of the tide pools we found just down the street from the aquarium. I have always wanted to find a starfish and we found a couple of dozen. This was my favorite part of our entire trip.

You "Otter" Know

2008-07-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

At the aquarium they had an educational game show to learn about otters. Max was chosen as a contestant. He was excited and mortified at the same time. All of the contestants received a very impressive prize. A brand new florescent light bulb! Max is so excited to use it in his room.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2008-07-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

This was the most incredible aquarium I have ever been to. We made 4 or 5 trips here because we just couldn't get enough.

The Big Chicken

2008-07-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

I just discovered why I like chickens so much... I am one. I am probably the biggest chicken on Earth.

Today we all went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. It was really fun. I was having a great time until this one ride. Haley and Nick (Suzie's boyfriend) wanted me to ride the Vertical Velocity. It is the kind where you go forward one way, then backward, then forward, then backward, then forward, then backward, all the while running through a continuous cork screw. I was willing to go on the ride until I was on it, and buckled up. It sunk in that right at the beginning we will be shot forward. I HATE being shot forward. I like the rides where it goes click click click click click click click click up a hill. Then you wait a second, and slowly you fall. I like gaining momentum that way, not being shot forward.

Anyway, when the Six Flags guy came by to make a final check of the seat belts I completely lost it. I made him let me off. He had to release everyone's restraints just so I could escape. I was so happy! I was so relieved as I walked the walk of shame. As it turns out, it was a good choice because the lady announcing the take off was joking around and counted off 4 false starts. I would have wet my pants many times over.

So for future reference, if anyone wants to take me on an amusement park ride I'm in, but please be merciful, I will never ever go on a ride where I get shot!!!

Hopefully Miranda and Natalie won't be too ashamed of me. Haley said it would be okay if I got off, especially since I was almost crying.

Splash Zone

2008-07-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

Max wanted to sit in the splash zone at the whale and dolphin show. The rest of us wanted to stay dry. So being the nicest mom ever (like I am) I let Max go sit with some strange family.

Max happily sat with this other family and enjoyed every minute...espically when the whale got close. He got wet, but he didn't think it was wet enough.

Keep Your Eyes Peeled

2008-07-02T23:26:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Sutter's Fort. We learned a bit about pioneer life in California. Dexter had to inform every single person giving a demonstration that this was just what it was like for Joseph Smith. The boy is going to be a fantastic missionary.

There was one guy who was doing a demonstration with a rifle that uses flint. The boys were really excited to see the sparks that the flint made when it struck the metal plate. In order to see the spark, Max and Rex help their eyes open by pulling on their eye lashes to hold their eyes open. Rex calls it keeping his eyes peeled.

I should take a lesson, because on our way home from this outing I tried going the wrong way on a one way street. You should try to maneuver an Excursion in that kind of stressful situation. We all came out of it okay, and I didn't yell at anyone! What a miracle!!

Flipping the Bird

2008-07-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

Max and Haley had a fight over who got to pick the bird off of the car. We decided that they could both do it. It ended up that they had to use sticks to flip it off. It was pretty gross.

Poor Little Thing

2008-06-30T22:24:00.001-07:00

Well, the Frampton family can add another notch to their bird killing tally! The poor guy tried to play chicken with the Excursion and lost. He had several friends that made it out alive but he was not so lucky. He met his demise just south of Winnemucca, NV. Unfortunately for the bird, he became a bit of a hood ornament.

We didn't realize he was there until we stopped for dinner in Reno. The lady who made our sandwiches at Subway motioned for us to get out of the car to see the bird "perched" on the grill.

Road Trip

2008-06-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today we took of on our annual road trip. We are on our way to California. We decided to go hang out with Aunt Suzie (Quinn's sister) for a few days then we will spend a week in Monterey.

On our way out of town we stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The sun reflected to bright off of the salt that it really hurt our eyes. I had to take the picture with my eyes closed.

Campin' Out

2008-06-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

We had a great Thursday night camping out with the Smiths and Newmans. We decided that since Dexter hasn't had a scout camp yet we would consider this trip scout camp. He was able to pass off a couple of requirements for his First Class Scout badge. He learned how to pitch a tent, build and start a fire, and split firewood. We worked very hard and he was exhausted when bed time came around.

Paw Paw took all of the boys fishing. They caught a brown trout which Paw Paw cooked over the fire, then they all ate it. Afterward we were all delighted to hear several rounds of "Fish Heads" from Max, Dex & Rex.

I have to claim temporary insanity because I let Max and Dex sleep by themselves in a small tent next to the creek. I didn't sleep well that night with worries that Dex would wake up and end up in the creek. Every noise woke me up all night long. We all survived and the boys really had a great time.

The boys loved to chase around and take pictures of the black and white bunny that roamed the campground during the day. During the night there was another black and white visitor. I am relieved that the boys didn't chase that creature around.

On Friday afternoon almost everyone went swimming in the creek. Since I didn't bring swimming suits for the boys, they swam in their underpants. They had a ball!! Maxwell was determined to be the first to sit and lay down in the water. Then completely immerse himself in the freezing creek. Apparently this encouraged others, because soon after PawPaw worked up the courage to get all the way in too.

We had such a fun time and we are so glad that Jer and Karla invited us.

Vacation to New England

2008-06-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

This week Quinn and I have been on vacation in New England. We were able to visit Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We also went to New York, but Quinn doesn't like to talk about that...maybe he'll add his own post. Quinn had to work for Redbox, but we were still able to find time to fit in lots of site seeing and several adventures.

Since we have never been to New England before, I had several things I HAD to do. I needed to eat clam chowder in Boston and lobster in Maine. We managed to eat chowder in Connecticut, and we got to eat lobster in Maine. However, I will seriously consider ever doing that again.

We went to the docks in Freeport, Maine, right where all the lobster men bring in their boats. Turns out, one of these families also owns a restaurant right on the dock. They serve their catch fresh. I was so excited. REALLY FRESH LOBSTER! I ordered Lobster Delight (it seemed like an Anne of Green Gables sort of thing to order.) It included 1 lobster (that I got to hold first) 1 ear of corn, and 12 steamers (clams.) We eagerly awaited our feast. Our number was called, and Quinn delivered our food. Unfortunately since we are from Utah a land locked state, we didn't know what to do. We both just sat there staring at our beautifully arranged meal, wondering what to do. The lady who cooked our meal noticed, and she came out to give us lessons. We ate (I use this term loosely) our steamers first. Really we gagged on our steamers first. Words cannot adequately describe our experience. The clams look disgusting...they have this black neck that hangs out of the shell like a dogs tongue (you are supposed to eat it!) The texture of the rest was just WRONG! I dry heaved a couple of times. Quinn and I kept counting how many we had left. They never seemed to end. We made it through though, the lobster was better, except it wasn't cut out and sitting on a plate, we had to tear the creature apart to eat it. It was pretty good, but have you ever seen the liver???

We had a great time, we loved the covered bridges, the light houses were breath taking, and everything else was very peaceful...Until the night after I ate the steamers. I had nightmares that the cook who helped up learn how to eat was just joking about actually eating the clams, and she was standing behind the door laughing at us.

Maxwell's Baptism

2008-06-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

Today was an exciting day for Maxwell. He was baptized! He has anxiously waited for for this day for 8 long years (seriously!) What makes it even more exciting for him is the location. Due to unforseen scheduling difficulities Max was baptized in his Grandma Ann's backyard pool.

It was a beautiful day, and the yard looked lovely. Bishop Childs came down from our ward in Clinton to officiate. Uncle Jeremy and Grandma Ann spoke, and Gammy and Aunt Suzie said the prayers. Quinn baptized and confirmed Max, and Pawpaw and Uncle Matt were the witnesses. When it came time for the baptism, Max was a little nervous because of the temperature of the pool, but he got in with out a whimper. Just as Quinn started to say the baptismal prayer the pool took on a whole new look. It suddenly reflected the sacred nature of what was about to happen. It didn't look like Grandma's pool anymore. It was a sacred place for Maxwell to be baptized.

Max was just beaming when he got out of the pool, and he couldn't wait to get his new suit and special tie on. He looked to handsome as he strutted around for the rest of the day. We figure Maxwell had around 70 people there that day. Thankyou to every one who supported our family.

An interesting fact about Max and his baptism...Max was born on his late Grandfathers birthday May 22, 2000, less than 1 year after his death. We know Grandpa was there today, and we feel him near often. Max was also baptized on his Grandma Ann Frampton's 66th birthday.

Bait and Switch

2008-05-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today Jer and Karla invited us over for carmel corn and a movie. We very enthusiastically accepted their invitation. When we arrived we were informed, (to our dismay) that there would be no carmel corn, or even any buttered popcorn. We were having brownies and ice cream instead. A delicious proposal for sure, but I had my heart set on popcorn. So after a bit of sulking and pouting on my part, Jer gave in. He went to make popcorn (hurray)!!! Shortly after he began, he returned to inform us that they had no oil. So....no popcorn and no brownies! I guess beggars should not be choosers. And now all I want is some dessert!!!