I was prepared to take the Trax again to meet up with Brandi, but Carrie insisted on giving us a ride downtown. She dropped us off at one of Brandi's new favorite downtown spots, City Creek. I can see now why Brandi enjoys this place so much. I'm not a big fan of shopping centers, but this one definitely doesn't have the feel of one.
The first thing I noticed about City Creek was that it was open, but Brandi informed me that it is actually equipped with a retractable roof, which definitely makes more sense when it comes to the winter months. Another cool feature is the creek that winds through the center of the main walkway on the lower level. There's even fish in it! Big ones! And of course no respectable shopping center is complete without fountains and City Creek has some really unique ones. Another fun fact Brandi shared with me was that the fountains were designed by the same people responsible for the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas. The fountains were definitely a big hit with the boys.
We spent some time over lunch catching up while the boys played in the Dino Children's Play Area in the food court. Our conversations are familiar in the way they are constantly interrupted by the needs of our kids, phone calls, potty breaks, etc. They're kind of all over the place, but we just seem to pick up where we left off last. It's so easy to be around Brandi, and with her home full of men and mine, it's nice to be able to relate and compare notes!
After leaving City Creek we rode with Brandi and Jonas to pick up Ian from school and then after dropping him at home, we made our way to the Natural History Museum of Utah. I was immediately impressed by the exterior of the building and how it blends into its beautiful surroundings. The interior of the building is equally as stunning. We barely had time to really explore all that it had to offer, so this museum will definitely be on my list of places to return to on our next visit.
We pretty much let the boys' interests dictate our path through the museum, so it was no surprise that we spent most of our time exploring the Paleontology Collection. On display there are over 30 skeletal reconstructions and a great spot where the boys could "dig" for bones. The boys also spent a good bit of time playing in a couple of the museum's Learning Labs, one of which was a dinosaur themed room and the other a backyard theme. It's so nice that Jonas is the same age as Ben and Zach. Aside from Zach being a little territorial with toys, the boys seem to get along really well!
