August Happenings

After Ross finished teaching summer school, we took advantage of his time off to do lots of fun things. We didn't have plans to go anywhere for a vacation. So we decided to do a "staycation" and do several things around here, especially if they were cheap or free.

 

Some of our outings included:

• Playing at the new splash pad at the park
• Miniature golfing at Trafalga
• Swimming at Seven Peaks
• Swimming at my Aunt Kristine and Uncle Kyle's pool
• Exploring City Creek Center
• Hanging out with family

And those are just the things I didn't include pictures of for this blog post.

 

One of the other things we did was go to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point when they had their "$2 Tuesday" special. Going to a museum like this with a 3-year-old was quite an adventure. She had a great time, but we moved from exhibit to exhibit rather quickly. But still, we had fun.

At Leah's request (she requested it many times in fact) we went to "Jump On It" one afternoon. This is basically a big warehouse sized room filled with trampolines and bounce houses. It is one of Leah's favorite places to go. This girl LOVES to jump.

On a Sunday afternoon we drove up the canyon a bit to met up with some of our Leslie family for a yummy dinner. The food was great, but the company was even better. The kids had a great time playing in the grass, trees and (for the older boys) the nearby river. This gave the adults some nice time to visit. Too bad some of the family had other places to be that night. It cut our nice visit a little short.

On the last Friday before Ross had to report back to work, we took a little hike to a place call "Grotto Falls." The hike was really easy (less than a mile round trip). When we reached the waterfall, we were a little disappointed. Ross and I had expected something bigger. But Leah didn't care, she thought hanging out at the waterfall was so fun. The water was ice cold. I could only handle standing in it for a little bit at a time. But Leah walked all over the little grotto area checking everything out.

I had the amazing opportunity to attend BYU Education Week this year. Ross's sister, Norma, had invited me to join her. And I'm so glad she did. We just went to the evening classes. But it was so nice to get away for a while each evening and be spiritually fed. I didn't realize just how much I needed it until I was there listening to the teachers. I felt like my soul got the spiritual saturation it really needed.

Ross was so good to bring the kids over to campus each night so that I could take a break and feed Corbin. We would always meet by the duck pond. The first night we were there, I was sitting on the blanket feeding Corbin when a flock of ducks approached me. They are so used to being fed by people that I'm sure they were looking for a hand out. It almost made me a little nervous has they waddled toward me. I was worried that if I made a wrong move it would turn into a scene from "The Birds." Luckily they just walked on by once they realized I didn't have food for them. But I did snap a few picture of them when they were up close. Here's a few of them camping out to see if I have anything for them.

On one of the days of Education Week, my wonderful neighbor, Bonnie, was willing to take the kids during the gap between me needing to leave and Ross getting home. We have kids the same age. Her daughter, Millie, is Leah's best friend. So she sent me a couple pictures of the kids having fun together.

Here's a picture of Norma and me together at the end of Education Week. And a picture of me and my old roommate Kim, who was the teacher for one of the classes we attended. It was so fun to be taught by her. She shared so many things that I needed to hear. And it was even better that I could learn it from a dear friend like her.

Our cute little niece, Kirsten, is leaving to serve a mission soon. She has been called to serve in the South Dakota Rapid City Mission. So we were able to attend her farewell. She's going to be a great missionary!

On the last Tuesday of the month, I took advantage of "$2 Tuesday" at Thanksgiving Point again. This time we went to "Farm Country." They had lots of farm animals that you could pet and several learning areas. Leah loved the room where you could learn about how plants grow, are harvested, and then go to market. She also really liked the pony ride and wagon ride.