At it Again (Aug 13)

There's a double meaning in that title.

I'm blogging again--at least for now--after a 3 week hiatus for a road trip, a work trip and single-parenting before and after it all. Jared comes home tomorrow, so Hallelujah!

And on August 13 (where I left off in my game of Catch Up), we were at the climbing gym again. What can I say? We are monkeys! It's always fun to hang out with Danny and Ashton, no matter where we are.

Salt Lake City (again!) - Aug 12

We had enough of a taste of Temple Square to know that we reeeeeally wanted to get back there and spend more time, if it was possible. And it was!

One of the first places we went into was the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (formerly known as the Hotel Utah)--

 I love how the temple spires just take your breath away from this view! There was no way to see both temple and children with one picture, but, believe me, those views were relished.

 We wandered around the building, enjoying the sights and rich rooms while we waited for the next movie to begin--a "Meet the Mormons" feature not in the released-edition of the movie.

Noah's idea of a good picture is hiding behind the prophet.

When we found the Family Search room for kids, it was hard to tear them away for the movie!

It was funny to see all these unknowingly-bold kids in Salt Lake City with their BYU shirts on in Ute country. They all wanted to wear them; I didn't object (after all, it was Jared who went to U of U; my alma mater is BYU alone)!

Next, we headed to the Conference Center, that beautiful building where General Conference is broadcast twice a year. There, we waited for a tour and Noelle met up with us.

They kept singing "automatically dead" with that poor wheelchair for some reason.

The kids loved the tour, which was tailored for our needs, being that we had some hungry kids by the time we started.

 The view from the top of the Conference Center. Beautiful Salt Lake City!

 After our picnic in the shadow of the Church Office Building, we went over to the Family History Museum. We had been there briefly the previous Saturday and we knew we had to go back. Even the gift shop is fun.

 More of the Family History Museum...

Definitely a good day; time well-spent!

More Aug 11 Adventures

We went to Provo again to visit some of our old haunts.  The first place we went was our old house (well, William Brown's house)! Soooo many memories of our first years of parenting are based on this house. I brought home a brand new Isaac to that house; then a brand new Noah. This was the driveway where Isaac chipped his first tooth (he's done more dental damage since). We spent countless hours exploring this yard together, he and I. He's grown a bit since then!

We spent some time at BYU, this time taking in the Museum of Art and its store, and the Wilkinson Center and the BYU bookstore. We ate lunch in the Cougareat just like old times! With all we saw and did (including eating Creamery ice cream, getting super sticky, and loosing Ellie & Noah for a half hour while they didn't wash their hands), these are the only pictures I took:

And to top it off we had the Webbs over for dinner! Elder and Sister Webb, who were on their way home from the MTC as they prepared to go to the Congo on a mission (where they are now, having amazing adventures)!

 Playing in the backyard with them, showing off Mom's chickens and her two youngest grands.

Aug 11- Hiking

Mom and I finally got a chance to go hiking together on August 11. We got up early and left the kiddos in bed.

 I had to use the panoramic view sometimes; this one's my favorite. Mom thought she could duck out and I just can't refrain from laughing when I see it!

I miss the mountains when I am in Texas, so it was good to get a Utah hike in!

Mom's, Climbing & La Costa- Aug 10

We returned to Mom's where we had some "farm time"--Noah enjoys helping feed the chickens and gather eggs. Here, he is with a bucket full of plums and a bucket empty of...whatever he put out for the chickens...? He's showing how very unbalanced he is.

 I also love this very characteristic view of Mom's back porch in the summer. There's one of her peach trees, completely full; towels hanging up from the last dip in the pool or hot tub; and you can see the huge sauna she recently added up there.

One thing we love to do if we get a chance in Utah is go climbing. They are blessed with an abundance of climbing gyms there (and mountains, if we wanted to get all rugged, but we don't have all the equipment). We had a ball at Momentum and the sister gym next door, Funtopia, for the kids!

That evening we had dinner at Mom and Danny's new favorite Mexican restaurant, La Costa.

I can see why they love that place! The food was excellent, and there was live music--good music!

Time with Dad & Terree

We got a chance to go back up to Dad's and do some more boating on August 9. It's always fun hanging out with Dad and Terree!

We went to good old Willard Bay.

 Sweet, serene girls. All three of them!

 Miley is such a lovable dog! Both and Ellie and Noah would cuddle with her at night when we stayed at Dad's.

 Gotta have ping pong at Dad's if the table's available!

Natalie made herself at home, as always.

August 9 in Lehi

 We had a grand time hanging out in Lehi with Noelle and Katie, since they're neighbors (or used to be; Noelle just moved to Nevada)! All the babies got along and the mommas had fun catching up. Love me some Katie and Noelle Time!

Provo Day- Aug 8

We wanted to spend some time in Provo, and Monday the 8th was the day. We hit a few snags, but enjoyed it all anyway.

The new temple in Provo was a huge must-see for us! It was closed, of course, being Monday, but we were hoping to walk around. There's a gate, though, so the grounds were closed, too. We took pictures there anyway. This is a very special place to us.We used to have stake conferences in the tabernacle here before it burned down. I love that they built the temple as the original tabernacle used to look! It really is beautiful.

 Natalie wasn't about to let anyone but her mom hold her.

Isaac and Ellie are rebels.

Atticus had to pose like his cousins...I love his face!

 We wanted to see the pioneer village they have by Veteran's Park, but it wasn't open yet. Fortunately, there's a great park where we could kill some time.

 Then we crossed the green to the pioneer village. It was super interesting and fun!