SUNDAY: Only in Utah!!!

In the morning, Madison,  Brooke and I went over to the Conference Center to see "Music and the Spoken Word".  It is the longest running program in this history of radio or television broadcasting.  My friend Marie really encouraged me to attend since seeing the Choir and the full orchestra is really something . . . and I'm glad we did!  

To our surprise, The Osmond Family was performing along with the Tabernacle Choir as the last stop of their reunion tour.  That was unexpected!  Then, just as the broadcast was to begin, everyone stood up and I didn't know why at first . . . until I realized President Monson walked in the room followed by President Eyring and their spouses.  I didn't recognize him at first because he was wearing a brown suit (instead of the customary navy or black).  

After the broadcast, President Monson gave each of the Osmonds a special gift for their 50 years of music and missionary work.

What a treat!

After the broadcast, John met us and we toured around the top of the Conference Center.

THEN, we went up to Jamie and Karmel's

to attend church with them and see their new home.  Again, to our surprise, we saw Elder Nelson at church, along with Sheri Dew!  Only in Utah!  How many "celebrity sitings" can one have in just a couple of hours?

We had a fabulous day. 

Thanks Harpers for a fun evening.  You have a beautiful home and a fabulous view!

Vacation Update: Saturday is a Busy Day

Saturday morning we went to This is the Place Monument and Heritage Park.  It was a very hot day, but a beautiful day nonetheless and we all had a great time.  We spent a couple of hours at Heritage Park, pretty much as much as we could handle with the heat.

The Candy Cannon:  this little cannon shot salt water taffy across the road

Ashlyn again didn't care for the loud noises and was content standing off to the side covering her ears.  She cracks me up!

Madison in the old school house

Christian and Ashlyn loved the pony rides

Being so sunny, and Ashlyn being so fair, I bought her a bonnet to keep the sun off.  Brooke wanted one too.  So cute my little Pioneer Children (sang as they walked and walked)

After the baking hot fun in the sun, we headed over to the Gateway to have lunch, go to the Discover Museum and play in the water.  

The museum had wonderful hands-on activities.  All the kids loved it.  They got to do news casts, attempt science experiments, go in a helicopter, play music, and much more.

A cool relief for a hot day!

THEN, we went back to the hotel, changed and headed back to Temple Square to see some stuff we missed the night before.  We toured the Beehive House, and had dinner at the Lion House Pantry.  

I loved this little play room for Brigham Young's children

After a fun-filled day, we walked back to our hotel and swam in the indoor, yet outdoor pool until it was time to close it down at 10:00 p.m.  Fun, fun day!  Now stay tuned to see what Sunday brings!  Wow!  Full of surprises!!!  

Vacation Update: see the post below first

On Friday, July 25th, we checked out of our hotel and started another packed day:  we went to the famous Dinosaur Discover Museum - the largest dinosaur tracks finding in the world. 

Then, continuing along on our road trip, we stopped at Cove Fort to tour a little Pioneer history.

The Ingalls Family

Laura, Carrie, Mary, Caroline, Albert, Charles

We arrived safely in Salt Lake City and checked into the downtown Marriott.  Then we headed across the street to Temple Square.  

The beautiful, historic Tabernacle.

The Visitor's Center is phenomenal.  I was amazed at just how many people are at the square to help, give tours, and how many visitors there are from around the world!  Astounding!

The Assembly Hall has always been one of my favorite buildings.  I just love the beauty and architecture of it. 

John and I have a picture of us here when we were dating (I'll have to dig that one up!), so we had to pose once again.

We stopped for dinner at the Garden Restaurant at the top of the beautiful Joseph Smith building.  Fabulous view!

This is the view that we had from our hotel window.  At night it was gorgeously alit . . . the kids loved falling asleep to it . . . what a perfect night light!  We hoped staying downtown would create memories such as this . . . and it worked.

Vacation Update

I need to write this all down so I don't forget!  We've been having such a wonderful family vacation.  Each day is jam-packed with fun-filled activities.  I need to break it all down or I'll lose it! 

DAY ONE

On Wednesday, July 23rd, we left our beautiful, cool, 68 degree weather, and headed for 108 degree Las Vegas.  We didn't think we'd make it because there was a ton of whining and screaming and complaining, and we were only in SIMI!  ughhhh!  Luckily we thought of just about everything and the kids had what they needed and we had earplugs, so it all turned out.  Do you know how many times a two-year-old can say "mommy" in a minute, in an hour?  I don't know if I can count that hight!!  Seriously!  

In Vegas, we got to see Matt and Heather, their kids and the new twins!  Rachel and Jordyn are absolutely adorable!  

Then we headed for St. George.  In the excitement of the cousins and having to say good-bye, we forgot to get gas!  Isn't that you always do in Vegas on the way to Utah?  It's the gas stop! 

We had already passed the last sign on life, our gas indicator was beeping and saying we only have 12 miles left on the tank.  What do we do?  Is it possible that there might be a station up ahead in booneyville?  Should we turn back?  How far had we come?  The girls were scared and started to cry.  I told them it would be OK.  The worst thing that would happen is that we would have to wait for AAA in the thousand degree heat (wouldn't be the first time!).  I told them to all say a prayer.  Then, just up ahead I saw flashing lights.  It was the highway patrol.  I told John to pull over because they would be able to tell us where the nearest service would be.  The officer immediately came over to my window and told us to turn back around, then let us cross the median (illegally).  We drove for a few miles while the car said we had "0" left . . . all on a wing and a prayer.  It was a good lesson for the girls to learn that prayer works!  

We arrive in St. George safely and checked in to our hotel.  We wanted to spend the 24th of July in Utah, and it worked out well.  

On Thursday (Pioneer Day), we met up with the Mullers for some Pioneer Day Carnival Fun.  We've known the Mullers for many years now, back in our newlywed days and it was so fun to reconnect with them!  

The kids had such a blast together.  Preston and Christian really hit it off.  They were so cute! Preston is one of the triplets and surrounded by his four sisters, so he knows how Christian feels!

Our kids filled up this cute water-barrel train ride. 

We toured around St. George and spent time at the beautiful Temple and Visitor's Center.  It was a relief to get in out of the unbearable heat!

That evening, we went back to the Muller's and had fun with fireworks!  

You can do that in Utah!  They sell them all over the place!  We stopped and bought our own little arsenal and had some good old-fashioned neighborhood fun.

Ashlyn didn't like the loud noises.  It was funny to watch her try and cover her ears while holding her ice cream.  Eventually the ears won. 

The quality of these photos are not the greatest . . . but not bad considering they were taken with my phone - and at night!

Thanks to the Mullers for showing us a great day, and providing a wonderful lunch!  I don't recommend the Cherry Chocolate Diet Coke, though :-)

POST CHALLENGE

1.  As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I have had together.  It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, if we’ve actually met in person or not.  Just write anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see the fun memories people leave!

Why?

Why is it that most every time John leaves town (which as you know is quite often), somebody gets sick, something happens, or there is some amount of drama.  

John left Monday morning and is supposed to return Friday night. 

Monday started out normal.  Laundry day, chore day.  We decided to change it up a little and meet Heather and her family at the beach, followed by FHE at Lisa's.  Turned out to be a fun day and great for the cousins to get together since it has been a year since we've seen them.  Well, my gall bladder (or whatever the annoying problem is) started acting up and I was down for the night.  What a pain!  John wasn't there to help, but luckily my kids had their cousins to play with so they were occupied.  I'm so grateful for family to help out.  However, I'm bummed that I missed Lisa's bbq pizza!   

Tuesday started out just grand:  the termite inspector came first thing in the morning to give us a glowing report that we have termites in a few different spots around the house and tenting is a must.  Not only that, but there is a lot of dry rot and pretty much the entire patio cover needs to be replaced.  Great.  There goes my wood floors, or my stairs, or my bathroom, or my window treatments, or anything else I'd rather spend the money on.  Hey, what about a wedding ring?  Back burner yet again. 

That was the morning.  Then in the afternoon we went swimming with friends and cousins at a community pool and as I was starting to unload the car, Ashlyn and Christian took off to the pool to catch up with their cousins.  They didn't have floaties on, nor sunscreen, so I took off after them.  Remember, Ashlyn is a daredevil and loves swimming so she would jump into the deep end if she could.  Madison stayed in the car to put on her bathing suit.  As I was walking back to the car to get all my stuff (floaties, etc.), Madison met me half way and announced very proudly that she already locked up the car (now wasn't that being responsible?).  The only problem is that EVERYTHING except one bottle of sunscreen that I was holding was in the car!  Keys, floaties, towels, phone, etc.  She manually locked the doors and the whole car locked, and even the alarm armed itself.  Luckily one of my friends had the number for AAA and a phone so I could call them and have a tow truck come.  Meanwhile, I had to hold Ashlyn off from swimming for 1/2 hour until they arrived.  The AAA guy came and in little time had my car opened, alarm blaring.  I finally get to the pool and get the kids situated so they can swim and Madison shows me her hand that swollen to nearly double its size.  Turns out as she was digging in the sand at the beach the day before, something stung her on the back of her finger.   Some friends were worried and suggested I rush her to urgent care.  I really, really, really don't like going to the doctor where they treat you like it's nothing and say to take Benadryl and watch it.  So, I packed everyone up, went home, gave her Benadryl, ice, and elevation and decided to watch it to make sure it didn't get worse.  I'm grateful for caring friends to help out and for Denise to call to ask if she could sit with my kids in case I had to go to Urgent Care.

All the while I have two extra kids over and have to make a salad to get to Enrichment at 6:30. Lucky for me a neighbor girl came over to play, too, and her mom came by to chat.  She graciously volunteered to take my kids (all of them!  she only has one so this is a huge change in her family dynamic!) so I could get out and attend Enrichment.  She and her husband were in for a real treat that night.  I'm sure their normal, quiet household was turned upside down.  I'm so grateful for kind neighbors! 

Wednesday was going to be a good day!  Madison's hand was not worse, and not painful, and maybe slightly less swollen.  Brooke had her piano lesson, but Madison still couldn't play.  She was well enough though to have a playdate with Anna all day.  The rest of the kids were able to take an afternoon nap!  Hallelujah!  Then we went to our friends' house (the Gates') to swim and play.  Our husbands are together on the business trip, so what better thing to do than to get together and have dinner and a movie?  The kids swam and in their amazing pool and then we ordered Chinese and watched a video.  Ashlyn was being sooo good and not getting into anything.  She just wanted to be held.  Unusual, but nice!  Then I noticed her forehead getting hot, then her cheeks, then her neck.  Yup, sure enough, a fever.  Luckily Tina had some baby Motrin and a thermometer.  101 - and counting.  I really hate to say this, but it's kind of nice when they don't feel so well.  They just want to relax and be held.   She still had a fever when we got home and put her to bed, but luckily slept through the night. 

Ashlyn woke up on Thursday with a burning fever.  Still there.  She wanted to be held, and wanted to drink.  She was dehydrated from not wanting anything the night before, so I gave her a cool drink, then some more.  Just after I got her dressed and buckled her shoes, she threw up all over them.  Too much drink!  But the good news is that she was quite happy after that.   And, the other good news is that Madison's hand is much better so she could have a piano lesson today.  This afternoon we ventured out to the beach for Thursday beach day.  It's the first time this summer we've been available to go!  I figured that even though Ashlyn wasn't 100%, she would enjoy the beach, and I would enjoy holding her while everyone else played.  She ended up playing a little bit, then towards the end at about 5:00, her fever came back and was over 102 by the time we got home.  She hadn't had any Motrin since 8:00 a.m.  I brought cousins Becki and Melanie home with me, and Christian went home with Lisa.  For some reason, he really wants to play where there are other boys!  Imagine that!  He really has enjoyed being with his cousin Spencer this week.  Us girls all washed the car when we got home.  Then Lisa called me to say Spencer threw up and I might want to get Christian before he's too exposed.  Yikes!  I don't need that added to my repertoire of sick family this week.   After I feed everyone dinner, and Heather picks up Becki, it's time to go to bed.  John calls to say good-night and I have to get off the phone with him because I'm starting to feel sick.  What is going on here?  

I think the moral of the story is that John needs to stay in town more so we can stay healthy longer!  

Summer Tradition

A long family tradition (more than 30 years!) of camping at Carpinteria.  Everybody loves it!  That's why we keep coming back.  The kids did so great and didn't want to come home.  Ashlyn was in her element and loved every minute . . . a whole world to explore and getting dirty is expected.  I wish we could have stayed longer and am so grateful for Chris and Tommie to allow us to crash their site!   Good friends, good family, good weather, good food  . . . what could be better?  

Here is a brief look into our fun little camping vacation to Carpinteria and why we love it:

click on any picture to enlarge

We were there for the 4th of July. 

They have a morning parade where everybody decorates their 'ride' to parade around the campgrounds

and meet Smokey the Bear, followed by fire trucks.

(ranger lady), Brooke, Smokey, Renee, Madison, Ashlyn

The beginning of the parade

Long walks on the beach to the tide pools

Getting buried in the sand!

Staying on the beach until the shadows grow long.

Having fun Boogie Boarding with cousins.

Playing a little game of beach soccer.

Hanging at the Tar Pits with cousins - when the tide comes in.

Julie, Madison, Amber, Brooke

Early morning walks to the tide pools when the tide is low, the beach is quiet, the seals are out, and lots of marine life to explore - even still in pajamas. 

Late afternoon naps - wherever you can get comfortable, even if it's on the back of your sister's legs!

Playing in the sand and building sand castles.

Having daddy dig a big pit - even with stairs - so Ashlyn can easily climb in and out.

Loving the "big water". 

Unfortunately we had to come home.  Christian is still not happy with me over it.  He wanted to stay forever.  It's funny how dirty feet and sand and living in a tent and public restrooms don't phase the kids.  I, on the other hand, as much as I enjoy camping, probably enjoy even more coming home (even to my ugly 70's bathroom - but it's MINE!).