Brad to the Rescue

I spent this morning before Brad came packing!  We came with tons of stuff and are leaving with even more!  Big bags full of our things.

 

 

Brad left home early this morning to come and get us.  This was his view.

 

 

We did a little wandering today after we picked up Brad.  We went and got some lunch and then wandered over to Temple Square.  I have been literally wanting to go there the entire time we've been here, but it never happened until today.

 

 

Oh my goodness!  I'm in a picture!

 

 

We have had such fun here in Utah.  We'll not be staying as long ever again, I don't think, but it is so great to see our families.  Thanks for everything!

City Creek Part Deux

This evening we headed over to City Creek again, with Bapa and Mad and Joni.  More fun in the splash pad and fountain!

 

 

Tonight while we were there, they did a big water show in the fountain.  Mimi just knelt down and watched.

 

 

They had a live band playing, and the girls and Bapa danced again.

 

 

I told Mac to give me a scary face and this is what I got.

 

 

Mac likes to be 'dipped'.  It's pretty hard on the back of whoever is doing the dipping!

 

 

Brad sent this from Amsterdam--hello, pretty picture!

 

 

Our time here is winding down.  Brad got home to Minnesota this afternoon, but was too tired and a little too late to get on a flight to SLC.  He'll try first thing tomorrow morning, and we'll head home on Saturday.  I love coming, but it's time to get home.  You get to a point where you know you'll be going home soon, so you just want to get it done.

Soccer!

We went to see Grandma after work today.  We hung out at her house and ate dinner with her. 

 

 

Then we headed over to see Gavin and Max one last time before we go.  Max had a soccer game tonight, so we went to watch.

 

 

Pretty sure none of the kids watched the game.  Even Max was running around not watching when he wasn't in the game.

 

 

Mimi had a GREAT time chasing an extra soccer ball around.  I need to get her a ball for home.  She really enjoyed playing with it.

 

 

Cousins together for the last time this summer.  Gavin and Max have been in school the whole time we've been here, because they're on year round, but we're going to have school shock next week!

City Creek

Today Grandmere was able to take off work and we headed out to City Creek Mall.  What a fun place!  We wandered around and went over the sky bridge.  We have lots of those here in Minnesota, but it's pretty novel for Salt Lake!  I think one of the coolest things about the mall is City Creek, which runs THROUGH the mall.  After walking across the mall we ended up in the courtyard where there is a giant fountain and a splash pad!  You can actually touch the fountain, and so of course that's where Mimi wanted to be.

Leiden liked the little splash pad.  In fact, I think they all liked this one better than the one at Gateway.  It's much smaller, but that just means your likelihood of getting wet is higher.

Mimi kept running back and forth between the splash pad and the fountain.  She really liked the waterfall feature.

Like, really liked it.

My mom was so worried she'd fall in, but she didn't.

Mac was there, too, although she is only in this picture.  They were pretty cold after they got all wet, and then we went to a restaurant there in the mall--Blue Lemon.  It was actually pretty darn good, but the girls were SO FREEZING in the air conditioning.  Mimi was literally shaking involuntarily with blue lips and chattering teeth.  She wanted to eat her lunch, but she was COLD.

Mimi seems to be giving up her nap.  Ugh.  At least, if she takes a nap, she takes an hour or two to fall asleep at night, and this is after getting up a handful of times to 'go to the bathroom'.  But nothing comes out.  She's doing okay if she takes no nap and then goes to bed super early, but you can't always get them to bed at 6!  We'll have to see.  I'm pretty sure she's still just reacting to all the recent changes in her life, and maybe it's just a phase while she gets used to this toilet thing.  I just don't remember the other girls doing this.  We'll be better able to work on it at home when things are calm and we're back to a better routine.  I have come to love naptime, so, and basically don't want her to give it up until she has to!

We kind of feel like we're just biding our time, now.  Brad is out of town, so he's not at home, either, and we're still here.  He should be back Thursday or so, and we're kind of feeling the length of time we've been here!  The kids are definitely looking forward to being back at their own home with their own beds and their own toys, etc.

 

Leiden wanted to build something really complicated with the magformers today and we womped up this castle.

 

 

Mac spent some more time outside drawing more wolves.

 

 

Mimi generally runs around terrorizing the other two.  But looks so cute doing it.

 

 

This ball also came from Blickenstaff's.  It's pretty funny.

 

 

Brad sent these from Amsterdam.  Look at all that cheese!  I wish they could be brought back to the United States!

Sunday

We had everyone coming for dinner tonight, so the house was going to be packed.  Mimi saw the table set and thought she'd sit down before dinner.  Dinner wasn't for a couple more hours, so she decided she would pretend to eat.  I think she's cutting her meat.

 

 

We went a little overboard with dessert, tonight.  My mom wanted me to make this rosette cake while I was here, and then we thought we may not have enough when we found out how many people were coming, so we foolishly made another lemon cake.  And we also made two different kinds of ice cream.  Yeah.  There was A LOT of food left over!  And I am my mother's daughter.

This is the Place

Brad and I just had time to fit in our date for August--climbing to the top of Ensign Peak.  We were supposed to be all leisurely, and then eat pie at the end, but he had a plane to catch!  We huffed and puffed our way up,

 

 

Just in time to see the sun peek over the mountains.  Today was a much clearer day--I guess the fires have all settled down a bit, so you actually have some visibility.  Then we ran him to the airport!  In and out!  He will be in Amsterdam this week, then return hopefully Thursday or Friday in time to get the older two girls home on Saturday!  Our time here will be coming to an end.

 

 

I had no idea until a Google search led me to their website, but This is the Place Heritage Park has awesome activities for kids!  It's an entire pioneer village, complete with a real blacksmith shop with a working blacksmith.  The kids were able to ride ponies. 

 

 

It was actually a little bit scary.  They just sit on the ponies, which are bigger than you might think, and the person running it just grabs one of their halters and pulls them forward.  No restraints of any kind, just go!  Mimi truly would have fallen off if we hadn't held on to her.  She was pretty wobbly, so we got a good grip on her dress and hoped for the best.

 

 

They enjoyed it, and then we hopped over to the petting zoo--unlike ANY petting zoo I've ever been to.  Usually you are petting animals, if you're lucky to pet them at all, from the other side of some kind of mesh or otherwise fence.  Not this petting zoo!  You walk in a double gated area, and you are IN with the animals.  The only downside would be the poop everywhere.  They were sweeping, but there were a lot of animals. 

 

This little goat is expecting, and they carry to the side instead of down.  This makes sense--their tummies would drag on the ground, but it's pretty funny to see.

 

 

Mimi thought this was awesome.  She chased a couple animals around, and then they started chasing her.  She lost her hat running several times.

 

 

This would have been a terrible idea even just a few months ago, but Mimi has realized that not every animal is out to get her.

 

 

This was one strange goat.  He was locked in a pen with a pig, which made no sense.  He seemed to have some missing horns.  One was gone completely, and one was kind of hanging on his head.  When we came to the pen, he was rubbing the top of his head on the pig, which also made no sense.  Then as we approached, he came over to the fence.  Just to the left of the picture was a post.  He started rubbing his stubby horn on it.  He had hiked his front hooves up on the fence rail to do this.  He paused for a moment, then saw my dad.  The goat kind of scooted over and was almost nose to nose with my dad.  Then, literally the second after I took this shot, his front hooves came up OFF the fence rail and he started pawing the air at my dad.  It was BIZARRE.  And very funny.

 

 

Another kid activity was panning for gold.  The girls all really enjoyed this.  They each got a pan and they got to take off their shoes and socks to wade in the creek.

 

 

Mimi thought it was AWESOME.

 

 

Seriously.  Have you ever seen anything cuter?!  About a week before we came here to Utah, someone asked me if Mac and Mimi were twins.  I kind of laughed and said no.  But this picture.  Their hair is the same and the outfit is the same.  Leiden opted out of the french braids for the day, but we were talking about how the younger two look like little Amish girls in their dresses and braids.  Then, here at This is the Place, there were two REAL Amish women visiting, and they commented on how cute they were, and how cute their hair was!  It was pretty funny.

 

 

Just as we were making our way out of the village to get lunch, there were musicians in the street, and the girls convinced Bapa to go dance with them.  Mimi didn't really get it, but she had fun.

 

 

So did Leiden!

 

 

I had no idea that this place was so kid friendly.  I guess they do things at Halloween and Christmas, too.  We'll have to check it out when we're here at Christmas.