Ensign Peak

I took the girls up to Ensign Peak this morning.  We haven't hiked it since the spring we came back to Utah, and I figured it was time!  We packed water and snacks, and sunscreened up!

Mimi was full of energy, running ahead and then waiting.

There was, unfortunately, some whining!  We are going to die!  We will never make it!  My legs are SOOOOO tired!  Pretty much I just laughed and told them to buck up and be glad they weren't pioneers! 

We made it to the top pretty quickly, and enjoyed the view.  It really is a cool spot to look out over the valley.

The sky was gorgeous! Blue and beautiful.  The girls were I think just glad they were done climbing up hill! 

The girls have LOVED spending so much time at the pool this summer.  I have totally dropped the ball, and continue to do so with lessons for Mimi.  You have to register on just the right day or all the time slots fill up, and I keep forgetting!  At least she is getting practice often without them.  She is actually improving in ways that even I can see, so I'm not too worried.  I did finally get her registered for the last session this summer that starts next week.  Today was time spent at Grandma's community pool with cousins.

They go back and forth between wanting to wear goggles and not wanting to.  They are so funny looking.

 I brought our pool noodles, which are truly the toy of choice.  They have been disappointed this year, though that they can't wear their fin fun mermaid tails very often.  They just aren't safe, and we've even had a couple life guards ask them to take them off.  They are super fun for lounging in a zero entry, but actually swimming with them is not wise.

This evening there was a baby shower for McKenzie and Brady's baby coming.  We headed up to Heber and participated in the festivities for a while.  They had a cute little sign in with advice and an Instax camera...I need me one of those!  There is something so appealing about the tiny little pictures that come out of them!  Brady and McKenzie are super excited about their coming addition, and we were happy to wish them well and see everyone. 

I don't even know what is on Mimi's face, but she was so willing to pose with this sticky sweet mug!

Mac is looking cuter than ever with her little gappy grin.  She might really be a Mac-O-Lantern this Halloween!  She's on a roll! 

Leiden's old neighborhood friend, Gabby, was around this afternoon.  I'm not exactly sure what her story is, but Leiden was thrilled to see her, and came in and nicked my phone to take a selfie with her friend, which I thought was funny. 

Mac hit home with a bang, delighting us all, today, with rainbow bangs!  They found the hair chalk in the bathroom drawer.  I love rainbows.  It makes me sad that they are now representative of a lifestyle I don't condone.  But they don't understand that, and so with the ignorance of childhood to back them up, can sport them with impunity!

We headed to the dentist, today, finally.  The girls have spent the last 3 months asking when are we EVER going to go to the dentist??  As if we never have.  Today we were given a clean bill of health, with no cavities!  Yay! 

A couple weeks ago I decided to order a kit and sign up for a class on calligraphy!  I am excited to see what happens and of course whether or not I like it.  We started our exercises to get correct shaping with pencil!  I will submit a picture of this sheet online to the instructor and she will give me feedback for improvement.  It's actually really fun to do and I will be starting with the dip pen here in the next little bit. 

Mad and Joni wanted to meet at Temple Square today and take some pictures of Thomas and them.  Well, of course I was game for that!!!  I got some nice shots of all of us, really.

Even a couple of me!  I've really gotten in the habit of getting me in more pictures.  It kind of is a double bird stone...dating seems to require pictures, either by specific request to a specific person, or for profiles.  But far more importantly, this blog serves as my family history.  And I am included in my family history!  I want to be on the business end of the camera every once in a while.  The girls are getting pretty adept at handling my phone, and Leiden has started taking a lot of pictures with the DSLR, too.  I think it works out nicely.

Of course, I was silly and brought the wrong lens for this purpose.  My prime lens has a pretty narrow view!

I'm really sad Mac wasn't with us, today.  We will have to do this again when we are all here.  But I understand she had a great time in NYC, and today was spent traveling.

Master Thomas was of course the star of the show.  He is SUCH a sweet little guy, with all the great variety of faces that babies have.

Even with all the people around, sometimes a good selfie is just what you need! 

As is always the case with babies, there were a few moments of Thomas freaking out.  It was very hot, and I'm sure he would have rather been somewhere else!

But he really is a well behaved and happy little guy, so the freaking out was short lived.

It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  And then this evening, Mac came home!  She had a great time with all sorts of adventures in NYC, and brought me home a candy bar from Dylan's!  I thought she made an excellent choice.  Milk chocolate with pop rocks in it?!  Heck yes!

Happy Pioneer Day!

We celebrated Pioneer Day here at our house, with guests!  Grandmere, Bapa, Uncle Mark, Mad, Joni, and THOMAS!

I was excited to set off all the fireworks we got yesterday! 

Master Thomas didn't even bat an eye at the loud fireworks! 

Mad and I had fun setting them off.  I LOVE the aerials! 

The girls got more sparklers. 

These are not very good pictures, but they are fun to take nonetheless. 

With the pack we bought yesterday, there were quite a few fountains.  I still love them, too.  They aren't as exciting, but they are still cool. 

Our neighbors down the street in a circle had QUITE the show.  They must have gotten together with the other people in the circle and pooled their cash, because the show they put on had to have literally cost thousands of dollars.  They were ALL aerials, it went on for a good 10 minutes consecutively, and they were all rigged to go off one after another.  I think next year we will give them some money and see if they'll let us come sit in on it!

We headed over to Straws with friends tonight, and got shaved ices...seriously, this place is so much better than Hokulia, which is good to know!

We finished the night by grabbing fireworks at Macey's, of all places.  They had seriously cheaper fireworks than any of the stands, and we got WAY more than I had necessarily intended to!  Tomorrow night should be fun! 

Book of Mormon

We have fallen off and gotten back on this wagon SO MANY TIMES...but I guess as long as we keep getting back on, we are on the right track!  We WILL finish the Book of Mormon together!  Right now we are reading 4-8 verses a night, with me, Mac, and Leiden reading our own, and Mimi repeating hers.  Mac is doing really well with scripture words!  It will be an amazing thing to see this sheet all colored in.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!  We quietly celebrated at their house today, where dessert was this beautiful set up of sorbets!  I tried a little of each.  :)

Dad got some dry milk for his birthday.  He's been wanting to try a particular kind, and this seemed like an excellent opportunity to make it happen!  Love you, Dad!