Another 1st Grade Fieldtrip

Headed out again with the 1st grade on their yearly walking field trip!  This was our little squad.

We stopped first at Macey's, where we got to see all the secret, employee only parts of the store.  Their offices are all upstairs, with windows that overlook the store.

They got to go inside the receiving area, where the employees were bustling about doing inventories and checking lists.  The very best part (aside from the cookie they all got!) was getting to go inside the huge walk in freezer and refrigerated section!  It is SO cold!

After that we walked to Outback Steakhouse, where they were served lunch.

They ate some, but pretty much just played!

And refused to take pictures with me!

Then we walked to Tropical Smoothie Cafe, where they got to walk through the back preparation and storage area, then got free smoothie samples.  We found this funny little scene to take a picture in front of.  IF ONLY we were on a lake somewhere tropical!

Next up was the walk to Fiiz, where every child got a sample of a drink, and the adults got free drinks, too!  This field trip is literally a walking and eating field trip.  Every single place had food for the kids.  By Fiiz, no one was hungry anymore, and were totally overloaded with sugar!  But dang if the sugar free coconut sprite wasn't delicious!

Ensign Peak

Happy Memorial Day!  We started the family day with a hike up beautiful Ensign Peak, where the views were gorgeous!  It was pretty clear today, so you could see long distances and everything is green and growing.

The girls were happy to eat their snacks and pose for pictures.

This place we live in is such a beautiful part of the world.  All these mountains, and the big skies, and us on top of one!  A little one, anyway.

An excellent morning activity!

Family Sunday

Mac filled in today for the talk last minute, and was super cute up there reading a story from the Friend.

It was Leiden's first week in Young Women's and she wore one of her extensions to celebrate!

This afternoon some plants needed to be watered, and Mac our garden helper was on it!

It was a beautiful evening with the girls, and I got some really pretty shots for no reason at all but to take pictures.

Jon played with the girls on the grass while I snapped away.

I even got one of myself!

These quiet Sundays as a family are wonderful ways to start the week with!

More Gardening and Playdates

The strawberry plant in the front flower bed is just abysmal, and so Jon purchased a bunch of strawberry starts online, and wanted to grow them from hanging containers.  We got a handful of buckets from Home Depot and he set to work this afternoon drilling out the holes where the plants will grow out.

Mac had Lucy over after school today and they made snickerdoodles!

They are quite the little bakery chefs!

Leiden had two of her friends over, too, and they ended up at the corner trying to get cars to honk as they passed by.  They made up dances with umbrellas and basically made nuisances of themselves, but they were pretty funny doing it!

We used spray adhesive and covered the buckets with aluminum foil to prevent them from getting too hot, and to protect the plastic from degrading in the sun.  Then time to plant the starts

and hang from the beams out back!

The Celebration

Now we get to celebrate Leiden!  It's a carb night, too, and Jon wanted to get these circus peanuts, which I think are ABSOLUTELY disgusting.

We had family over for dinner and gifts and celebration.  Leiden has wanted to dye her hair for a while, now, and that's simply not on the table, so I found her these cool colored hair extensions.  Maybe she will be satisfied for now!

There were many presents!

The sweet girl wanted to make her own birthday cake, so I said sure, and she did it!

Best wishes on this birthday, my Leiden!  It's a big one, TWELVE!  I can't believe she'll be in young women's now, and no longer with me in Primary.  Time certainly does march on quickly.

Happy Birthday Leiden and 3rd Grade Fieldtrip

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this 12 year old!  Brad had them overnight last night, so I didn't even see her this morning, let alone celebrate with breakfast and presents, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  The celebrations will come later.

Today was the 3rd grade field trip!  It's that time of year, when all the classes escape school and get to go to cool places.  Today we went to the Planetarium.  It's always a really cool place, and I was here with Leiden just last month, but Mac hasn't been here since it was remodeled.

She was grouped with some of her good friends, so she was also excited for the day.

I hadn't noticed the bathroom doors before, and thought they were very clever.

After the Planetarium, we went to Wheeler Farm, where we had free time to play and explore.

Mac and her friends very quickly found the water going through the canal there, and wanted to play!

They made cute little boats from leaves and twigs, and set them down on one side of the tunnel under the path, and waited for them to sail out the other side.  Mac's boat was really great.

She worked hard on it, and it held up under the stress of the sailing.  A sea worthy vessel!

In addition to it being Leiden's birthday, it is also the year anniversary of Jon's and my first date.  It has been SUCH an incredible year, with amazing growth and the feeling of finally coming home.  I made him this silly wall thing with post its and had to do it in my room because I didn't have time to go to his apartment today because of the field trip.

Here we are again, on our way to gymnastics.  They look about as thrilled as I feel driving up there!

Leiden snapped this one of me that I found later.  At least I'm smiling and not yelling!

More placecards getting done today!  Aaaand, I realized I had made a mistake.  After all my frustration with this customer, I made a huge mistake.  You would think I would have learned my lesson about paying attention to detail by now, but I still apparently struggle.  If you look at the cards, you see the table number towards the middle of the bottom, with the meal letter designation on the end of the line.  She wanted those two switched, per her written instructions.  So I had to do the hard thing and send her an email explaining what had happened, and figure out what she wanted me to do.  Hopefully I hear back from her quickly, because her wedding is coming up soon.

Speaking of trees...Mimi was playing on the grass, and somehow this tree branch came down.  Almost on top of her.

Luckily she was prepared with her eye protection.  Seriously.  This child has no guile, and it is one of the most endearing things about her.  Goggles to play in the backyard?!  Of course!  And it just makes me laugh.

Mac was predictably outside helping with watering again.  I think she's wrapping her head around Jon and how to interact with him with less conflict in her head these days.  And I'm glad because I love to see this smile.