Sunday, July 29, 2018

Friend Visits, a Rodeo, and Gymnastics Camp

This week we had the pleasure of a visit from friends from California traveling to points east, third row seats at a rodeo, and top notch instruction in the finer points of the gymnastics at a camp in Colorado.

On Monday, we went to Spanish Fork Fiesta Days, where Andrea Marshall, who had served as a missionary in Belle Isle when we lived there, took pictures of the kids in and among the attractions.










They were tuckered out after a long day. Loyal Fergus cuddled up to the boy as he fell asleep.

Bright and early Tuesday, Hallie and Eliza went to walk with AirTime at the Fiesta Days Parade. Eliza did a lot of walking and overall seemed to have fun.





Later in the day, the kids tapped into their artistic side, drawing VW Busses with the Art for Kids Hub gang.

Our friends from California, the Baumeisters, came to stay with us a couple of nights on their way to their new home Back East. We appreciated having a chance to reconnect, and the kids had a ton of fun playing together!  

In the evening, we went to the Fiesta Days Rodeo with Grandma and Grandpa. We started up high in the bleachers for most of the action, but Landon’s friend Quaid, whose family is involved with the rodeo, brought him and then the rest of us down to sit with them. We had ringside views of the bull riding competition.




On Wednesday, Hallie and the Baumeisters played in town, including going to gymnastics and taking a trip to the Provo Rec Center and WalMart, where they found these huge masks. Fun! Earlier in the day, Eliza participated in a hearing test to make sure everything is all right with her auditory processing.


In the evening, we visited with the Baumeisters over supper.

On Thursday, the house was a flurry of activity what with our friends getting ready to continue their trek, Eliza having the rest of her audiologist appointment, and Hallie and Landon heading out to Denver for his gymnastics camp.

Mike took Eliza to her appointment, and we are happy to report that she does not seem to have any auditory processing issues. Mike later took her to gymnastics before going up to the office and teaching.

Landon and Hallie spent most of their day on the road to Denver. Woo hoo.

Eliza had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa before Dad picked her up for their daddy-daughter weekend.

Friday, Eliza and Mike ran errands in the morning and early afternoon. They were going to pick berries, but Eliza said she hurt her ankle.

They then baked some sugar cookies before going to Grandma and Grandpa’s for some blackberry cobbler. Afterwards we decorated. Let's just say Mike needs to learn a bit more about making sugar cookie icing. Anyway, yummy sugar rush!



Landon worked out at camp while Hallie explored the Denver area.



On Saturday, Eliza and Mike stuck around home for the most part. They took a bike ride in the afternoon and visited with our local kangaroo.

Landon felt a bit ill at camp in the afternoon, so he finished day two a little early. We think he was dehydrated. Poor guy!


On Sunday, the homebodies hung out at home before church, and after morning practice, Hallie and Landon headed back to Utah. Overally, Landon had a good experience at camp, and we hope he learned a lot!

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Enjoying the Fruit of Our Ancestors' Labor

This week we partook in the fruits of the labor of ancestors both near and far from us in time. We had a tasty cake made with Grandma's help and Washington blueberries, and we attended the Pioneer Day concert at the Conference Center, where we honored our pioneer fore-bearers and enjoyed classic show tunes.

On Monday, Hallie, Eliza, and Grandma made this yummy blueberry lemon cake. It was gone by Tuesday.



We've had all sorts of interesting insects come to visit -- some nice, and some not. On Tuesday, this dragonfly happened by.


The kids have had gymnastics most days, and Hallie has enjoyed watching from the bleachers.

Saturday was a busy day. First, Hallie and the kids went to a local bakery's grand opening and attempted to hold onto a high bar for 100 seconds. They'd have done it too if the contest wasn't complicated by the pipe sheathing the bar.


The kids even hung out with local royalty!

Later on, we drove up to Salt Lake to watch the Pioneer Day concert. Grandma and Grandpa also attended, and we had an early dinner with them at Paradise Bakery. By some miracle, Hallie managed to get us seats in a plaza level section where we ended up only 19 rows away from the action. Great views! Hallie had a couple of complications getting to us, but we eventually all got together for the show.






On Sunday, Landon got brave and sang a song with one of his classmates in Primary in exchange for some gummy bears.

In the afternoon, taking advantage of a cooling breeze, we flew kites with the neighbors.