Sunday, July 31, 2011

Thoughts to Remember

Heard a quote in church today that really struck me. My Bishop was quoting my friend Sara, who said, "Triumph is a little try with some umph." I don't know if she came up with this or heard it from somewhere else, but what a great quote! If we want to succeed, we have to try and give it some real effort.

This made me remember the quote my dad shared with me from his sacrament meeting last Sunday. One of his speakers said, "The antidote to bad attitude is gratitude."
Such truth in that gem. It reminds me of the quote that I have on my emails:
"We do not give thanks because we are happy. We are happy because we give thanks." --Douglas Wood. This great quote was in a children's picture book that I read a few years ago called Grandad's Prayers of the Earth.

Gratitude is such an important quality/state of mind/virtue. It truly changes your outlook on life.

I've been thinking about challenges. It seems, at times, like some people have almost perfect lives and so many blessings. Then others seem to have so many challenges. I'm aware that often the challenges that people face are private and most are not aware of what struggles an individual has... and really I'm sure that even though at times I might wish my own struggles away, I am quite sure that there are few if any people whose burdens I would want to trade mine for. But getting back to gratitude. I've slowly come to realize that as I express thanks for my MANY blessings, as I practice an attitude of gratitude, my challenges seem less. But when I stop feeling and acting grateful, then I begin to feel less content and the problems seem to multiply. I do not just give thanks because I am happy. I truly am more happy when I give thanks.

I have realized something important lately. When bad things happen, particularly when someone does something unkind and you are hurt, angry or worried, you have a choice. You can think about the problem and focus on it and let your thoughts be centered on how terrible things are. Or you can focus on your blessings and on the things that are going well. You can think about all the reasons they are wrong or why you're mad and concentrate on the negative. Or you can turn your thoughts around and think about the things that you do that are less than perfect and think about all the things that they do that ARE right and kind and good. One way of thinking will almost certainly NOT solve the problem and will lead to a lot of disappointment and unhappiness...the other will help you gain more peace of mind and more happiness. (I'm not saying you should just always let things go and problems may require thinking to solve them...but they usually don't require brooding over them.) I'm not perfect at this, but it does help me. Abraham Lincoln said, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." I've heard this for years and thought that he was saying happiness is a choice...and I think there is truth to that, at least for the most part. But as I've reflected lately, I have noticed the word mind and it has led me to conclude that another way of thinking about this quote, is that our mind, our thoughts, to a large degree, determine our happiness.

ABC's of... Guess Where?

Can you guess where we went on Friday? This idea to blog about our (secret) location using the ABC's was actually my friend Stacie's idea, so kudos to her. So glad we went together! We actually went through the alphabet while there, but I know I've forgotten some of what we said...so some of these are mine, and some are Stacie's, Eli's, Avy's, Michelle's, Ella's and Gabby's.

A is for amazing view. What we had when we made it to the top. A is also for Avy. She said at the end, "If we can do this, then we can do anything!"



B is for beautiful. The mountains are beautiful this time of year.

C is for the Chime Chamber, my favorite part. I wish that I could have been there years ago when they actually used to ring the stalactites to hear the chiming sound!

D is for dolomite and other rocks that we saw. D is also for darkness. Without the lights, the cave is very dark.

E is for Eli and Ella. They did it!!! (And Ella did it with almost no complaining. She often cheered Eli on! I was so proud of her. And surprised.) E is also for encouragement. We had to provide plenty of encouragement to make it up the mountain.


F is for freezing. That's what the kids thought it felt like inside... 45 degrees Fahrenheit. I was so sweaty...I thought it felt great!

G is for Gabby. She got carried the whole way up. On the way down, she wanted to walk, stopping every 2 - 3 feet to find a "Gabby-sized" rock to sit on. :) After a bit, I picked her up and gave her a piggy back ride so it wouldn't take hours to get down.

H is for heart. The heart of Timpanogos weighs approximately 4,000 pounds. Stacie was very interested to find out how they figure that out. The heart was Michelle's favorite part. (And if you hadn't figured it out already, you should know where we went!) H is also for Hansen Cave, the first cave found, by a man named Hansen who was following a mountain lion when he discovered the cave.

I is for imagination. Inside one room, they pointed out all the interesting shapes...one that looks like an alligator, one that looks like a chicken. My kids noticed a stalagmite that looked like a unicorn's head. Imagination is important in so many endeavors. I is also for the ice cream cones we got when we were done!

J is for journal. Stacie was planning to write about this in her journal... and I consider this blog to be my journal. Maybe I can even get Ella and Michelle to write about it in their journals.

K is for kicking rocks. Really, we didn't kick rocks...you aren't supposed to, but we couldn't come up with anything else for k....and sometimes you do kick a rock on accident.

L is for lion as in mountain lion. Mountain lions, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, rattlesnakes, squirrels, and chipmunks all consider American Fork Canyon their home.

M is for Michelle. Michelle was tired and wasn't sure she would make it on the way up. But she and Avy were the speediest on the way down. They kept having to stop and wait for the rest of us. :)

N is for nature...where we spent our day. N is for national park.

O is for opportunity...to get exercise, to spend time with friends, to smell the pine trees, to learn new things, to see amazing sights, to live on a beautiful planet. We are blessed daily with so many opportunities!

P is for park rangers. It was fun to chat with a few park rangers. The kids wanted to know why they carry guns and we asked how many times they hike to the cave each day (usually 2 or 3 times...Wow!) We were told that there is a park ranger that has been there at Timpanogos for 43 years! Another park ranger retired a few years ago (and died 2 years ago) after more than 50 years there.

Q is for NOT quitting. Even though it was tough for the kids, they didn't give up. They triumphed (TRY + UMPH...see the last post!). Q is also for questions, because you learn more when you ask questions.

R is for river. As we got out of our car, the kids were thrilled to be so close to the river. As we hiked back down, we could tell we were getting closer when we could hear the river flowing again. Gabby was sure she was hearing a waterfall!


S is for signals. The park ranger that led us through the cave, told us that her mom was a ranger when she was younger....and they lived in Lehi, very close. Her mom would call her on her lunch break and then use a mirror to send signals to her at her house. She used a large mirror to flash signals back. How cool! S is also for Stacie, whose idea it was to go, who made all the arrangements, etc. Thank you!

T is for Timpanogos caves. They are amazing! Totally worth the long hike.

U is for unique cave structures...the caramel falls, the stalactites and stalagmites, the heart, etc. It was cool when they turned off the lights and showed how a laser pointer just put a dot on the rock, but when it hit the crystals or quartz (can't remember), it began to shimmer and spread light. They asked if anyone had a diamond and since I was next to the guide, they shined the laser on my diamond ring and sparkles of light were everywhere. Cool!





V is for victorious! How we all felt when we made it to the top!



W is for water. Water was a necessity on this hike (3 miles round trip...lots of switchbacks) and we should have brought even more than we did. This was a hard hike for the kids...and since Stacy and I were carrying backpacks and camera bags and trading off carrying Gabby, it wasn't that easy for us, either!

X is for X-ray... fortunately, we had no broken bones or injuries and therefore didn't need any X-rays!!!

Y is for yummy snacks. At one point, several of the kids wanted to quit. It was lunchtime and so we got out sandwiches, apples, and chips. After the yummy snack, they felt better and were able to keep going.

Z is for the z-shaped trail we could see on the mountain opposite us.

Monday, July 25, 2011

24th of July










Our friends Leo and Annette had a BBQ on Saturday to celebrate Leo's birthday and Pioneer Day. We had a great time. The kids had fun playing together, we enjoyed visiting and eating great food, then we headed to the front and spent nearly an hour doing fireworks. It was a great evening. We're so grateful to have such good friends.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Kennecott's Bingham Copper Mine

In May, we took our second graders on a field trip to the copper mine since we study rocks and minerals. It was pretty cool and I decided I should take my own kids there. So, a week ago, I headed up there with some friends. They had a couple of weeks where it was free (usually it costs $5 per car) and it was very busy. I think I would have preferred it if we'd gone when it was less busy and we just paid the $5, but it was still fun. You parked and then rode a bus up to the actual "pit" ... the largest open air mine in the world... and to the visitors center. I'd told the girls before we left that the tires on the trucks they use to haul dirt, copper, rock, etc. were bigger than them...bigger than me. They didn't believe me, until they saw them. They are HUGE!








They show a 20 minute film that talks about how the mine was discovered, how they process the rock to get the copper (and silver and gold) out of the rock, and what they have done to be as environmentally friendly as possible. It's a little bit propaganda-ish at points, but also has some interesting facts and information in it.

The visitors center shows samples of different minerals found in mines around the world, displays miniatures of the different trucks and equipment they use to mine, contains a series of relief maps of what the area looked like in 1905 (before mining)and then how it changed over the years and has a few displays that show all the things we use daily that require copper as well as other minerals. Another fun, free (or nearly free if you pay the $5 per car entrance fee) educational activity. :)





Planetarium


As mentioned in the previous post, I like free places that are also educational. So 2 weeks ago, on a day that we didn't have anything else planned, I took the girls to the Planetarium at the Gateway. You have to pay for parking and movies at the Planetarium cost $6-$8, but the exhibits are free. And the Gateway does have the water play area as well.

Ella had gotten a coupon for a free lunch at Costa Vida from her kindergarten teacher, so I took the girls out to lunch. It was quite good. I got a chicken raspberry chipotle salad (the small size) and it was delicious...and the perfect size for me. And unlike most times when we've taken our kids out to eat, they just about cleaned their plates...only a few bites of food went uneaten. :)

Then we headed to the planetarium. They loved the Newton's laws ball area that shows that an object in motion will remain in motion and in the same direction unless a force is exerted on it to cause it to change direction or stop. They also enjoyed watching the Foucalt pendulum. Ella thought it was fun to see how much she would weigh on other planets. They have displays that tell about the planets in our solar system and then you can take a little quiz on a computer0 to see what you learned.

There is an area that tells about comets, asteroids and meteors and you can lift an iron meteorite to see how heavy it is. Ella and Michelle both had a hard time lifting it.


There are a couple of telescopes that point to a tiny picture of Saturn on the wall and you can see how much bigger it looks in the telescopes.

There's a place where a light is shining and you can put a prism under it or a concave or convex mirror to see how the shape of the light changes.

It's worth the couple of dollars parking fee...especially because Michelle and Ella also got to run through the water area afterward. (Gabby absolutely hates sprinklers or any kind of water that sprays on you. She likes baths and pools but doesn't like water spraying or splashing at all.)


For some reason, I only took a few photos (usually I err on the side of overtaking photos...but not this time. :))

Hill Air Force Base Museum

Have you ever checked out the museum at Hill Air Force Base? Did you know it is free? And that they have all kinds of helicopters, planes, and other equipment as well as uniforms on display? And it is FREE. (If you haven't noticed, I like free fun things...especially if they are educational too.)

Alfredo and I have been planning to take the girls to the museum for awhile. He actually took Michelle and Ella when Michelle was about 2 1/2 and Ella was a baby...but we both figured it was time to go again since Gabby and I have never been and we're sure the other girls don't remember it.

It was a bit hot outside, but it was fun to see the cool equipment. I liked the displays inside even better and enjoyed reading a little about the history. (Only a little because with 3 kids, they are anxious to see the next thing pretty quickly.)




Look how big some of these planes are!!







Ella got tired (it had been a busy, fun, but tiring weekend and I think she was ready to be done) and had a tad bit of a meltdown so we only stayed about an hour or maybe an hour and a half. But it was worth the trip.