Our last Hoo-rah!

In the last few days before heading back to school/work (at the end of August...I have so much less time to blog when I'm back to work that this post has been sitting on a back burner for weeks now!), I squeezed in a few more fun times with my girls. One night, Michelle and I went to Seven Peaks alone. It was a reward for her hard work preparing for her fiddle concert. I was afraid the water would be cold, and/or that it would be really crowded. But the water temp was great, and it wasn't that crowded at all. We were able to go on all the slides at least twice (not counting the two biggest/scariest ones...we skipped those). We talked and laughed and had a great time together.

Seven Peaks Provo: I took the girls down to Seven Peaks in Provo right after Gabby had her doctor's appointment (with 4 shots, plus the nasal spray for the flu). The wave pool was a little different...it stayed shallow for most of the wave pool, and seemed warmer (but maybe it was just because it was later in the day). There were a LOT of slides, so Michelle went on quite a few of them, by herself. She's a good sport. They played in the kiddie area for a bit, but one of the kiddie areas was closed. We went in the lazy river. We got snow cones and enjoyed them. It was a lot of fun. Next summer, we will have to get Alfredo to go there with us at least once.

BYU Art Museum: BYU has a wonderful art exhibit right now called Beauty and Belief. (It is only at BYU until Sept. 29...so if you haven't gone, you should!) It is a beautiful collection of Islamic art that helps clear up misconceptions about the Islamic religion and art. I wanted my children to see the art and learn a little more about Islam. I also wanted to see the art. I wish I could actually go back once again, by myself, so I could read more of the signs that went with the displays. I read some, but Gabby is still a little young for art museums and wanted to go quickly. I loved looking at the beautiful copies of the Quran. Often, the Quran(Koran) is written in calligraphy and the copies on display were beautiful. I enjoyed reading that the Islamic religion has many different names for God, that in a sense reflect his dual natures...such as All Powerful and Humble. There were also many quotes from the Koran that really were beautiful and filled with truth. I think there is much to appreciate about the Muslim faith, at least in its pure form.

There was also a room specifically for children. It had books to read, simple art projects to try, and a few pieces of artwork. There was a tree where you could write a wish on a paper and add it to the tree to send good wishes to others.

It really was a beautiful display, and I'm glad we went.

It was fun to walk around BYU campus with my children and point out some of the buildings. It has changed a lot since I graduated over 14 years ago. I've only been on campus a few times since then, and there were quite a few things that are different. I took the girls to the BYU Bookstore. We were there during Education Week, so it was quite crowded and busy. But I bought us each a BYU t-shirt. The girls' school is a uniform school. But they really emphasize college readiness and the importance of college attendance. So they decide last year that on Thursday, students could wear college t-shirts to school. So now they each have a BYU shirt they can wear. :)