Pass of all Passes

We bought the Pass of All Passes this summer. So far it has been great, and we hope and plan to get lots more use out of it. The pass includes entrance to Seven Peaks Salt Lake, Seven Peaks Provo, the Trafalga Fun Centers in Lehi and Orem, as well as quite a few sporting events and free entrance to the Tracy Aviary on Mondays. We have been heading to Seven Peaks once a week. Two of our neighbors also have the pass so we've seen them/gone with them. A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Trafalga Fun Center in Lehi. It was our first time going there. It was busy, but the girls had fun. Michelle was quite disappointed to not be able to ride the go carts. (She could have ridden with me...but there was no way for me to drive and leave the other girls unsupervised.) But aside from that, it was fun.

Gabby didn't really like the boats because you can spray other boats, and she doesn't like getting sprayed. If they had just been boats to steer, she would have loved it. I thought it felt good to get wet, and Michelle and Ella really enjoyed the boats.

Michelle loved the rock climbing as well. Ella wanted to try, but she was wearing flip flops so they wouldn't let her. Michelle said it was just a tiny bit scary when she got to the top...but it must not have been too scary, because when she got down, she immediately climbed right to the top again.

I'm planning to take the girls to Tracy Aviary this next week. Alfredo's main reason for getting the pass is so he can go to some Real Salt Lake games, so we'll definitely do that. I've also promised the girls that we'll head to the Provo Seven Peaks sometime soon. It has been such a fun way to spend the summer. One thing I especially like is that Seven Peaks is only open to pass holders from 9:30-Noon, so it isn't that crowded in the morning. We head there for a couple of hours, and by 12:30 we are ready to go home. We head home or last week we went across the street to the park. They serve free school lunch at the park just across from Seven Peaks so the kids had lunch there and played on the playground. It works out great.

Fun Fourth

Yesterday was a fun fourth of July. We got up early to go to a flag raising ceremony and breakfast at the church for the three wards in our building. I'm so glad we went and were able to see the flag raised, hear the names of the members of each ward that have served or are serving in the military, hear a short talk about the importance of the flag, and sing the Star Spangled Banner. It really started the day off right and helped me reflect on the gratitude I have for our nation and the freedoms we enjoy...as well as the gratitude I have for those who have helped protect that freedom.

Then we went home and got ready to head to Seven Peaks. Since we have the Pass of all Passes, we've been going there weekly. But this was the first time Alfredo has been able to go. It was a lot of fun for all of us. It was busy, even in the morning, but it was fun to have Daddy there to help watch the kids and play with the kids. I'm not sure Gabby has ever enjoyed it as much as she did yesterday, especially the wave pool.
Then we headed to In-n-Out for lunch.

That afternoon we watched a movie together. Then our kind neighbors across the street let us watch them set off fireworks. It was a great day.

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I had great plans to take some photos of my kids dressed in red, white and blue for the fourth. But shortly after we got home from the breakfast, Gabby got a bloody nose...a very bloody nose, and her clothes got blood all over them. And well, with our trip to Seven Peaks, we ended up spending a lot of the day not in our festive clothing. So no photo. Just trust me that they looked cute. :)

Decision Made

I have always had a tough time deciding what my favorite wild animal is. There is something so amazing and majestic about elephants. But monkeys are so cute and I love watching them swing from tree to tree and appreciate their keen intelligence (especially that of the great apes, which I recognize are different than monkeys). So when people would ask me what my favorite animal was sometimes I would answer monkeys; sometimes I would answer elephants.

But we headed to the zoo last week, and I saw something that made my mind up for me. We watched the baby elephant Zuri with her mother. Her mother had been eating and Zuri was playing. Then the mother walked away from the food, defecating as she was walking. Zuri trotted over to her mother's fresh poop and sniffed it. Then she began using her trunk to shovel it in her mouth. She feasted on it. My kids could not believe it and have been telling people about it ever since. Now I know that many animals do things that we would think are disgusting. I know that many birds swallow food and then regurgitate it for their babies. I know that some animals chew their own cud. But somehow, in all of my reading and all of the times I have watched elephants, I had missed the fact that baby elephants will eat the mother's fresh excrement. I guess it must have nutrients as the mother had just been eating. But I felt like leading that sweet baby elephant by the trunk over to the food that was not far away and encouraging her to eat that instead. Gross! So now, my mind is made up. My favorite animals are monkeys. Or is my favorite the koala? Or maybe the giant panda? Okay, perhaps my mind isn't quite made up. :)







The zoo has a new exhibit, Rocky Shores, that just opened. It contains seals, seal lions, a polar bear, grizzly bears, river otters and bald eagles. This was our first time seeing the exhibit and the girls loved it. (Although I still think the elephant stole the show.) I loved seeing the river otters since Alfredo and I had seen some when we went on our rafting trip last summer in Jackson Hole. And the polar bear was awesome. The girls loved watching the seals and the sea lion and were completely unimpressed by the river otter.





















They also wanted to sit on every animal statue we passed and have their picture taken, no matter how many times they'd had their picture taken on that statue before. Some were new though, so perhaps that was why they were so intrigued on this trip.
It was a fun trip to the zoo. I really love spending so much time with my kiddos going on fun outings throughout the summer. We don't spend a whole lot of time at home, and that is just how I like it. I like to be busy and out doing things and making memories together.

Why I Didn't Get Very Sore After My Half...

I was tired and a bit sore, but not nearly as sore as I expected after jogging/walking over 13 miles. I attribute that to the fact that I hardly sat down the rest of the day. After our half marathon, Alfredo and I drove back to Salt Lake and picked up our kids from my friend Brenda's house where they had a sleepover. I got out of the car and after just a few seconds, I felt nauseated and thought I might throw up. Then suddenly, I felt the blood drain out of my face and Brenda grabbed me and helped me to sit down in my car. I nearly passed out. But after eating a banana and drinking some water, I felt better. Then we headed home, showered and got ready for a fun day at Lagoon with Alfredo's company.

We got there just in time for lunch. The food was good and the prizes were better. The kids got to choose prizes and Gabby had a great time playing with her chalk and other toys with Oaklie.
Alfredo got a gift certificate to Red Lobster, a lantern and a t-shirt.




I told him we should start heading to rides when there were just a few prizes left. He said no way. He wanted to win the grill. (Each year the grand prize at the Lagoon Day is a huge propane grill.) He was going to win the grill. So we sat and waited for the last few prizes to be awarded. Seconds before they announced the winner, Alfredo rubbed Liz's pregnant belly and said the baby would help him win. He announced, "I am going to win the grill." And then they announced, "The winner of the grill is ... Alfredo." I was shocked. Alfredo was thrilled and the girls were elated. (They don't buy the actual grill...just give you a gift card to go buy it... so he bought it a couple of days later.)





Then we headed to the rides at Lagoon. Michelle decided to spend time riding rides with Stacie, Jeremy, Eli and Avy. So I didn't really get pictures of her, because she spent virtually the whole day with them. Ella, Gabby and I headed to the kiddie area and rode rides with Heather and Oaklie and then by ourselves when Heather, Justin, Asher and Oaklie left. Alfredo mostly set off on his own to ride a few rides he enjoys. It was a fun day, but a tiring day. But I credit my minimal soreness to the fact that I hardly sat down... I walked around Lagoon, rode a few rides, pushed Gabby in a stroller and stayed moving until about 6 PM.

Changes, Part 2

Not only did Alfredo change the door, he also did some big changes to our main bathroom. He pulled out the old sink and put in a new sink and new flooring. He repainted, bought new towels and shower curtain and put in new base boards. It looks amazing! He did such a great job. And huge thanks also go to his friends Thomas and Jeremy who came and helped him. We love our new bathroom.

Out with the old:






In with the new:









Alfredo decided to begin this project 3 days before the girls' birthday party. That stressed me out a little, because I know that projects rarely go as quickly or as smoothly as planned. I was right that it would take longer than expected... the original plan was to keep the old flooring, but the new vanity was smaller than the old one and so a small section was bare --no flooring -- so we had to get new flooring. But he got it done. (Two hours before the party began, but it was done.) We love our "new" bathroom. It looks so pretty now. I love the flooring, the sink, the blue walls, and the red highlights in the towels and shower curtains. It turned out so pretty. Thank you Alfredo!

Changes, Part 1

Alfredo loves to make changes to our house. He is such a hard working guy, and he really enjoys home improvement projects. Or at the least, he enjoys the results of home improvement projects... I am sure there are moments in the process that he doesn't enjoy as much.

About two months ago, we bought a new door. (It was time. The old one was an ugly green and had a door knocker that said "The Fishers" on it. After almost 10 years in this house, it was time to not have someone else's name on our door. Also, there was space at the bottom of the door and so we had to keep a towel rolled up there to prevent all our hot/cool air from leaking outside. It was time to replace it.)

Michelle is Alfredo's sidekick and a kiddo with definite good taste and strong ideas about what she likes. So she picked out the door, and the color of paint. We were a little uncertain about the color of paint at first (it was supposed to be darker and more red), but we really like it now. Michelle also picked out the doorknob...she really wanted this kind, not the regular knob.

Alfredo picked out and installed a new doorbell. There was nothing wrong with our old doorbell, but this one is certainly prettier.

He also painted the numbers on our house. When we moved in, the house had two silver numbers and two black numbers. It has always bugged me, but I've never done anything about it. I don't know that I'd even mentioned to Alfredo that it bugged me, but I was thrilled when he painted the numbers.


But these changes were just the start of what he had planned.