Fourth of July!

On the 4th of July, we went to the Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point.  It was a fabulous day to go...the least crowded I have ever seen it.  One of the employees had her bearded dragon there and the kids all enjoyed petting it and learning about it.  They played inside and outside and learned and explored.  It was really a great time.  And the weather was a bit cooler which made the outside gardens more pleasant.

My girls with new 4th of July shirts!

My wonderful mom and stepdad.  I am so blessed to have them as my parents, my role models, my friends, my children's grandparents, and my examples.

All the kids loved the zip line.  Gabby has always been too nervous to try it, but she tried it this time and loved it!  Everyone went on it a couple of times.

Love Hannah's smile and the joy on her face!

Nathan even gave the zip line a try.

 That evening, we had a BBQ at our house.  Alfredo made his delicious ribs.  We had homemade pico de gallo, my rice, potato salad, green salad, watermelon, squash, and other delicious food.  We celebrated our great nation, but we also celebrated my mom, Mike and Hannah's birthdays!  They are all born in the first week of July.

 We did a few fireworks, but it got pretty windy and began to rain just a little bit.  So we put most of the fireworks on hold until Monday evening.   Such a great day.  So much to give thanks for...family, food, fireworks, freedom, fun and much, much more.

Monte L. Bean Museum & Museum of Art...BYU

My sisters and I all went to BYU.  It's not that far away, but I don't get down to Provo very often.  So it was fun to go with my family and head to the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum.  It's amazing and free!  So worth the drive to visit.

Cousins!

Hannah howling at the moon...just like the wolf!

Help!  The hippo is attacking us!

 The coolest thing about the Bean museum was that the animals were not only well preserved, but they were positioned in life-like ways.  Predators were attacking prey, baby bears were climbing a tree, and so on.  Each animal contained placards with information about that animal, its habitat, its diet.  It's a small museum, but so well done.

My kids are goofballs.  They enjoyed imitating the animals.

Look how realistic/life like each of these animals are.  I mean, they are all real animals, but so well preserved.

 Another neat thing about the Bean Museum is that there's a whole room of birds.  So many types of birds and many of them are quite beautiful.  Also, there is an entire room devoted to President Boyd K. Packer's artwork and carvings. I hadn't realized how very talented he was artistically.  He was a wonderful painter and a very skilled carver.  He studied birds, especially, and carved them with tremendous skill and accuracy.  I especially loved the fireplace mantle that he carved to honor his family's pioneer heritage.  It was only a couple of hours after we had been to the Bean Museum and marveled at his work that we heard the news that he had passed away.  What a tremendous man of talent, faith and integrity President Packer was.  I am thankful for his service and example.

 After lunch, we went to the BYU Museum of Art.  And walked around in the art museum's garden as well.  BYU campus has changed a lot since I was a student there...which makes sense.  I graduated from college in 1998...17 years ago.  BYU is filled with many fun, happy memories for me and it is nice to take my kids there every once in awhile.

A fabulous day!  Enjoyed the museums and even more so, enjoyed the time with those I love most (except Alfredo who wasn't able to join us.)

Fun in the Sun

Our cousins are not used to the heat, and it was very hot in Salt Lake for the first 4 days they were here.  So  we did activities that involved water or were inside.  The kids had a great time getting wet and spraying each other.  Michelle was especially excited to get me wet and kept coming over to sit on my lap, to spray me and so on.  It was fun to watch the cousins interact with each other.

Rebecca even got in on the fun!

After the water fun, some of us headed down town to visit Suzy and see where she worked.  Then we did a bit of shopping/errands downtown.  I really loved having the chance to visit with my sisters and mom and stepdad.  My mom and stepdad plan to move to Utah in 2-3 years, and I am really looking forward to that.  It is such a blessing to have such great family...even if they don't live as close as I would like.

Family visit...Blackridge Reservoir

My family came to town for a visit.  My sister, Rebecca, and her family came from Calgary. My mom and stepdad came from Phoenix.  My other sister lives in Provo, and we were all able to spend time visiting and having a great time together.

On the first day, before my parents got into town, Rebecca's family and my family went to Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman.  We had a fabulous time.  Rebecca and I visited and enjoyed watching our kids play in the sand, swim, float and enjoy time with their cousins.