Visiting This is the Place State Park (or what we fondly call the Pioneer Village) with Grandma, Abby and Isabelle Cannon, and our friend Elisabeth who was brave enough to join us. This is always one of my favorite things we do each summer. The kids love it too. The village is in such a pretty spot at the mouth of Emigration Canyon and now that the trees are more mature and shady, it is really pleasant up there. They've also added some great new attractions for younger kids that has really made it fun for us: the 'train' that takes you around the whole park, the live animals including pony rides and petting zoo, and the mini-village of play houses. That's where we always end our visit. Here we are having free ice cream thanks to the generosity of the Huntsmans! There are more pictures from this trip on the web album.
Another fun outing that is becoming a yearly tradition is visiting the Olympic Fountain at the Gateway. It's obviously fun for a lot of other people too, as you can see by the crowds.
Here is Spencer showing his sweet moves to the accompanying music:
Swimming lessons. This consumes two weeks of our summer. This year I did the Mom and Baby class with David, so it meant that ALL of us were in the pool everyday. :) It amazed me how all of us gearing-up for a half-hour swimming lesson and then showering and changing took up the entire morning. By the time we got home, changed, ate lunch, and David down for his nap, I felt wiped-out for the rest of the day. It's always worth the effort though as all the kids made BIG progress this year- esp. Emma and Spencer! It was great to see them learning to actually put their faces in the water :) and swim. The last day of the two weeks the whole complex is opened up for the whole morning to everyone who took lessons that session. Michael always meets us there and we have a fun, free swimming time with Dad.
The Thanksgiving Point Childrens' Gardens. We went with the Cannons. It was one of ThP's $2 Tuesdays so it was pretty crowded, but we hadn't been for a few years, so everyone thought it was exciting and new.
The Zoo. We also hadn't been to the Zoo for a few years and the kids had a great time. We went before it got too hot. We went there our first day of summer, thinking we'd beat the summer crowds since our school district got out of school a week earlier than many in the state. Instead we got there for tons of schools' end of the year field trips - so basically the Zoo was a zoo. But we liked it. That place sure is a lot nicer than it was when I was a little kid. There are still some areas that look the same, but so much of it has been redone and improved. For some reason the exhibit the kids were the most excited for was the albino alligator in an exhibit titled: "The Ghost of the Bayou." David kept calling it the Ghost of the BYU.
As I've looked at all these pictures I think to myself, "Oh, that's why I felt so wiped-out by the end of the summer!" I am also glad that we did so much at the beginning of the summer as I definitely started running out of gas by the end. :)
**Blogging disclaimer** I'm suddenly feeling a little more self-conscious about the Blog. I'm always afraid of it sounding 'braggy' or self-promoting. So please take this little blog for what it's worth: basically an update for all of our family members and friends-who-are-interested and now, my substitute family scrapbook/history. We love you all! Thanks for taking us as we are. :)
1 comment:
It sounds like we went to all the same places this summer. We'll have to coordinate swimming lessons next year. I love "Ghost of BYU", too funny. Looks like you guys had a great summer.
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