Oquirrh Mountain Temple Redux

Chad and I took the kids to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House last month, so I didn't expect to be going again, but life has surprises at every turn...just ask Jeannine, my sweet little mother-in-law. She had organized a trip to the temple open house for her Activity Days group and just moments before leaving, as the girls stood in the meeting house parking lot for prayer, they heard the screech of brakes and the grinding of metal. Jeannine's car, which was parked on the side of the road, had been hit by a distracted driver and totaled. Jeannine sent the girls on with the other adults who had come to help out and stayed behind to deal with the mess. When she called me later on, she was upset and discouraged. She'd missed the Draper Temple Open House due to illness and now, it seemed, she would not get to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Open House either. Well, if I've learned anything from my Dad, it's that life's problems can be plowed through with determination, bull-headedness, and good intentions. I immediately offered to take her on Thursday with my kids in tow, so on a day of 100 degree heat we set out.


Grant and Grandma are very good friends. Here they are walking to the temple and trying to stick to the shade. It was hot, hot, HOT!






The cookies at the end of the tour were a sweet ending to a sweet family experience.






Just call him Mr. Chocolate Face. It got a lot worse after this! Thank heavens for Stain Remover!







Grace giggled and bounced on the couch and talked incessantly to the two nice girls sitting next to us.




Despite the heat and the fact that the car stalled when it was our turn to pull out onto 4000 West, which backed up the line behind us, we had a good time. It was nice to prove to Jeannine that she is NOT temple open house bad luck. The kids love their Grandma and I am grateful for such a sweet, helpful, and gracious mother-in-law.

We're looking for a place to read!

Merritt wanted to read Grace a book, but he wanted to do it by the glow of a flashlight. A dark space, big enough for the two of them, was therefore required. I squashed any idea of them going upstairs and squeezing into the big bathroom closet, seeing as how Grant was asleep and I didn't want them banging about and giggling in the room next door. They first tried the downstairs bathroom closet, but it was too small. Next they tried the "cupboard under the stairs" which was plenty big but not acceptable after they shined their light on the spiderweb in the corner. They were feeling pretty discouraged until I had an idea, inspired by all the forts I read about in 1776 that the American Patriots built. You know...Fort Stirling, Fort Constitution, and Fort Washington among others. We would build Fort Read! We made it roomy enough for both kids to sit comfortably and piled plenty of blankets on top so that reading by flashlight was a must. It worked great! I think we'll see Fort Read a lot this summer.

Passport To Fun!

All I need now is a ticket. Hee-hee! I never thought I would need one of these, it's actually an exciting thing to own. We're playing chicken with ticket prices to France, but I think the airlines will flinch long before my sisters and I do.

It's a Birthday...hip hip hooray!

This is the kid...








This is the outing...








We looked at dinosaur skeletons...












Dug for bones...And had fun at the frog exhibit!










This is the cake...









Make a wish!
These are the presents...










Everybody pile in!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MERRITT!

4th of July Fun!

I love the 4th of July. I've been reading 1776, actually David McCullough is reading it to me. No, I don't have the author chained up in my pantry, it's the book on CD. I actually cried today at the kitchen sink while listening to the recounting of the American Patriots incredible defeat of the British during the seige of Boston and the words spoken in a Sunday service, attended by George Washington, by the Reverend Abiel Leonard "who chose for his text Exodus 14:25: 'And they took off their chariot wheels, that they drove them heavily; so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.'" (1776, pg. 106) Can I just say at this point that I think George Washington is completely amazing and I'm still SOOOO bugged by the outcome of that "100 Greatest Americans" nonsense on the Discovery Channel 4 years ago. George Washington came in 4th place, which is so completely ludicrous. There wouldn't BE a country to celebrate on Independence Day if it wasn't for Washington, so take that Ronald Reagan!

Anyhoo, back to the local festivities. I hauled my family down to the parade and we found a nice patch of grass to sit on while we enjoyed the sight of homemade floats and the music of the city's rival high school bands. Of course, we forgot the camera, cuz we're bad that way, but we did go...just ask my long-suffering husband! The best part was that the weather was overcast and not too hot, so the people selling water bottles for $1 each out of little red wagons didn't make much money, but we were comfortable.

After a break for lunch and naps we headed back out to the local fair to eat cotton candy and elephant ears and let the kids go nuts on the inflatibles (for a fee, of course). 20 tickets bought us 45 minutes of jumping, sliding, and general hullabaloo. Merritt stuck to things he could climb up and slide down, while Grace and Grant had fun in the pink castle bounce house. Luckily, Grant is still too young to realize that he doesn't like pink and he was quite happy to go with his sister into the princess castle. Merritt wouldn't have been caught dead in that place.

We had a hot dog roast at Grandma's house, which was yummy and fun, and then headed out to see the fireworks display. It was actually very good, and my expectations were high after years of watching the Stadium of Fire almost burn down Provo once a year. Hooray for our wonderful country! I am so very grateful to be an American.

I Have Dirt!

No, no silly...not gossip! Real, actual, honest to goodness dirt. Compost to be more precise.




It is now in my Mother's Day barrel so that I can plant flowers.









It is also heaped up in my herb garden...






and waiting to be spread amongst my corn, tomatoes, peppers, etc. (Yes, I KNOW I need to weed. I'm getting on that today!)




I even have more compost in a borrowed wheel barrow waiting to do it's good work on some other spots around about, hopefully we'll get that spread really soon. I LOVE dirt, it's a wonderful thing to have.