Category: photos (iPhone)

I want to remember this

My sister Jan and I took the kids to a splash pad this afternoon.

The weather was hot but the water was cold so the kids would take breaks to sit in the sun wrapped in towels to warm up before running back into the water.

My kids love to push each other’s buttons and every day I have to mediate more little disagreements between the two of them than I can count.  It can be exasperating!

But when I catch a glimpse of the love between them I’m bowled over with gratitude that they have each other and that I have them.

Recent Snapshots

A few recent snapshots from my phone.

1st row L: Last week E finished his first session of swim lessons.  We had a bit of a scare when he was bopping around in the pool before his class and drifted too far into the deep end and the water started coming up over his mouth but the teacher jumped in and towed him back to the shallow end. We had an extra lesson to make sure he wasn’t traumatized and he seems okay but now has a bit of a fear of going in the deep end by himself which is probably actually helpful for right now.

1st row R: My mom came to visit my sister Jan a while ago and while she was here they made huge batches of kimchi including radish, my favorite! I’m set for at least a couple of months now 🙂

2nd row L: E really wanted to get me some chocolates for Mother’s Day.  I wanted to get some chocolates for my MIL so I just took him to See’s with me and let him pick a few out at the same time.  He adorably asked the lady behind the counter for some “lemon chuckles (truffles), please” (!!!)  And now I annoyingly tell the story to everyone whenever I get the chance.

2nd row R: My talented and lovely college friend Erica was great in a local production of Hello Dolly! She’s going to be in the Scarlet Pimpernel this summer and I’m excited to see it.

3rd row L: Earlier this week Mimi caught and nasty bug and is still recovering. Boo.

3rd row R: One day E woke up and was grumpy because I wouldn’t let him play video games first thing in the morning.

Tree Trimming

 

Lumberjacks ARE COOL–at least that’s the agreement E and I came to yesterday as we watched these guys work. We were glued to my bathroom window for a good twenty minutes. Climbing really high in trees = awesome.  Climbing really high in trees and operating chainsaws = several kinds of awesome.

When our big willow tree blew down this summer all the tree services who came out to give us a bid on hauling it away from us recommended topping the 11 tall cottonwood trees we have lining our back yard.

We wanted to get it done before the snow came so yesterday these guys came and trimmed the top 15-20 feet off.  Hopefully now we’re finished with trees falling down.

And hopefully the kids enjoy the imagination Christmas we’re going to have because, yeah…yeesh.

Recent Adventures

Things have been busy around here.  Last Saturday N and I went to BYU’s homecoming game (and left at the end of the 3rd quarter when things started to look sad).

There’s been a definite snap in the air which has meant drinking hot cocoa and eating butternut squash soup.

N surprised me with some very thoughtful birthday presents.  The kids and I have been blasting K-pop as we putter around town in the car and I’ve been studying the manual of my new camera trying to figure out all its features. I can’t wait to start shooting with it!

And since I’m a glutton for punishment, I painted the kids’ bathroom over the weekend.  There were so many things to tape off and so many awkward edges to paint around–ugh.  Fortunately, we all liked how it turned out because I am definitely not repainting it.  I still need to paint the bathroom cabinets but you know, baby steps 🙂

State Fair

N and I took the kids to the Utah State Fair on Saturday.  We’ve gone for the last three years and are well on our way to to establishing a family tradition.  It’s easy to support a family tradition that is all about cotton candy and rides and cute baby animals and the best Mexican food in the state.

It’s become tradition that before we go to the fair we have lunch at Red Iguana 2 which is just a few blocks from the fair grounds.  It’s the same food as at the original Red Iguana just in a more spacious (and kid-friendly) atmosphere.  Seriously, if you want good Mexican food, try their moles.  Widely-known to be awesome.

Thus fortified by deliciousness we looked at the folk art, photography, and fine art exhibits and then walked through the livestock barns and pet the animals.  And then E went on a few rides, which he loved.

We took Mimi on her first carnival ride–the Wiggle Worm–and at first she loved it but the operator let us ride for an especially long time and after a few minutes she started to get nervous.  I think she’ll be more into rides next year.  After the rides we got a few treats (cotton candy for the kids, a funnel cake for N and I) and then headed home.

Visiting the fair is one of my favorite family traditions.  How about you?  Have you gone to a fair lately?  The Utah State Fair runs through September 16th so if you’re local, there’s still time to go.

Ahoy!

The kids and I stayed with my SIL and BIL Mindy and Ken and their kids for a few days last week.  They live north of Seattle and while we were there we took the kids to ride the ferry.

There’s a ferry terminal near their house so the outing was very simple.  We parked the car, walked on the ferry and enjoyed the 20-minute trip to the other side of the sound. 


E and Mimi both got a kick out of standing on deck and being out in the wind.  It was remarkably windy–Mimi would wrap her fingers through the grills on the railing and laugh and laugh as she was almost blown off her feet.

When the ferry docked at Kingston, the little town on the other side of the sound, we all got scoops of gelato/sorbet.  And then we caught the next ferry back.


It was a lovely little trip.

Hill Aerospace Museum

On Saturday we took the kids to the Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum.  My dad is retired Air Force and I have fond memories of going to air museums and air shows on base when I was a kid.  I knew that E would love looking at the airplanes.

E went nuts for the planes.  The museum has about fifteen planes / helicopters parked outside but it also has two big hangers with more planes and displays inside.  I especially liked the display of WWII pilot helmets.  It was interesting and a fun sort of creepy with all the disembodied mannequin heads.

The museum is just outside the base gates and is open 7 days a week from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.  Everyone is welcome.  Best of all, it’s free!  (Donations accepted.)

There’s a gift shop but not a snack bar.  However, there are several tables outside so you can bring your own lunch and have a picnic underneath the wings of one of the planes.

If you’re planning on visiting, I would keep the weather in mind.  It was HOT on Saturday and while it wasn’t so bad when we were outside with the breeze, the hangers were pretty stuffy.  It must be difficult/costly to fully air condition such large spaces and by the time we were finished looking at everything we were all pretty sweaty.

The museum is in Roy, so it’s a little over an hour’s drive from our house.  On the way up we stopped for lunch at a new-to-us restaurant, Oh Mai.  They serve bánh mì and other Vietnamese-style sandwiches.  It was really good!  N and I got a few different types of sandwiches and shared them.  They even have a Korean-style rib sandwich with kimchi on it.  Yum!

Train Ride

Last week E attended a friend’s birthday party held at the home of “The Train Man,” this retired gentleman who has built an over-a-mile-long miniature train track on his property.  Riding the full circuit took about twenty minutes and we even went through a tunnel.  E was over the moon with excitement and Mimi and I thought it was pretty cool too.

The Train Man and his wife allow families in the neighborhood to enjoy their property (swimming pool, sports courts, huge covered patio, etc…) free of charge; people just have to call ahead and schedule their visit.  He said that he gets 4-6 families a day who come by to ride the train.  While we were there they were super nice and didn’t bat an eyelash at a herd of preschool boys running in-and-out of their house to use the bathroom.

It was lovely to meet people who have done such magical things with their home and who are so interested in giving back to their community.