Enjoying the Beauties of Utah

We did a couple of fun things this last week. My sisters and I took the kids to This Is the Place Heritage Park to try and get in touch with our pioneer ancestry. It's been a long time since I've been there, but I really was amazed by how much there is to do! We had a great time! It was hot, as usual, so we didn't stay all day, but we definitely could have. I think the kids' favorite place was this Pioneer Playground. There are a few houses, a store, a firehouse, a train, and obviously a teepee...all in miniature kid size!

The coolest part of this playground was that all of the little houses were furnished (with babies, furniture, food, etc.). The kids would have played here all day if we'd let them!

There was also a little petting corral, complete with pony rides. And I finally discovered what my fearless child is a little timid about...baby animals. It's odd, really. She's not afraid of a dog bigger than her licking her face, but she would not get too close to a baby goat just sitting there minding its own business. We tried to give her a ride on a pony, but if you look closely you can see how unhappy she is to be there...

And this is as close as she'd get to the baby goat...

We also had the chance to go up to Alta last weekend for a family party (I have family who have a cabin up there). Albion Basin is beautiful in the summertime. We unfortunately missed the peak of the wildflowers, but the cooler temperatures were heavenly! We had to stop Abby a couple of times from running off a cliff (again, the fearless thing...), but she had a great time playing on the ski lift, watching the campfire, and of course, playing with the rocks!!

We couldn't walk too far before we had to stop and play with the rocks...again...

And here we are chillin' in the hammock!

My 30th Bash

Sad, but true...I have entered the next decade in my life! My birthday was actually a couple of weeks ago, but I have been slow to post things lately. My sister Jac was kind enough to host a little party (so I didn't have to clean my house for everyone to come over!), and it was really quite the bash! My mom brought over a mini bounce-house for the kids...affectionately known as "the party game"...there was great cake and ice-cream, and of course lots of gifts from Granato's!

Here's some shots of the party-goers (minus most of the kids because they were having too much fun in the party game--sorry I didn't get pictures of it!)...

Our unicorns!

I love this picture! Abby loved to put the party hat on all by herself, and it took me about six pictures before I captured it!

Odds and Ends

I got this gigantic tub of animal crackers at Costco and it is Abby's new favorite thing. It is hilarious to see her try and haul this thing around as it is almost as big as she is! It didn't take her long to figure out how to get the lid off, but we'll see how long it takes us to get through this tub!

My mom found this great water toy on sale at Toys'R'Us and Abby absolutely loves it! She did exactly what I thought she'd do...sat right in the water. It has a pump (that she's already figured out how to turn on and off!) that pulls the water up from the pool and cycles it down the slides. The water was freezing right out of the hose and we set it up as it was getting dark, but obviously she didn't care!

This is a very typical sleeping position for the Abs. I keep thinking I should take her bumper pads out, but I think she'd be mad if I took away her leg/foot rest!

Good Old Hogle Zoo

My sisters and I took the kids to Hogle Zoo the other day and had a great time! Jessie came too and luckily had a camera (which is why she's not in any of the pictures...). I wondered if Abby was old enough to enjoy the zoo, but she loved it! The best part of our visit was the bird show. We had the best seats as all the birds swooped right over our heads every time!



This is Abby's new-found skill (pointing) and she utilized it well throughout the whole bird show! There were definitely lots of exciting things to point at.

This is my favorite picture. They brought out a bald eagle at the end of the show (which was VERY cool) and let you come and pose next to it. The boys were too scared to go up, so I took Abby and Caroline...the ones who can't talk and therefore can't say they don't want to go! Obviously the girls were very much in awe of our national symbol!

And here we are with a big owl...apparently Caroline wasn't too interested!

A Corn Lovin' Family

One of the best things about summer is my dad's garden. And the corn is definitely the best part of the garden! Although we are missing our wonderful Italian food, we are consoling ourselves well with the famous Bourne Corn!!



Abby loves gnawing on her own cob...