Utah Vacation

The day we arrived in Utah, we landed at 8 p.m. We had gotten a 2 hour, direct flight, and the kids were excited. Andy and Dad picked us up from the air port in 2 cars. Then we sat on the porch and watched Pioneer Day fireworks and ate cherries from their tree and corn dogs. The girls were way too excited to go to bed, having just arrived at Gabi and Tache's, so I figured we might as well watch the fire works. 

The girls actually slept pretty well when we were there. 

Some girls know exactly how they want their hair styled and make Mommy do it 3 times until it's perfect.

At Great Grandma's party

Daniel and his sons came to see us!

Theo brought some of his dominoes and Aunt Amber bought him more because she could see that he would like to make bigger creations. It was so nice of her to think of him

Screen shot from magnifying glasses that clip onto a cell phone camera

Pretzel stick with caramel and white chocolate made by Amber

Theo's first day of school! And also the sun made everyone squint

Daddy horse

They colored capes all by themselves and then asked me for tape so their stuffies could wear capes

The girls' first day of preschool (this year)

She used a ribbon to make a necklace

I got a text during choir, "Where do we keep the brown sugar?"
By the time I got home, Theo had the gingerbread dough almost made.

Picking cherries

When we went to visit Great Grandma, she gave the kids these mini Jello cups with fruit chunks that you can eat without a spoon. 

Wendy had her mouth very, very full when she spotted some giraffe decorations. She pointed excitedly and started chewing very quickly. 

30 seconds later, she finally managed to swallow and shrieked, "Giraffe! Giraffe!"

Her Great Grandma appreciated how much Wendy loved her giraffes. 

The next day we hiked up to Timpanogas Cave. The hike is 1.5 miles up, and a steep 1,092 feet rise in elevation. It definitely challenged the girls, especially because you're supposed to complete the hike in 1.5 hours so you can be at a certain guided tour for the cave. Sakura, Seth, Liam, and Theo went ahead the last .2 miles to tell the guides we were on our way. We managed to not be late. The cave itself was really impressive. Miriam became best buddies with Tache. Wendy was really cold and we ended up taking Jay's backpack off him and putting it, hot from his back, on her, and I stayed behind her, lifting the weight of it. My kids had never been in a cave before, and they liked it. Even when the guides turned the lights off, they still seemed interested, rather than afraid. Or maybe they were just too tired from the hike up. Wendy got to take a picture of a rock that was shaped like a camel. 

We also got to visit at Natalie and Chris's house. We pet their dachshunds and my kids were so happy. 

On Friday lunch Andy invited everyone over for a birthday party for Bear. The kids loved celebrating that Pomeranian. They remembered Bear from last time. 

On Friday evening Theo and I made homemade bread bowls and potato soup. Even Amber said she was impressed, and she makes such beautiful things in the kitchen, so that was sweet of her.

She went to WINCO and then made some really yummy treats like pretzels with caramel and chocolate. 

On Saturday was Great Grandma's 97th birthday party. We had brisket from the smoker and hot dogs and hamburgers and BBQed corn with chili powder and parmesan cheese and lots of other great things. 

On Sunday after church with Great Grandma, broadcasted online to her room, we went to visit Steve, Stacy, Clara, and Jonah. We went to their splash pad nearby. My kids really had a good time. They fed us dinner and then the adults played Chameleon with Clara and she was better at it than me. Jonah showed off his garden. 

Then Theo had his very first sleepover (not counting Granddad and Grandma's house) with Jonah. I'm glad they had fun. 

On Monday we went to Tache's high school science classroom and the kids got to do lots of science experiments with him and got lab coats to take home (They are Tache's, not the school's).

After lunch we hiked Bridal Veil Falls. I think Tache said on our first hike that it was his 19th hike that month. So this one would be number 20!

We got to go up close to the falls above, but the kids had the most fun on the way back, playing at a pool at the bottom. It was fun and the water was chilly. 

That night the family went out to eat at Wing Stop. The girls were very tired and I just didn't think they could handle a restaurant with all the sitting still and waiting, so we ate leftovers instead. Just Jay went from our crew.

And then the next day we flew out in the morning. Things went smoothly. A week later our car battery died, so we're thankful that didn't happen in the long term parking lot. Yay for our trip!

We bought headphones for the kids to use on the plane. 

"Miri, how do they feel?"

"Great! Well, kind of itchy. But not as itchy as bug bites, so they're great."

Wendy especially has proved to love home. She really loved the trip, but by day 5 of 6, she felt homesick.

The same day after we got home and unpacked awhile, we were playing Go Fish and out of nowhere she said, "It just feels so good to be home!"

That night at dinner she told me, "Mommy, I wish we had a flying house."

Theo said, "Oh, so we could fly out house to Utah instead of leaving it behind?"

"Yeah," Wendy said. 

Miri added, "But Mommy, when will you get a flying license?"

"So I can fly the house?"

"Yes!" Miri said. 

I like how Theo immediately understood Wendy's intention of having our house with us, and Miri immediately thought about the legal logistics so I could pilot a flying house. 

Bee Sting

On July 18 we were swimming and a bee climbed into Wendy's swim vest and stung her shoulder through her swim suit. Ouch!

She told me something was poking her a lot and so I helped her. 

We had just arrived, the kids and me while Jay was at work. We discussed it and Wendy said she didn't want to go home, even though we didn't have an ice pack and the water was quite warm, bordering on too warm in the 105 degree weather. The sting was red and swelled a little around it. Soon Theo got her jumping into the pool repeatedly and she forgot she was even hurt. 

Pretend Play

I was driving and I heard this conversation behind me as the girls played pretend. 

Wendy's voice sounded impatient, "Oh no! It wants. . . a password, ugh!"

Miri asked, "What's your password?"

Wendy replied, "I don't know."

Miri responded, "Well mine is 2, 4, 6, 5, 5, 5."

Wendy said, sounding happy again, "Mine is 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5."

"That's a lot of 5s!" Miri exclaimed. 

"Yes. It makes my password funny," Wendy started laughing, "5, 5, 5!"

Andy got Jay to help him