Rain, Rain Come and Stay

Living in AZ, it's a special occasion when we see rain. Isabel grabbed her little sister to show her the magic of water falling from the sky. I love babies and rain. My boys never saw rain until they were about 18 months. We were having a drought that year. They were so amazed by it that we went for a drive so they could see more. We love the rain!

Utah Travels -Part 6

We had so much fun in Park City that we are thinking of making it an annual vacation.  Really, thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for letting us crash your party.  

It wouldn't be complete without a stop at the creamery and some more BYU.

We even had a little picnic in front of the art museum.

My kids say I tricked them, but I promise it just worked out.  We needed a bathroom and there was one in the art museum that I wanted to go in anyway.  Once we were there I sent everyone on a treasure hunt for the Norman Rockwell.  They found it!  I was surprised.  I never would have picked this one out as one of his but it is.

We stayed an extra day at Uncle Bill's.  I think my kids would have liked staying there for another week!  They were having a ton of fun with cousins and nerf guns.  Then we were back on the road.  One last quick picture as we jumped on the freeway in Spanish Fork.  I love Utah!

Utah Travels - Part 5

Just some more family reunion, East Canyon pics

Do you think the pioneers let their babies play on the long green grass and dirt like Stella did?

Stella's Monthly Pics

I realized 6 months never got posted so here's her 6 and 7 monthers.

Utah Travels - Part 4

Our Pioneer Heritage

As part of the family reunion we got to travel to where the pioneers came in to the Salt Lake Valley.  We have ancestors on both sides that came with those faithful pioneers.  One of them was Hosea Cushing, my great grandmother's grandfather.  That makes him my great, great, great grandfather.

As the pioneers approached Zion they crossed over Little, Big Mountain and Mormon Flatts where they took the wheels off to slide their wagons down the mountain because it was too steep to roll down. Hosea drove the wagon for Heber C. Kimball.  He was young and strong as he worked that wagon on the trail.  Later, he would go back through this area to bring his wife back to Utah.  She stayed behind in Winter Quarters.

We met up with the family in Emmigration Canyon.  My kids had a hard time climbing up this little slope that the pioneers crossed over.  Walking where the pioneers walked gave us new appreciation for what our ancestors endured for us, their future family.

We were there about the same time of year as the pioneers when they first arrived.  I can imagine the young pioneer girls picking sunflowers and other wild flowers as they moved through the brush and the long green grass of the Utah mountains.  The sun beating down on their exposed skin as sweat dropped from their bonnets.

Soon they came through the canyon to the place where Brigham Young proclaimed, "this is the place!"

Now there's a monument and a pioneer village.  We saw this cute family all dressed in period clothes.  I love the little girl in her dress and boots.  

Right here on this plaque is the name of Hosea Cushing, one of the first pioneers to come to Utah.

We then continued on to Liberty Park for a picnic and some play time along our journey.

Beautiful!  Isn't it?  No matter what angle or what side you photograph this temple always looks stunning.  I love the Manti temple because that's where we were married but I think my second favorite temple is the Salt Lake one.  I love the architecture and the symbolism of it.

Just up the street from the temple is a small burial plot where prophets and other important people in the church have been buried.  It is also the resting spot of Great Grandpa Cushing.  He was adopted by Heber C. Kimball and buried along side the rest of the Kimball family.

I don't know if my kids got much out of our family field trip but I'm writing it down so that someday when it is important to them they can come back and read it and remember that they have walked where our pioneer ancestors have walked.

Utah Travels - Part 3

The Davis Family Reunion was fabulous as always.  The drive from Park City to East Canyon was scenic both in the day and at night.  We probably saw about 30 deer on one of our trips to the campsite.  I've never seen that many deer in my life all combined.  The kids were almost as excited for the drive as they were for the reunion.

Playing with second and even third cousins was an adventure.  They found this fort in the woods and spent the days there pretending about castles, dungeons and kingdoms.

School 2013-2014

Why are the summers getting shorter?  I love the lazy days of summer, sleeping in, hanging out with my kids, and enjoying our time together without me having to play drill sergeant.  I'm sure they picked up on my devastation with them going back to school too early in the year because they weren't all that excited either.  Next year I will try to have a better attitude.  But I miss them and I want to raise them not have a school do it for me.

This is the only year they will all be in the same school together all day.  Isabel was in half day kindergarten last year so she didn't get to go with them in the mornings.  But now they will all leave and come home together.  That is kind of fun.  On to the obligatory first day of school pics.

Alexandria, 6th grade

AJ, 3rd grade

DJ, 3rd grade

Isabel, 1st grade and having a rough morning trying to get ready on time.  

Waiting at the bus stop

Good bye my littles!  I already miss you!!

At least I have this pretty baby to keep me company.

Utah Travels - Part 2

Day two - Alpine Coaster

I love my new iPhone.  In fact I use it so much that I hardly use my nice camera anymore.  While I get more spontaneous pics this way I lose a lot of what I normally blog about and have a hard time writing posts from my phone.  I get to make my blog book this month though so I need to get up to date.

We lucked out in Park City.  My kids wanted to do one of the rides so we bought alpine slide tickets but because it rained they closed it down.  Fortunately we got to ride the coaster instead.  At $20 a ticket there's no way I would have paid that for a ride but since the slide was closed they let us ride the coaster.

Alexandria hated it.  She has something against coasters.  But the rest of us loved it!

I know Grandpa's pic is blurry but it's too funny not to post.