At the Farm

My dad has a friend who lives on a farm out in Willard so we got to take the boys to see all of the cool things there. We saw bullfrogs, polliwogs, fish, bulls, rabbits, cats, dogs, tractors and LOTS of mosquitoes. The kids were in heaven! I couldn't believe that this cat was letting the boys maul the poor thing to death. I just kept telling it to run away and hide but it didn't listen to me. I've never seen a cat put up with this kind of thing. It was crazy! Needless to say, they had a blast - the kids that is, not the cat!

Visit to the BYU campus

Okay, I know it is taking me forever to post all of my pictures from our trip to Utah but I had like 400 pics to sort through so it's taking some time. While we were there we went to visit the BYU campus. Jim wanted to see one of his professors so while he was talking to him we went to the Bean museum and the art museum. We got to see the Walter Wick exhibit at the art museum. (He's the one who does the "I Spy" and "Can you see what I see" books.) And at the art museum I got to say "hands off" like a hundred times. But it was still fun.


After the museums, we met up with Jim and the kids wanted to see the fountain in front of the administration building. Well, Ben got a little too close and fell right in. This is him afterward. . . "Yep! I did that on purpose!" He didn't really say that, but that's kind of what it looks like in the picture. It was hilarious. He thought so too, once he got over the shock of falling in.


So after that we were just walking around campus and we say another fountain. This time, there were kids playing in it so ourboys just got right it. We figured it was no big deal since Ben was already wet. Afterward, we went to the creamery for ice cream. Then we decided that ice cream maybe wasn't such a good idea when Ben's lips were turning blue and his teeth were chattering. So we decided that maybe it was time to go home. He fell asleep in the car on the way back to Jim's parents. He was pretty worn out after such a big day!

Hike to Battle Creek Falls

We got to see some great mountain scenery in Utah. This particular hike is only about 5 minutes from Jim's parent's house and it was a perfect distance for the boys. At the end was a pretty cool waterfall that was pretty fun to watch. Gotta love the mountains. I think living in the city is helping me appreciate them much more:)

Luke just needed a little break and some shade. The perfect hide out for a 2 year old.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

We had the opportunity to take the kids to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. I was a little nervous about how the whole experience would be with the boys (especially Luke) but it turned out really good. It was a great learning experience for Jimmy and Ben. They really learned a lot about temples. Jimmy wants to go back and get married in the sealing room and Ben keeps talking about how he is going to go back there and get baptized with the oxen when he is 12. It was a beautiful temple and a great experience for our family and I really hope the boys remember it.

Camping at Granite Flats

We went camping at Granite Flats while we were in Utah. It was so much fun to be in the outdoors. The kids had a blast and got soooo dirty. They loved it! There was a stream right by one of our campgrounds (unfortunately, it was by Craig and Sandy's campground) and it was really pretty. We tried to make it 3 nights but we only ended up staying 2 nights. The night before we went home I got burned on my neck. A charcoal piece from out campfire popped up and just happened to land right on the back of my neck. It gave me a pretty good 2nd degree burn, but luckily it healed up pretty fast. Although, it made for an uncomfortable night sleep in the tent.

There was a little bridge by our campsite and the boys had so much fun playing 3 Billy Goats Gruff. They loved taking turns being the mean troll under the bridge.

Ben played hard and was pretty much worn out by 8 o'clock every night. He was always the last one up at the campsite.

4th of July in Utah

We just returned to LA from a 2 1/2 week vacation in Utah. After living in this area it was such a breath of fresh air to be by the mountains and with family. Not to mention the freedom of driving around without having to look at a single offensive billboard. On the drive back, once we hit Vegas we knew we were coming back to the city. Jim took his last qualifying exam on July 2nd and we took off the next day in time to get there for the 4th of July. We had a fun time watching the fireworks. Unfortunately Ben didn't go with us because he was terrified of the loud booms that they made. So he stayed home with Grandpa that night. But the rest of us enjoyed the fireworks.

Luke did a couple of sparklers but after almost putting out his own eye as well as everyone else and coming really close to burning the blanket we decided it was time to be done. But just look at that cute face! Isn't he adorable! Even with slobbery, gooey, blue taffy all over his chin :)

End of the school year

Jimmy's last day of school was last Friday. He has had such a great year and has learned so much. I can't believe the way he has matured this last year. They ended school with a dance festival which involved the whole school. It was really fun to watch. The kindergarten did a dance called "Obama Hustle." They did a great job! Congratulations on a great year Jimmy! We are so proud of you!

This is Jimmy with his teacher Mrs. Brown. She is really an amazing teacher. She is getting ready to retire so next year will be her last year. I am really disappointed that Ben and Luke won't have the privilege of having her as a teacher. She is a fabulous teacher who sincerely cares about her job and, more importantly, cares about the kids she teaches. She has a way of truly bring out the best in each child. She certainly did in Jimmy and he LOVES to learn thanks to her! He is so cute. I told him that he should keep learning during the summer so each day during Luke's nap time we have been doing "summer school." We just read and do art projects and stuff like that but it's a lot of fun for us. I really hope that he will keep that love of learning with him throughout the rest of his life. Good teachers have a way of bringing that out in the kids they teach. Thanks Mrs. Brown for doing an amazing job!