On the last day of the kids' last track break, we went to Daybreak Lake in South Jordan with some of out friends. I'm not sure if we got pictures of everyone, but for history's sake it was the Prestwiches, Vandenhazels, Percivals, McKees and Hayden Modrcin. What a gorgeous day! It was actually the first official day of Fall. Tim even came over on his lunch break and made the boys' day by bringing them a fishing net to catch the local wildlife.
We just returned from a wonderful trip to Nauvoo, IL, where we met up with my sister Hillary and her family. They live in Pennsylvania, so we met in the middle. To keep our kids entertained for the 20 hours of driving, we took all sorts of books on cd, dvd players, activity packets and music. Their favorite thing to listen to- by far- was the Shrek 2 sound track. Tim & I have David Bowie in our dreams now. Not a pretty sight. I thought I'd share one of their favorite songs for your listening pleasure. Other changes while we were gone: Eliza. Somewhere between Laramie, WY and Sidney, NE she cut a new tooth. She slept right through it, thankfully! When we stopped to see Chalise & family in Omaha, Eliza watched her little girl crawling all over. That was the end of the Army crawl. She saw that getting up on your knees is much more efficient, and now there's no stopping her. Girlfriend also found her voice along the way. She grew up so much while we were gone! A family with four kids was quite a novelty in some of the places we stopped and Eliza was such a flirt. At the Cabela's headquarters in Sidney, she was so charming that she earned us all free hats. She had the workers flocking to her with her darling smile. She smiles so big that her cheeks might pop! On our return trip we stopped there again & I had workers coming up to me and talking to us, saying that they remembered her coming before. This time she wow-ed them with another new trick she learned along the way. Waving. She waves her cute little pudgy arm along with the so-big-it-might-pop smile & they were putty in her hands. Who can blame them?
Last Saturday we ventured to Ephraim to enjoy a rainy Scandinavian Days Festival. We started with the parade down Main Street with the Abbeys. This is my kids' idea of a parade! They love that nearly every entry throws candy or Otter Pops to the crowd. Every kid- and a few adults, too- has a bag full of treats by the end.
The princesses are on floats pulled by pick-up trucks, except for the princesses who are just in the back of trucks. There are ample 4-wheelers, rescue vehicles, dance groups, and other small town delights. I don't mean this in a negative way. There is something refreshingly simple about the whole town (or county) coming together at these parades.
This is the first of many in Sanpete County this summer. Many of the entries will be in all the parades and we love it that way. One of my favorites was the four full-time LDS missionaries on their bikes riding as an entry. The announcer introduced each one and told where they were from. They were welcomed with more applause than any other entry!
Next we walked up College Ave to see the booths and ride the carnival rides (and found Lacie and her kids!!). The girls each rode the swing ride twice. It was getting pricey, so I herded them out to look at the crafts and other things to buy. Each girl had a baggie of coins totalling $2 to spend as they chose. Magic wands and fairy crowns were the items of choice.
We also stopped to enjoy the live music and story tellers around campus. There were so many talented people performing! I can't believe this was only the second time we had gone to the festival. We have been in the area over Memorial Day weekend for past 8 years and never went until last year. If you have a chance to go, it is great fun!
Here are two tired, dirty little monkeys getting cleaned up in Grandma Lou's tub after all the fun.
Here are two tired, dirty little monkeys getting cleaned up in Grandma Lou's tub after all the fun.
