Tuesday, August 9, 2011
A Day at the Zoo
Ever been to the St. Louis Zoo? It's big, it's fun, and it's FREE!! Yippee!! Here are a few photo highlights of our afternoon there last week:

Monday, August 8, 2011
Girls' Camp - All Men Have Joy
This was on the back of their t-shirts. Isn't it clever? |
I could have gone for the week. I thought about it and even planned on it. But then a sister in our ward asked if she could go. We already had a very capable camp director who was going. With only 6 girls, we certainly didn't need 3 leaders. I weighed the options - let's see...sweating all week, no makeup, sleeping in a tent (not to mention I snore like a chainsaw so I would have been banished to my own tent far, far away) - and I decided to stay home. However, I did drive up and spend the day with the girls on Wednesday.
I was able to witness Savannah's amazing fire building skills. Technically she and I were a team because there was an odd number of girls, but all I did was help gather the tinder and kindling. She lit the fire (earning herself the title "one match wonder") and kept it going. The object was to burn through the twine. Savannah finished first and then
The Stake camp director rigged up a rope over a ravine for the girls to cross. That was a highlight for Savannah and she handled it well until she started screaming, "Don't look down! Don't look down!" after she looked down to see where she was. You can see her screaming below: (Honestly, she loved this and would have done it again if there had been time.)
I enjoyed my day. I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy to sleep in my own bed that night, but I'm thinking about going for the whole week next year. (Is there such a thing as battery powered A/C?) Except for a bee sting and a bazillion mosquito bites on her feet, Savannah had a great time as well. She made new friends and is looking forward to next year!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Tall Corn
Out here in our little corner of the midwest, there is acre after acre of corn and soybeans. By this time of year, the corn is so tall that you really don't see much else as you drive the country roads. A few years ago, we were driving the back road to church when Savannah made the comment that she thought the corn was almost as tall as her. Jeff assured her that the corn was much taller. Doubtful, she got out of the van and held her hands up to see if it was really taller than her. It was.
This year it's been Sadie asking when she could measure herself against the corn. Today was as good a day as any. It's probably reached it's full height or close to it. Here's the gang, minus Savannah, illustrating how tall it really is. For a frame of reference, Sam (on the far left) is 5'8" and Jeff is just shy of 5'11". That's some tall corn!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Vacation: Goblin Valley Revisited
We have finally come to the end of our vacation! Hooray! The very last day was spent in the van so nothing exciting to report there. But the second to last day, we ventured off the beaten path and stopped at Goblin Valley. Goblin Valley is a state park in Utah and was one of our kids' favorite stops from last year's vacation. They begged to return. Once again they loved climbing up, over and around the cool formations. It was a perfect diversion from sitting in the van all day and a great way to end our trip.
See the arrow? The next 2 pictures were taken from up there. It was a pretty good hike for Jeff and the boys. |
This one looks like a frog. |
The ground, while no longer wet, had some cool effects from the rain the day before. |
Monday, August 1, 2011
Vacation: God's Country, part 2
Boy, we crammed a lot of cool stuff into our vacation this year!! I'm almost finished. I Promise.
Leaving Nevada officially started our long drive home. The first day of driving wasn't bad. Only about 6 hours in the van with a detour along the way to see Zion National Park. Jeff and I visited Zion a couple of months after we were married, but none of the kids had been there. It was worth going a little bit out of our way to see it on such a nice day. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
After a great day at the park, we drove to Jeff's brother's house in Enoch, Utah. We had to pass through the little town of Toquerville, Utah to get there. I've been to Toquerville when I was a little girl and I have fond memories of it. It's a good thing we didn't have time to drive around. Just our quick drive through the main street showed such a cute little place, I was ready to move in. It was another perfect day.
Leaving Nevada officially started our long drive home. The first day of driving wasn't bad. Only about 6 hours in the van with a detour along the way to see Zion National Park. Jeff and I visited Zion a couple of months after we were married, but none of the kids had been there. It was worth going a little bit out of our way to see it on such a nice day. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
It was pitch black inside this very long tunnel. The kids loved it! |
Skipping rocks. |
After a great day at the park, we drove to Jeff's brother's house in Enoch, Utah. We had to pass through the little town of Toquerville, Utah to get there. I've been to Toquerville when I was a little girl and I have fond memories of it. It's a good thing we didn't have time to drive around. Just our quick drive through the main street showed such a cute little place, I was ready to move in. It was another perfect day.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Vacation: God's Country
I'm not sure how I managed to leave this out! A couple of days before we traveled to Nevada, we spent a day at my brother-in-law's family cabin. It's located in a remote little corner of Heber City, Utah and - I'm telling you what - it's a little piece of heaven on earth! So pretty. So peaceful. We spent three days here with the entire Martin Clan last year (read about it here, here, and here) so it was fun to return and spend another relaxing day. I could get used to this!
Thanks, Amy and Levi, for inviting us up to the cabin. It was a perfect day!
The clouds were amazing as we drove through Heber. So pretty! |
Soren and a couple of other brave souls didn't seem to mind the cold water of the pond. Brrr! |
Spencer caught three large trout. He purposely released two of them, but you should have seen the one that got away. (Seriously!) |
Sterling was a maniac in the paddleboat. He cruised all over the pond. He was also master of the canoe! |
My niece, Abby, was quite adventurous herself. She was a natural in the kayak. |
Taylor loved Sam and talked his leg off while they enjoyed the view from the deck. |
Yay! Molly smiled for me! Sadly, she didn't particularly like me. She's probably smiling because of that big chocolate cookie in her hand! :) |
Beautiful! What a great way to spend a day! |
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Vacation: Vegas
According to Savannah, there is something cool about saying you've been to Vegas, so to Vegas we went! There were tons of lights, plenty of glitz and glamor, too many people, and loads of money (or maybe too many people pretending to have money...?) We walked down Fremont Street to see the light show, then we drove the strip, ending our tour with the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel. Plenty of cool things to see - and a few things that made us shield our eyes - but one night was enough for me.
The 'quote of the day' goes to Sadie. On Fremont Street there was a stage on which a scantily clad woman was dancing. Sadie was impressed. "Look at that girl. She has pink hair!" To which I was thinking, Thank you for only noticing the pink hair!
Here are some other things that caught our eyes:
Now I can say, "Been there, done that." :) Thanks for the tour, dad. You were a great host!
The 'quote of the day' goes to Sadie. On Fremont Street there was a stage on which a scantily clad woman was dancing. Sadie was impressed. "Look at that girl. She has pink hair!" To which I was thinking, Thank you for only noticing the pink hair!
Here are some other things that caught our eyes:
Watching the lights on Fremont Street |
Spray Paint Art - cool to watch! This painting only took about 5 minutes. |
The fountain show at the Bellagio didn't disappoint! |
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