More August Fun - Lots More

 An impromptu and very silly slumber party - could I be any luckier?

 I cherish my sleep, especially my Saturday mornings, when I still hope to be able to sleep in.  So when Brandon came in one Saturday morning before 7:00 I was initially ticked off, he knows that he has to stay in his room until we get up.  But then he and Grant entered caring the breakfast tray, milk, cereal, and my cheese grater bowl.  How could I be upset.  I am not sure what prompted their thoughtfulness, but I was pretty cute, cheese grater and all. :)
The following weekend Brandon woke us up bright and early again by singing Nephi's Courage at the top of his lungs in the back yard.  "I WILL GO I WILL DO THE THINGS THE LORD COMMANDS, I KNOW THE LORD PROVIDED A WAY HE WANTS ME TO OBEY"  Over and over again, loudly :)  He loves that song. :)

 Jared bought us tickets to Wicked at the beginning of the year.  When we found out it was coming to SLC we were thrilled, we loved it in NYC and could not wait to see it again.  We anticipated August all year long so that we could see it again and we were not disappointed.  We were especially surprised when the performers playing Glinda and Elphaba were the same that performed it in New York.  They were great!  Love this musical!
The night before Wicked we were able to go to dinner with good friends from Oregon, the Massey's, VanWagner's and the Coleman's.  We went to Sapa's for sushi.  I have never had sushi, particularly "real" sushi, so I was nervous.  I loved it!  Jared and I both loved it.  And it was great, so wonderful, to see friends again.  I miss our frequent get togethers.  Well we loved Sapa's so much that we decided to go back the next night before we went to Wicked, it was great once again.

 One morning when Jared left for work Brandon said that he wanted to play work like his daddy.  So we set up a mini office complete with computer, paper, pencils, tape, calculator, toy phone and more.  The boys had a great time playing work. :)

 I am sorry to admit that I may be responsible for teaching my son this bad habit - classy right. :)

 The last Friday in August we went to the new splash park near my parents house with Chandler, Natalie, Mom and Grandma.  It was sure fun for the boy and for us to be entertained by them.  After the splash park Brandon and I went to our UPSTART orientation meeting.  UPSTART is a computer program developed by the Waterford Institute for children preparing to enter Kindergarten the following year.  The state of Utah affords the program, so if we commit to work on it for at least 15 minutes a day 5 days a week we get to keep the program.  It is such a fun program, Brandon is learning a lot and having fun at the same time, there are a few things that they could improve on, but overall I am loving this opportunity.  Even Grant is able to work on it at his own level, he loves it and he has already learned to recognize a few letters; B, M, G, X and O. :)

 While Brandon and I were having fun beginning this new program, Grant was having even more fun playing in the water in grandmas back yard with Chandler and a few other friends.  Love this fun picture. :)

Hooray for August!!  So many fun memories. :)

$2 Tuesday at Thanksgiving Point Gardens

In August, Thanksgiving Point does a $2 Tuesday promotion for the farm, dinosaur museum and gardens.  Each attraction turns into a mad house because everyone wants to take advantage of the great deal, but the gardens are a bit more spread out so you don't feel like you are too crowded.  I love the gardens!  I am amazed with everything they have been able to create there, I only wish I was closer and could visit much more often, there is never enough time to see everything. 

We went with Jason, Tyler and Sharece as well as Easton and had a great time in the children's gardens, so much fun that we didn't ever make it to the other gardens.

 The lily pond with koi fish, which the boys had a great time feeding.

 Climbing in the web, even Grant made an attempt.

 Then we found the mini river...... and the boys were in heaven.  Rocks, dirt, water and little boards to act like boats, what could be better?

 What happens when a soaked boy finds a large sand pit - he rolls in it of course. :)  I think that is why I have heard and have come to believe that "you are not having fun unless you are getting dirty". :)

 Brandon was so pleased with himself.  Good thing I came prepared with an extra change of clothing. :)

 Grant and Tyler performed some great numbers for Brandon and Jason to dance to, then Brandon and Jason returned the favor for Grant and Tyler, pretty funny.
 Last of all the highlight of the day was playing in the Noah's Ark fountain.  There were so many people that each child wanting to play in the fountain had to have a wrist band and wait for their designated time, then they had 20 minutes to play.  We got there just in time and quickly put them in their suits.  They enjoyed every minute of it. :)

 Brandon pretending to be a crocodile - again. :)

Super fun day!!  Great friends, beautiful gardens and fun things to do. :)

YES! I DID IT! YW 5K to the Temple

When we learned the theme for YW was "Arise and Shine Forth, that thy light may be a standard unto the nations" Doctrine and Covenants 115:5.  We felt that this meant we needed to challenge ourselves, be more than what we already are, Arise to greater heights.  So our YW president planned three challenges to be undertaken throughout the year.  Our first challenge was to read the entire Book of Mormon in one month.  That was an incredible challenge.  So grateful I was able to do, it was such a strength to my testimony.  I love the Book of Mormon.

Well our second challenge was one I really feared - RUN a 5K to the temple.  I don't run, I have always wanted to be a runner, but I was never taught how.  I know - who doesn't know how to run.  Well sure, I know how to run, but I was never taught how to run long distance, how to pace yourself, how to train yourself, etc.  This was finally my chance to learn how to run.  I followed the couch to 5k program - it was great.  You begin by running (jogging) for 60 seconds and walking for 60 seconds for two weeks, then you progress to 90 seconds on and off for two weeks, then three minutes jogging and 90 seconds walking for two weeks, followed by 5 minutes jogging and 2 minutes walking for two weeks.  You get the idea, every two weeks you increase your jogging time and decrease your walking time, then in 2-3 months you are jogging without stopping for 30 minutes or 3 miles.

When I first started out running, that first minute was HARD, running for just one minute - I felt like such a wimp, but I was determined to complete this challenge, I was not going to fail in front of my YW, especially when I was expecting them to be able to do it ( even though several of our girls are on cross country :)).  Each time I progressed to the increased jog time I was thrilled that I could do it.

My first great success was when I went running with three of my YW all of whom are on cross country.  I wanted so badly to stop jogging and just walk, but they would not have it, they very literally had their hands on my back pushing me to the end, they even made me sprint the last few yards.  I was not loving them very much while I was running, but when I finished I was thrilled, I had run one mile without stopping, it was the first time in my life ever that I had done that YEAH!!!!!
A few weeks later I was able to push myself to run for 10 minutes, walk for 5, then run for 24 minutes without stopping.  There I was in the gym, several other people minding their own business, just getting their work out in for the day, wishing that I could just shout out and throw my hands in the air in triumph.  I was so pleased.

About a month later I was able to run the full 5K (3+ miles) without stopping, I still can't believe I could do it.

The day of the run came, I was able to finish the 5K, unfortunately I was unable to run the whole thing, because I was feeling sick, and I had not trained for hills, and there are some huge hill near the Provo Temple.  But I was able to run more than walk, so I was pleased.  I am still working on training for more runs, I want to get better, because now I know I can, I can be a runner!

I am so proud of the girls and their efforts, I am thrilled in a great YW President who issued the challenge, but most of all I am really proud of myself that I could do it.  I did it with a LOT of prayer, I know Heavenly Father helped me every step of the way, and I did it!!  YEAH!  Here's to more runs in my future. :)

Another Zoo Visit

Love that a zoo membership allows us to visit the zoo as often as we do. :) We went to the zoo for the third time in a month, this time with my sisters, mom, cousin and nephew.  We had a great time!

The bird show was probably the highlight for me, I just love this bird show, it never gets old.  I was particularly fun this time because we were on the front row and could see so well.  The before we watched the bird show we spent a long time watching the gorillas.  Gorillas are Lindsey's favorite animal so when they were being super active we had to stay and watch, besides it is not often you get to see gorillas swinging around, pounding their chest, babies teasing the silver back, foraging, and more activities.  I was really fun to watch.

Everyone enjoyed watching the sea lion Big Boy and the polar bear Rizo.  I think Rizo was everyones favorite.  She swims right up to the glass where the children are watching.  While she is swimming under the water coming up to the glass all the children would peek down under the water line.  Then when she came up out of the water all of the children would stand up in unison with her and scream/cheer until she went back into the water. She swims this pattern all the time over and over again and the children screamed and popped up every time with her, it was pretty funny. :)

Brandon was able to feel the pelt of a cheetah, one of his favorite animals, that was pretty cool. :)

We had a great time at the zoo with our family!

Jason's Birthday

Jason wanted one thing for his birthday party, going to the zoo with Brandon.  We were thrilled to be included in the party and best of all to visit the zoo again with good friends.

I could not believe how fun the grizzlies were to watch, unfortunately by the time we got there, the boys were getting weary and it was hot so no one wanted to stick around and watch them with me. :(  But for the few minutes I did see them I was very entertained. :)

Look at all those fun boys. :)

We went to the discovery show (didn't even know the zoo had this show), the boys put on a preshow for us by dancing, so cute!

 Love Grants moves.

After the zoo we went as quickly as we could back to Jason's house for his birthday party with friends.  It was a super fun party, lots of kids and fun games and a super cute cake. :)