A Day in Salt Lake City

So I am still playing catch-up on our trip to Utah. We spent one day sightseeing in Salt Lake. Last time we were there we did Temple Square and the Conference center. So this time we hit the Lion House, the Beehive House, the Joseph Smith Building, and the Church Museum of History and Art.

We started out by going to lunch at the Lion House. We had never eaten there, but the recipe I make for rolls is from the Lion House, so my kids were anxious to try it out. It is cafeteria style home cooking, and the food was great. I had some chocolate cake that was amazing!

After lunch we went next door to tour the Beehive House. This was Brigham Young's home when he was President of the Church and Territorial Governor. It was an interesting house to visit, with lots of cool furniture and artifacts.

I love this cool old cookstove.

We saw this bronze bust of Brigham Young by Avard Fairbanks, who is the father of a man in our ward.

One of my favorite things was the Value Garden out front.

There was a planter for each of the seven young woman values done in the corresponding colors.

Next we ventured over to the Joseph Smith Building. We paused on the way to see some of the beautiful flowers on Temple Square.

I always love going to the Joseph Smith Building. The lobby is so impressive with the amazing stained glass ceiling and chandelier.

But my favorite part is the view of the Salt Lake Temple from the top.

Our last stop was the Church History Museum. There are so many great exhibits on the pioneers, prophets, and the beginnings of Salt Lake City.

The kids favorite part was the children's area where they had fun building a stain glass window for the Nauvoo temple, dressing up and joining a Nativity scene, coloring and building with blocks.

Unfortunately, by the time we got to the children's area, Kate was all worn out and fell asleep. David was happy to rest with her.

Timp Caves

While we were in Utah for Mark's wedding, we decided to hike to Timpanogas Caves. I haven't been since I was a kid, and I was excited to go again and take my kids. My sister Karen and her kids came with us. The weather was pretty iffy and it started out chilly, but as we climbed up, the sun came out and it got a little nicer.


When we got to the top a storm rolled in, and as we looked down in the canyon, we saw a rainbow below us. It was the first time I had ever seen a rainbow from above. I told the kids we had finally made it "Somewhere, over the rainbow."


I hadn't told my kids much about the hike or the caves, and they were surprised at how hard the hike was. They were good sports, but were glad to stop about 3/4 of the way up for a picnic.

Kate had the best seat in the house--she rode the whole way up on David's shoulders. But once we got to the caves, it was all worth it. They had never seen something like this before and it was so neat to see their delight.

The cave tour was longer than I remembered, and there was so much to see. My pictures aren't so great and definitely don't do it justice. I was told that inside the cave is about 45 degrees all year round. However, it was colder outside the cave than inside when we came out. The storm had come, and we hiked down in the freezing cold rain. We were glad we were going down rather than up.

Mark's Wedding

We went to Utah over Memorial Day weekend for my brother Mark's wedding. These are some of their awesome engagement photos they had taken in the Salt Flats. Mark is less than two years younger than me and we've always been close. I'm so excited for him and his new wife Andrea. They seem so happy!

We all got together for a family dinner on Friday night. It was great to hang out with all of my family. This was the first time we had been all together in 5 years. We sat around and laughed and told stories. It was great fun!

Mark and Andrea got married in the Manti temple on Saturday. It was so awesome to be there with all of my family--all of my brothers and sisters, parents, and even some aunts and uncles. I was lucky enough to sit directly across from them during the sealing, and it was wonderful to watch their faces. They looked so radiant and happy! Weddings always make me cry--and this one was no exception. It is a wonderful thing to experience the blessings of love and marriage, and I am so happy for Mark and Andrea and their new life together. I also sat diagonal from David (he was so nice and made sure everyone had a seat before he sat down, so we didn't get to sit together). He sat through the wedding with a big smile on his face. I know he was happy for them too, and it made me grateful to be married to such a wonderful man.

It had been rainy and cold in Utah prior to the wedding, so we were all grateful for the beautiful blue skies for pictures, even if there was a really cold wind. Kate wasn't too happy about posing for pictures since she was freezing. We hadn't planned on such cold weather!

Soccer

Both Rachel and Benjamin are playing soccer this season. Yesterday was Ben's last day. He has improved a lot and loves to play. I didn't have a lot of success with the action shots, so here he is after his game.

This is Rachel's first year of soccer (she played in the fall and now again in Spring). It took a lot of courage for her to join a team of girls that has played together since first grade and had a quite a bit of experience. It was a little bit of a rocky start, but she works hard and really hustles and has improved so much. I am so proud of her for her hard work. It has been fun to see her make friends with these girls and become a part of a team.

She has a great coach who is so good with the girls. They hadn't won a game in a while, so he told them before yesterday's game that if they won they could paint his nails. They managed to pull off a 2-0 win, so he kept his promise.

Goodbye Jake and Becca

David's step-nephew Jake Clawson graduated from medical school yesterday. We are excited for him and his family and their new adventures. But...we are sad they are moving away. We have loved living close to them. We had them and some of their family over yesterday after graduation and had a wonderful time visiting. Goodbye Jake and Becca. We will miss you!

Saturday at Harper's Ferry

We spent Saturday playing along the Potomac River at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. A doctor that David works with has a house there and he invited all the department to come for the day. It was beautiful. The weather was a little cold and wet in the morning, but by early afternoon the sun came out and warmed everything up. We had fun canoeing and kayaking.

David braved it with all the kids.

Just the boys.

Rachel really wanted to try the kayak by herself, but she wasn't really strong enough to row harder than the current, so David and Ben had to go out and save her.

On the way home we quickly drove through the town of Harper's Ferry. We decided we definitely need to go back. It was very picturesque and full of history, and well...there's just something about the name....

Happy Birthday Rachel!

My Sweet Rachel turned 9! Rachel is sweet and kind and a very good big sister. She is very artistic and spends hours drawing and painting. Her favorite pasttime of all is reading and I sometimes have to physically take away her books before she will get her homework and jobs done. Rachel wants to be an author and illustrator when she grows up. This last year she has played soccer and it is fun to see her develop a new talent. We love our Rachel!