AUGUST

SO EMBARRASSED

Yep, it's true. I wrecked the truck in a very embarrassing manner, one that I would rather forget. Let's just say it involved me not paying attention, and a large light pole at Walmart. Thank goodness for insurance. All is back to normal now and hopefully one day I can laugh about it.

UP TOWN
Grandma loves to take the kids up to Salt Lake each summer. We usually ride the Trax train up, have lunch, play in the water feature at the Gateway, do something fun, have an icecream and then head for home. Last year we had the adventure with the Trax train accident. This year there was nothing that exciting, but we still had a really good day. We enjoyed lunch, the kids played in the fountain, we went to the Children's Museum, got our treat and headed for home. Fun day- thanks Grandma!

Here are the kids in the Helicopter at the Children's Museum

They love the splash pad!

HIKE #5


The Grotto Trail in Payson Canyon is one of our favorite hikes. We go just about every year with the same 4 families. I love this group shot of all of us. I'm grateful for good friends like these guys!

These three have been friends for a long time.

DINOS AND THE ZOO
We had a great time at the zoo with my friends, Tina and Shana and their families.








The animals were all kind of quiet and lazy, but we did see some really loud, life-sized dinosaurs. Here's T with the T-Rex.
















On the carousel- not sure why, but S really wanted to ride on the penguin.













Yes, they acted like monkeys the whole time!

These two had fun hanging out together.

Z- always trying to be funny.

Our whole group- fun day!

SCOUT STUFF
Our scout leaders are so much fun! T was so excited to get his Bear award this month. Not only did he get to make a bear growling sound from a bucket but he also got to be clawed by the Bear. Very fun! T's favorite things about being in the Bear den have been, day camp (of course) and being the 'denner'. He loves being in charge of things and showing how responsible he is.
T showing off his bear claw marks.

We also experienced our first week long scout camp this month. Z went with the scouts to the Vernal/Flaming Gorge area. We missed him and I worried about him almost the whole time. No need though, he had such a great time! The boys got to tour the Flaming Gorge Dam, swim, hike, river raft the Green River, see some dinosaur tracks, and they even saw a rattle snake. He came home safe and sound and was happy that he had gone.

This month Z also earned a rank advancement to Star and earned some merit badges. He is excited to keep working toward Eagle scout. It is a lot of hard work. I'm proud of him for wanting to do it and for sticking with it even when it's hard.
Z and the other boys at the Court of Honor.

TEMPLE
We decided that we really wanted to take Z to the temple before school started up again. We rounded up some family names (thanks Aunt S.) and made a plan that we would go to the Salt Lake Temple. As we were driving Z asked if we really needed to go all the way to Salt Lake. No- we could go to Oquirrh Mtn, or Draper or Jordan River, we were about to pass all three. He decided on Jordan River, so that's where we went. It was nice to spend time together in the temple. As I thought about it later, I thought how unique of a situation we had. We had set a goal to head to the Salt Lake temple, about 45 minutes from our home. Between our house and Salt Lake we passed 5 other temples: Provo, Mt. Timp, Draper, Jordan River and Oquirrh Mtn. There really isn't any other place in the world where that could have happened. It didn't matter which one he chose, they are all wonderful. The fact that he had so many choices is wonderful. We are blessed to live where we do. We are also very excited for the Payson temple. The ground breaking will be in October and then it won't be long before it will be finished. Can't wait!

GOING BACK
I can't believe that I'm sending a son off to junior high. Z is excited to be going to a new school. I'm trying to be excited with him, but inside I'm a little bit anxious. I guess it's hard to watch him grow up and even harder to let go and give him the opportunity to be more independant. It's going to be a learning experience for both of us.


These two are so excited to be starting school. S is happy to be in first grade. He's looking forward to eating lunch, going to PE and computers, and staying at school all day. T is happy to be in 4th grade. He is excited for the opportunity to be in charge of walking to and from school and of keeping track of his little brother. I'm happy that they are both excited to be back to school.