Temple Square

Our kids love going to Temple Square in Salt Lake City. They love the fountains, flowers, and the chance to see the temple up close. Either way, we decided to join a couple of Shawn's friends on a Sunday stroll in downtown. The kids were so excited...and even more so when they saw the "giant" model of the temple in the Visitor's Center. It had sides cutaway so visitors could see what the interior of the temple looks like.

The model was so exact! Down to light fixtures, chairs and paintings. Wow! I was impressed and you could tell so were a lot of other people (there were a lot of forehead smudges on the glass from people trying to get a closer look at the detail!). It was so amazing! This is a definite must-see if you're visiting Salt Lake!

Anyway, the kids came, saw, and moved on faster than the adults. But we enjoyed getting some pictures at some of the fountains. It was so much fun.

After Temple Square, we decided to visit the Conference Center (where the Prophet speaks to the Church). The kids weren't as impressed by the enormous size...they were too busy putting their hands over their ears because someone was practicing the organ. I forget how much of a dampening effect 20,000 people can have on an organ with so many pipes. Ah well. It was fun trying to entertain the kids...especially Jack. He had fun chasing Mom around one of the three feet pillars in the center. Kept him entertained and made me smile. Unfortunately, the video we got of the experience didn't make it. So goes life.

Here's a link to the local paper's pictures of the temple model. Enjoy!

ksl.com - LDS Church shows inside view of Salt Lake Temple through new exhibit (Gallery Viewer)

Kelsey's Fourth Birthday

I can hardly believe it's been four years since Kelsey joined our family on Father's Day! Time has really gone by...some days faster than others but we have loved having Kelsey as a part of our family! What a cute princess she is!

Speaking of "princess," she was so happy to get so much princess stuff! She loves her Ballerina Barbie (thank you, Grams, for getting one without removable accessories! That is a literal lifesaver with an infant chewing on everything!), her chalk, bubbles, and all the wonderful art stuff. She has learned how to trace some of the princesses from her big coloring book so she now has double the pictures to color!

We had a great time with family and friends, and even the weather cooperated so we could splash in the pool. We are truly blessed. Thank you all for your love and support! Enjoy the pictures!

She was pretty much all smiles all night. Thank you all for making our Kelsey so happy!

Looking Back...

I just found some pictures that I should have put up awhile ago from the kids' preschool graduations. I've been slacking on the blog, and I'll try to make up for that with at least a post a week this summer. Let's see how it goes!

Kelsey graduated from the three year old preschool class a day before John graduated from his four year old preschool class. I got to see her class program and she did a great job singing the songs with her other classmates. She sang so pretty and all of the words too! Usually, Kelsey doesn't like getting up in front of people and performing (even if she's with a group of other kids), but she made me proud by getting up at the front of the room and singing. Wow!

She also loved the last day activities of fishing for a bag of goodies and then going outside to play. She misses going to school, but I'm sure she'll have a great time in two years when she can finally go to kindergarten.

John had a great time on his last day of class. We made it there for the last two minutes of his program, but he didn't want anything to do with standing in front of a classroom of parents to sing songs. So, I guess it's okay we missed the program. He had fun running around the "carnival" that the teachers set up for everyone. But he had the most fun eating lunch outside on the playground.

John loved his teachers and was especially sad to say good-bye to Miss Melissa. He got to see her one week later at her wedding (congrats!) and said he was so happy he almost cried. Sweet! But he's very excited to move on to kindergarten and ride the big school bus in the fall! Oh how the time is flying!

"Cantelope" Island

We decided to have a little family adventure yesterday but we didn't want to go too far. Shawn and I are slowly discovering some of the natural beauties of Utah. We found one on Antelope Island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. We saw more bison and their calves than we did Pronghorn Antelope, but that's alright. We were lucky that we got to drive by and see so many. Shawn said the lady at the visitor center told him the herd is usually on a different side of the island...the side you have to hike to (no cars) in order to see them. Lucky us!

It was also reported to have really bad bugs (no see-um biting gnats) yesterday. The blowing wind kept most of the bugs away and kept temperatures moderate. It was sunny enough to need sunblock every two hours but cool enough to enjoy a "dip" in the salty water. (Actually, we skipped some really good rocks out there!)

The kids enjoyed seeing the animals but loved looking for brine shrimp in the lake. It was a great day to get away from civilization and return to nature. And John kept looking for "Cantelope" the entire time we were there...that and the...

"Um...what are those things called?"(john)
"Bison. They're called bison, John." (mom or dad)
"Yeah, the bison."

Fun day!

T-Ball continued

John has been having a great time with T-ball this year, and the fun continues. This past Saturday we had the opportunity to attend a baseball clinic sponsored by the Salt Lake Bees baseball team.

John had a blast playing with the players, fielding ground balls, and hitting off the tee in the team's batting cage. Plus he got a pretty cool Anaheim Angels binder to take home.

Princess Tea Party

What a smile, Bekah! The girls and I had a simple "tea" party at the local grocery store right after John's tball game. They dressed up before we left for the game in their various princess attire and kept asking me when it was time to go to the party. All of the little girls at the game noticed the "Princesses" and how beautiful they looked. Awwwww...

But the girls had lots of fun with their pink lemonade "tea" and their dainty little peanut butter sandwiches. I think Bekah liked her pink cupcake the best. I gave Daddy my chocolate covered strawberry just before he took our pictures. It was a good idea and made the girls feel pretty special.

Aren't they just cute little princesses? Bekah only complained once that the table was too tall for her, but that's not bad for manners. Right?

The First T-Ball Game of the Year

So, we signed up John for T-Ball this year and he has loved it! He has been confused about the difference between practices and the games, but he loves the game. Every time it is sunny outside, he has been bugging Daddy about going outside to play catch, or go to the store to buy a bat so he can practice hitting the ball. It's too bad we don't have our own backyard where he could hit a practice tee. That will come.

The first game was an adventure for us all. The girls were pretty much bored until I told them they could go play on the playground in the school yard next door. They were much happier sliding down the slides and playing on the bouncy butterfly.

John did very well hitting the ball. In his game, they only get two times to bat and he hit the ball into the outfield every time. He even ran to first base without chasing the ball he just hit. It was kinda fun seeing the batters chase and catch the ball they just hit off the tee. Don't they know they get themselves out that way? Oh wait, they're only five and probably don't realize this is a game with other people in it. :-)

But we had fun watching the kids learn and have fun. Who cares about winning when the kids all think they're winners, even if they got out and didn't get to run around the bases? Too bad they can't always have this kind of fun.