July 19-25: New Pets and New Cousins

July 19.  Bryce and I started our Saturday with a trip to the Temple.  We went to Jordan River and it was super busy so it took longer than we anticipated, but it was still worth it.  Bryce ran a few errands with the boys and took them to the dollar store because Kimball insisted on buying a bug catching set he had seen there on another occasion.  Stan got some silly string and was disappointed when it ran out after 20 seconds.  After dinner we went out for ice cream at Arctic Circle.  You can see in these picture Kimball's bug catching set.

July 20.  On Sunday we had dinner at John and Jill's.  They grilled some chicken kabobs that were super delicious.  It was a really good meal.  (Nana and Papa were missed.)

July 21.  Monday was a long work day.  After dinner we went to an open house for one of Bryce's old clients who has finally got a product on the market.

July 22.  On Tuesday, the kids and I headed down to the library for a program on the planets.  We invited our neighbors and had a fun time.  Below you will see the kids "space skating" on paper plates.  Then I spent another long afternoon at work.

July 23.  After two really long days of work, I took it easy on Wednesday.  I worked in the morning and then we met our friends, the Chamorros, at the splash pad.  It was a super hot day, well over 100 degrees.  But Stan still didn't want to get in the water.

Here is a video of me trying to get Abby to say "Ah Oh!" because I think it's cute.  But she was more interested in stealing my phone.

After dinner Bryce and I took the kids to the pet store.  The boys talk about getting a pet ALL THE TIME.  They know we can't have a dog or a cat until we move, but they wanted to go see what other pets are available.  We ended up with a pet cricket and a pet beta fish.

July 24.  To celebrate Pioneer Day we made the annual hike up Ensign Peak.  At the top there was a large group that sang "High On A Mountain Top."  They also shared the story of Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and others who hiked Ensign Peak a few days after they arrived in the valley and the part where they waved Heber's yellow bandana on a stick.  I offered to take a picture of the group so they all could be in it and told them that my husband and kids were descendants of the yellow bandana's owner.  The organizer of the group came to talk to me about our family history and asked which wife we (well, Bryce) come from.  When I told her that we came through Precindia Huntington she squealed that we were related because they come through Zina Huntington who married Brigham Young.  Precindia and Zina were sisters!  I think this means that we are somehow cousins.  I should get one of those cousin calculators to see just how close.

After the hike we took the kids to get some breakfast at Einstein's Bagels and then for Slurpees.  Just for fun we stopped at the park on South Temple and 1300 East.  Because, why not?

We were planning on going to Lagoon for the 24th, but the trip got cancelled for various reasons.  The kids were grumpy all afternoon so we bought a new sprinkler toy at the store and had some neighbors over.  They stayed for dinner too.  We (well, the boys and I.  Bryce stayed with Abby who had gone to bed.) even walked with them down to the elementary school to see some fireworks.  (Note to self, the sprinklers at the school come on at 10pm.)

Abby and Maddie

July 25.  On Friday morning we headed to Nickie Nejat's (Alex's sister) memorial service in Orem.  It was a nice service and I was glad we could be there to offer our support.  We dragged all three kids and they did reasonably well sitting though it.  Afterwards we headed home and I crashed.  I don't know what had made me so tired but I was beat.  Bryce let me nap for a few hours, which was so kind.

After I woke up we packed up all our dirty laundry and headed to Kaysville.  Our washer started leaking on Wednesday, but with the holiday we were unable to get it fixed.  Bryce's parents were kind enough to offer us theirs for the weekend.  The kids were thrilled with a sleepover at Grandma's and Grandpa's.