Hiking Bald Mountain

Last Monday we took Jared to the doctor.  He wanted to go in the morning so I scheduled an appointment, but by the time we were there he didn't want to be there.  I thought he was getting better, but it is a good thing we went.  Jared's lips had swollen up and were huge on the Saturday before.  By Sunday they had gone back down and just looked dry and chapped.  By Monday they were starting to look a little funny.  At the doctor they tested for strep throat, but that was negative.  He had little white bumps in the back of his throat and these crazy lips.  The diagnosed what he had as impetigo...an strep or staph infection on the lips.  He has been talking some medicine all week...and his lips are looking a lot better!!!!

Here are our plants...We got our first little cherry tomato last week and there are several other that will be ready soon.

Tomato and pumpkin

Zinnias and carrots

various flowers

hanging baskets...

Jared really wanted me to add this picture...It's pretty gross!  Alan calls them zombie lips.

Last Tuesday we went to the library for the craft and storytime.  They made cute little jars to look like fire flies...or just bugs...were in the jar.  Then we took Connor for his 4 month shots.  We were only there for 30 min....That is a miracle.  I think we had perfect timing...we were getting there right after their lunch break.  We hadn't been home too long when Jeff called and asked if we wanted to go to Veteran's Memorial Pool with them and part of Elizabeth's family (Sister Smith, Spencer, Stephanie, and Jessica) that was here visiting.  We all went and had a super fun time.  Thanks to Sister Smith for sitting with Connor for a few minutes.  They both got in after a little while.  It was a little cooler of a day, so it wasn't too crowded. 

Wednesday we went to ready to learn.  Then in the afternoon we went on a walk with some friends to the 'great valley'.  This time we went past where we went before and then just around Wymount...checking out the apricots and noticing they put some new sprinklers in by the grapes.

Thursday Brad and Lauren went to play at a friend's house for a little bit.  Then we went to the library again.  I had a book that had come in on hold, so I figured we might as well go to story time again....This time we sat under the tent and we could see better.  In the afternoon we just played outside.  That evening was the bell tower concert.  We took macaroni salad and had a picnic dinner.  We saw Jeff and Elizabeth and the Smiths there.  Some of my favorite pieces they played were the Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, Beauty and the Beast, Somewhere Out There, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, and When You Wish Upon A Star.  They also played some hymns and classical pieces.  We walked through the Bean Museum (mostly for the bathrooms) for just a few minutes on the way home.

Friday we didn't have any plans, but it turned into a super fun day.  We walked down to campus with some friends and visited their dad at work (also a PhD student, but electrical engineering) then we had a little snack.  We were headed over to visit Alan then, but stopped to run through some sprinklers...It was a super hot day and they felt really nice.  Then we said hi to Alan and even got to help him test some of the tracking stuff for the robot that he is working on right now.  Then we walked up to the Bean Museum again. (We have to get our visits in...just 1 more week until it closes for renovations.)  We didn't get home until a little after 5.  It was a super fun afternoon just going down to campus.  We barbecued that night and tried to get to bed kind of early.

Saturday our ward (4 families...including us...plus the Bishop) went on a hike to Bald Mountain.  It is about 30 minutes away from Kamas in the Uinta Mountains.  It was a fun hike.  There were several things that could have been better, but it all worked out.  Jared left his shoes outside the night before (first time all Summer) and they got soaked by the sprinklers.  He waited to put them on until we got there, but they were still wet.  Lauren ate a nice big oatmeal breakfast, then stuffed herself with a few more grapes the Bishop had brought.  She got car sick on the windy mountain road and threw up 3 times. (She was super cheerful about it though)  I put sunscreen on, but then took off my coat...and forgot to do my arms...Alan did similarly.  It was really gusty strong wind and Connor didn't really like that.  But we hiked to the top of the mountain!!!  It was 4 miles round trip, Jared and Lauren hiked the whole way by themselves (and Jared even went with Alan up a steeper part right at the end)  Brad hiked 1/2 to 3/4 of the way on his own with the occasional shoulder ride from Alan.  Connor got to ride in the front carrier that I wore.  It took us almost 2 hours to get to the top.  Then we spent about 30 minutes there.  We had planned to eat lunch at the top, but it was too windy.  So we ended up hiking back down for about 40 min to a spot where the wind was a little calmer to eat.  Then it was about another 40 min from there to the bottom.  On the way down the boys were a little faster than Lauren and I.  But that's because Lauren was giving me a hip shaking air guitar concert every 5 to 10 feet.  (She was rocking to go with the rocky terrain)  We also had a good discussion about nature and the creation and how Jesus is the Light of the World on the way down.  It was a super fun, exhausting hike!!!  We stopped at Winco on the way home and on the way there we saw a super cool old race car...it looked just like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  The rest of the night we just relaxed...well actually they went out and played on the playground and had so much energy you never would have guessed they had gone hiking earlier.  We did watch part of Gus right before bed.

We had to cross a little snowy patch...you can see how windy it is in all the pictures...Our hair is flying.

This is about half way up

Jared at the top

Lauren at the top

Connor and me looking off the other side at the top...looking west (you can see Mt. Timpanogos  if you know where to look)

Jared after they went up another 50 feet...check out his hair!

We made it back to the bottom...

We only got this super up close shot of the mountain...

Today was a good day.  Classes at church went well.  We went for a little walk after church.  I don't think it ever got as hot as they were saying it would...but that is just fine...it was plenty warm.  Today Brad was eating a Kit Kat and excitedly ran up to me and said I'm having a kitty Kat.  I'm having a Kitty Kat.  Bradley has also been singing (with actions) Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose (but he sings shoe) nonstop ever since the library this week.

Alan dressed Connor up for some silly pictures this afternoon

Connor was tired, but this is how he really felt about the whole thing.

Lauren's crazy hair outside today.

Being silly right before bed.

We are looking forward to another fun and Wonderful Orange-Pineapple Summer week!!!

Happy Father's Day

This last week we definitely ate pineapple...our winco had them on sale for 98 cents each I think...so we got 2 pineapples two weeks in a row...but we didn't have any oranges.  This is probably where our problems started.  Jared didn't feel well most of the week....and I didn't for part too.  Monday Bradley and Connor both went to the doctor for well child checks.  They are both doing well.  Connor is right at the 50th percentile for height (25 inches) and closer to the 25th for weight (14lbs 3oz).  Brad is between the 10th and 25th for height (35 inches) and a little under the 50th for weight (30lbs).  I had Lauren and Jared weighed too since they were there.  Lauren was 38lbs and Jared was 45lbs.  Jared didn't eat much all week so I'm curious what he weighs now.  While we were there Lauren showed the doctor a little bump on her hand that I thought was a wart...He said it might be a wart but it could be something else that is pretty contagious...He checked the rest of her body for little bumps, but she only had the one.  He froze it off for her while we were there.

That afternoon we played outside for a while.  Probably close to 4:30 a water main broke by our laundry.  We went to to see where it had broken and water was bubbling up out of the side of the sidewalk and in spots where they had patched the asphalt.  Water was also making the grass balloon up in a spot.  You could walk on it and it felt kind of like walking on a water bed...some kids were even jumping on it.  Our water was shut off for a couple of hours that night, but they left it on mostly while they fixed it.

 Hard to see the grass bubbling up in the picture...

After the grass had split and the water started coming up...

Watching them get ready for the crew who would fix the break

Tuesday we went to the library.  They got to make fun little pizzas with yarn cheese and a few pompom sausages.  We tried to give another car a jump start when leaving but their car wouldn't take the start.  I didn't know how to pop the hood open, so I tried calling Alan...he wasn't in the lab right then, but one of his lab mates googled it for me and we were able to figure it out.   Jared was felling pretty yucky by the afternoon and just laid around.

Just playing...

Wednesday Jared and I both felt bad...mine was just starting.  We played outside a lot of the afternoon so Jared could have it nice and quiet to rest.

Thursday I was pretty wiped out.  Jared was starting to feel a little better.  Connor didn't sleep well the night before so that didn't help (one of the few times he hasn't ).  We did venture out to walmart to get some tulle and ribbon so I could make a tutu for a little girl's birthday...I don't know what I was thinking...I sewed the tutu that night.  In the afternoon we did more of what we had done on Wednesday.

A simple 'stuffed' tutu with flowers inside...

By Friday we were both feeling better, but I was losing my voice.  Lauren and Bradley went to a birthday party in the morning.  Jared wanted something fun to do while they were gone.  My sewing machine was still set up and he had an idea of something to sew...it is for Laurens birthday so it is top secret...but it turned out super cute!!!!  Friday afternoon we walked down to the museum of art.  They were having a family art festival as part of their Beauty and Belief exhibit.  They had people throughout the exhibit telling more about it, a guy writing names in Arabic, some people playing music and dancers, a couple of crafts, and a storyteller.  It was all pretty fun.  We saw Jeff and Elizabeth's mom and sisters, Stephanie and Jessica, who are here visiting right now, at the museum too.  Alan worked on some robots in the evening.

Some of the fun things Brad got at the party

Yesterday I really had no voice.  We spent all day just hanging out around here trying to get better.  In the morning Jared did more sewing...again an idea of his own.  He made blankets for some of their stuffed animals out of a piece of felt and some ribbon.   Alan made a trip to winco in the evening.

Everyone with their animals and new blankets

Today has been a nice Father's Day.  There weren't too many people at church, but it seemed like all the kids were there.  We played mystery dad for singing time (I asked 6 dads to come in, I had 7 songs ready to sing, and had 8 dads end up coming in...it went about 5 minutes over time)...and like someone commented they weren't sure if the kids or dads had more fun.  Alan got to take a long nap today after church and just have fun.  It was a good day.

Here's what our mystery dads wore...(Alan wanted a turn since he didn't get one in primary...I thought the kids would notice if he left.)

Everyone else wanted a turn too....

Jared

 Lauren

Bradley

We will be eating more pineapple this week but not oranges...hopefully though it turns out better than last week.  Have a Wonderful orange-pineapple week!!!!!

Springvile Art City Days

The week started slow and we were able to enjoy the lazy days of Summer. Monday morning they came and cleaned our carpets... At the same time they were doing stuff to update the Internet (drilling holes, putting in pipes...) in our apartments and stairwells.  We decided to get out while the carpets dried.  We gave a stroller that someone left for us a test drive down to campus.  The stroller rolls really nice, but the tires were worn through.  We had a tube pop on our walk...but we managed to make it home....We came home by way of the Bean Museum.   We are trying to visit several times this month...it closes for renovations at the end of the month and won't open again until after we leave Provo.  We spent lots of time playing outside too.

Tuesday we went to the library.  For the summer programs there they do a craft Tuesday and Thursday mornings and then a story time outside at noon.  Tuesday we were able to make foam owls and story time's theme was camping.  Jared is having fun reading the Amelia Bedelia books right now.  We also caught glimpses of the transit of Venus through the clouds.

Wednesday we spent all day doing fun things around our house (talking to Ashley for a long time :) and outside.

Thursday was more of the same...In the evening we went down to Springville.  As part of their art city days celebration they had a cake decorating contest.  It was fun to go see the finished cakes.  I even won a king size muffin pan...I had to decorate a little piece of cake with a Star tip as fast as I could....I did it holding Connor.  Alan and Jared had gone out to the car for a few minutes because Jared didn't feel well. He has had a cough all week.

Here are all the cakes that were entered into the contest...

Advanced 1st place

Advanced 2nd place

 Advanced 3rd place

Advanced 4th place

Intermediate 1st place

Intermediate 2nd place

Intermediate 3rd place

Beginning 1st place 

Beginning 2nd place

Friday we went back down to part of the art city days celebration.   They have a kids craft day at the art museum.  There were probably 15 maybe 20 different crafts that kids could make.  It was pretty fun.  When it was over we had a picnic lunch on the grass by the museum.   Then we walked through the quilt show and voted for our favorites.  It was a super fun day.  Alan had to stay home and work on the robots some more, move some stuff so guys could change the furnace filter, and go to work.  Alan barbecued some chicken for dinner and we had it with cilantro lime rice.  Alan also got the stroller all fixed up with new tires and tubes...He even washed all the fabric one night earlier in the week.  It is almost like new.

Connor before we left

Brad loved this craft....His whole 'sun catcher' was covered with paint before he was done.

Jared flying his kite

Lauren and Jared working away

Their creations all have moving parts

lunch time...

Saturday morning we went down and watched part of the parade in Springville.  Then we headed over to Alan's advisor's house for a brunch type lab party...He also lives in Springville.  It is was fun and yummy food.  Alan, Jared, and Lauren washed the car.  Then we all went to winco.  When we got home we had a quick dinner and then we went out and made ice cream for our ward party.  It was an ice cream taste testing party and volleyball...but it just turned into Frisbee...it was super windy and I don't think the net would have stayed up.  The morning started really nice but a cold front moved in throughout the day and it was super gusty and the temperature dropped 20 degrees.  It was still a fun party and homemade ice cream got the most votes, followed by creamery ice cream, followed by the deluxe winco cheap brand in the 5 quart tub.  We were all glad to come in and get warm....Jared and Brad were both asking to go to bed.

Today was a nice relaxing day.  Church went well...Alan only had 7 in his class today...yea for vacations.  After church everyone took a nap but me.  Jared and Lauren slept the longest...and probably most needed it.  When they got up we went for a walk.  We happened to be leaving at the same time as our neighbors...they were going to the 'great valley' and said they would show us where it was.  It was in the north part of Wymount in a part we had never ventured into before...We can show you when you come to visit...

Just playing...

Here are a few fun things that Brad has said recently...sitting by me on the couch..."lolly lolly lolly pop."  I asked him what it was from and he said "my head"  then a few days later he had a scrape on his chin.  I asked him where he got his scrape and he said "on my face"  They both made me laugh...he is at a fun age...and maybe Jared has been reading him too much Amelia Bedelia.

View from the top of the bell tower stairs...they are putting in a ramp

Also we no longer ding ding slugbugs...now we ding ding motorcycles and scooters...it just doesn't have the same ring...I miss the ding ding for the slugbug.

Have a wonderful orange-pineapple week...we will!!! :)