Finding Religion

No trip to Utah is complete without exposing the kids to their heritage via a trip to temple square. Cole expressed his opinion of the 95° temperatures.

I think we all learned something from this wonderful cutaway model of the temple.

I can't express how much we all wanted to jump into all of the various fountains.

Our forever family, happily melting in front of the temple.

What does a two year old see in this picture? She stood there for several minutes, alternately playing with the rope and looking at the tragic scene in the painting.

Then we headed up to the roof where umbrellas saved the day.

No eyes were poked out in the taking of this photo.

At the church history museum the boys found friendly lions to ride.

Bryn was transfixed by this quilting display which Uncle Dallan patiently helped her with for much longer than I would have wanted to.

Reunioning

After a family reunion at a park in Salt Lake City, of which this was the most exciting picture we took ...

we headed up the canyon for 20° cooler temperatures and a ride on the ski lift.

It was here on the chair lift that my sunburn kicked into gear.

Visible behind us are four nieces, one nephew and a sister.

Our goal, of course, was the Alpine slide. Cole rode with my brother Brian, who is Tony Stark in his spare time.

Grant got to ride with me. I'm just me in my spare time.

Bryn rode with our lovely photographer.

And we're off!

Down the home stretch come my sisters, Kay ...

and Laura ...

and my brother Dallan.

A special thanks to Utah for reminding us why we don't miss 100° weather.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

Our first day in Utah. Handing out pop-its to poppets, my brother looks like a mother bird, surrounded by her ravenous brood.

And like baby birds, pop-it seeking children are insatiable.

Later we headed down to a school parking lot for some more incendiary fun. Note Grant's presence. For the first time, he was an active and eager participant in Independence Day fireworks.

...while our littlest patriot retreated to the safety of the car.

Temple Squares

Another difference between boys and girls: Girls like looking at fountains. Boys look for ways to fall into the fountain. Even if you can get a girl on the edge... ...it's a boy who'll try to reach a little too far. Many thanks to our friends Missy Moo and Apple for helping us illustrate this point. Fortunately, no toddlers were dunked while taking these pictures. We had more important things to look at. Ever since this, the boys have been talking about how the bad guys hurt Jesus. Of course, few things can compete with the excitement of seeing a real fire truck at work. Someone had spilled oil on the road so two trucks and a dozen men were dispatched to clean it up. Naturally, looking at a fire truck isn't as exciting as touching a fire truck. Gotta love those flashing lights. Thanks for coming down from Wyoming to visit us on our trip! In lieu of hugs, how about a quick poke with a stick?

Bountiful Activities

Run Grant! Run Cole! Stop to throw some snow, Grant. Stop to throw some snow, Cole. Now everyone dip their hands in the frigid fountain water and...
... make a...
... hand print on the bench, Grant. Make a ...
... hand print on the bench, Cole.
Try not to fall in, please. Now run on the snow, Cole. Run on the snow, Grant. Okay, now why are we playing around at the Bountiful Temple? Oh yeah, Sue's former roommate Kara got married! Congratulations.

Cole and the Twins

During our recent trip to Utah and Idaho, we spent a night at Sue's brother's home in Perry. They have newborn twins! Oh, did I forget to mention that the twins are goats? Regardless, we have a soft spot for twins and especially for their mamas. They also have several chickens who were happy to eat out of Cole's hand. Cole described it as "pokey". Next time we'll teach 'em where eggs come from.