Silverwood 2009

While we were visiting my family in Washington, we were able to go to Silverwood with them again. This time, though, Neil got to come with us!

We started out in the water park and didn't get any pictures. Everyone, except Miriam, had a great time in the water and sliding down water slides.

After lunch, we headed for the amusement park. First stop for everyone was the carousel.



Sarah in her favorite spot on the bench.



Miriam's favorite spot on the stationary horse. I tried to have her sit on the bench with us for the second time around, but she didn't want to sit anywhere but on the horse. She was sad to leave that ride.



Miriam with Grandma, Matt, Rachel, and Eli (Micah is in the stroller) waving at Isabelle and Abram



Isabelle and Abram way up high



Isabelle and Madeline waiting to fly in their helicopter



Joseph and I went on the Ferris wheel with Grandpa and Abby. This is my best shot of Grandpa and Abby while holding my camera over my head and shooting a picture from behind us. Yay for digital photography!



Joseph getting ready to ride.



View of the coasters from the Ferris wheel.



View to the west over the edge of our seat.



Grandma and Miriam watching us go around and around



Joseph and Miriam getting ready to fly



Abby flying up high



Joseph and Abby in the mini Ferris wheel



Emma and Miriam in the mini Ferris wheel. I was surprised at how Miriam loved all the rides that she went on.



Emma's solo trip on the mini roller coaster.



Eli and Miriam playing in the treehouse



Emma and Gabriela

This is only a part of the rides we went on because we split up after the carousel. We had a great time and were glad we got to go.

Our New Nephew Nathan

While we were visiting, my sister Jenny had a baby boy, Nathan. It was great to be there to see him as a brand-new baby. Here he is at 6 days old. What a sweet baby.

Rain, Rocks, River, and Fish

This year's visit to Amy's parents' property on the river started with rain. It's unusual to have the cool temperatures and wet weather as we had for the two days and nights we spent there. This is not northeastern Washington in August. Maybe Western Washington, but not there.

We spent the first night and day most comfortably inside with occasional outings to throw rocks in the river or swing in the rain.



It cleared up in the evening and Grandpa took us out to look for deer in the surrounding mountains. We saw a lot of them.

The next day, we had much better weather and were able to get wet in the river instead of just beside it. Neil, Emma, Sarah, and Joseph went swimming a little and then Miriam and I followed to throw rocks and Grandma and Grandpa got some fishing in.



Here's a good "Miriam throwing a rock" action shot. You can see the rock in the air.



Neil was able to do a little kayaking while we were there, though the river was pretty low in a couple of places where he had to walk a bit.





Emma swimming near the bridge



Neil floating back down



Miriam getting wetter than Mom dressed her for.



Sarah holding a fish before Grandpa released it



Joseph's turn to hold a fish



Neil pulling Emma and Sarah around in the raft.



Joseph fishing with Grandpa



Neil took Emma, Joseph, and Sarah down the river at least a half-mile. Sarah is in the kayak with Neil. This is the start of their journey. It started to rain on their way back in the truck.



Meanwhile, Miriam wanted to hold a fish, so here she is with her fish.



However, she was disappointed that Grandpa released it because she wanted to put it back in the water. So, Grandpa caught another fish and let her try to put it in the water. She didn't have a good grip on it and it flipped out of her hand back into the water. You can see the fish right behind her left foot as it finds its way back into the water.



We had a great time at the river. We especially discovered Miriam's love of swinging on this trip, as you can see.

Family Home Evening at Matt and Rachel's and Gabriela's Cake

We visited Amy's family in Washington during the month of August and this post is the first of the highlights. Our first Monday there we had Family Home Evening with Matt, Rachel, Isabelle, Abram, Eli, and Micah at their house. After the lesson, our treat was s'mores and we had a great time.



Getting the fire ready.



Gathering sticks to burn.



Waiting for it to burn down.



Gathering supplies.



Gabriela enjoying the results.



Finger-licking great!

During our visit, we had our niece and cousin, Gabriela, with us while the rest of her family was at home. She planned and designed this cake and it turned out very yummy!



For anyone that wants to try it, it's yellow cake with pink and chocolate frosting, strawberries, maraschino cherries, and chocolate chips.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

As many of you know, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints finishes building a temple, it is open to the public before it is dedicated. Then after the temple dedication, it is only open to those who have a current temple recommend. For Latter-day Saints, a temple is different than a regular church building where we meet every Sunday. The temple is a holy place that is dedicated to be a house of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the temple, we participate in ordinances and make certain covenants or promises to God. After we've made our own covenants with God, we go back to the temple to perform the same ordinances or temple work for those who have died.

We've been blessed this year to have two temples opening in Utah. The first was the Draper Utah Temple, and we were able to go as a family to the open house before it was dedicated, but we didn't take any pictures.

Last Thursday, we were able to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple Open House in South Jordan, Utah. We were excited to have this opportunity again and have our children see the inside of a temple before it is dedicated. (The minimum age to enter the temple is twelve years old and then they can only do baptisms for the dead in one part of the temple until they go on a mission or get married in the temple.)

It's a very beautiful building. It was pretty busy and we had to wait in line a few times, but it was worth it.

I love going to the temple because it is a place where I can be quiet and away from the busyness and distractions of day-to-day life and more easily feel the peace and influence of the Spirit of the Lord. I want my children to have that same opportunity one day and it was nice to show them how beautiful it is inside the temple.



Here we are at the front of the temple.



Here is the view from the front of the temple. The community that surrounds this temple is also beautiful. They have all different types of homes and large open spaces. It's organized to be a walkable community and it looks like the type of neighborhood I'd like to live in some day.



Here's the upper part of the temple. The words say, "Holiness to the Lord. The House of the Lord," and the Angel Moroni on the top.

Here are the pictures took of everyone individually. It was a good day.



Emma



Sarah



Joseph



Miriam

3 1/2 Months in One Post

You know how it goes, I think. You want to stay on top of a project and you work at it month by month and then miss for a couple of months and you realize that you're way behind and may never catch up.

That's how I feel today. However, I think I was accurate when I titled this blog, "Scenes From Our Life," because that is what you'll get today.

Presenting...the highlights from April to July in one post.



Neil's birthday. Emma made the crown, which he even wore while he was shopping that day. Note also the candles in binary. Lit candles mean one, unlit mean zero. So he's now 100001 in binary. :)



Emma's 9th birthday. The last of birthday week for us. (Three chocolate cakes with chocolate frosting in one week. :) ) Two of her favorite gifts were how-to-draw-Nintendo-characters books. She really enjoys drawing.



Snow in April. Our neighbors made a mini sledding hill by piling up snow against a picnic table. Emma, Joseph, and Sarah had fun sliding and getting wet.

The first one is Emma and Joseph on the sled.



Here's Sarah and Joseph after it had melted a bit. Fun times!



Neil graduated and received his master's degree in April and this is when he's showing his printed thesis to the children.



As part of his PhD program, Neil had to teach a class for a term. This is his professional first day of class attire.



Miriam hugging Sarah in the blanket.



Joseph's birthday in May - complete with cake



and presents.



Amy's birthday (that was the only picture of me from that day that I liked.) We had my brother Matt and his family come to visit that day, which made my birthday even better.



Here are the cousins, minus Eli and Micah.



Baby Micah



Sarah was spotlighted in Primary at church and after they tell about them, they give them a plate with a poem on it to keep.



Miriam's birthday. We only had ice cream because she doesn't really like cake.

The next three are shots while waiting to go to church one morning.









This was Neil playing for the ward Primary Pioneer Activity in July. We visited the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum in Provo, played pioneer games, and sang pioneer songs. We had fun.