Labor Day

We took advantage of Labor Day to go to This is the Place Park one more time before it is scaled back for the winter- we tried to do all the things we'd missed the first time.

Learning to write our names in the Deseret Alphabet:

Price was acting up, so he got to wear the dunce cap! :)

With my cute husband! I somehow managed to wear the same shirt and do my hair the same way both times that we went to the park. I must be boring.

Balloon animals- well, a balloon hat, anyway. The other kids got animals.

Finding Henson Walker's name on the plaque for members of the first company of pioneers to get to the valley:

After This is the Place, we stopped by Red Butte Gardens. We'd never been there, and it was a free day. Not many pictures here, but here are the kids on a moose:

and the girls on giant newts.

We had a great Labor Day- and now I'm all caught up on my blog posts! Wow- I need to not let myself get so far behind. It's exhausting to do that many at once!

Back to School 2010!

What?! School's starting already?

These two got to be the first- they had 7th grade day before everyone else started.
Lucky kids, huh?

Price- 7th grade

Josh- 7th grade

Emma- 2nd grade

Ethan- 4th grade

Then it was time for these guys- can you tell they're thrilled about posing for "one more picture"?

Clandestine photos- so as not to embarrass the fourth grader!

Emma lining up.

And Rebekah started 9th grade! This is actually not her first day of school- I forgot to take her picture then! This is the second day- she wasn't as "dolled up" as she had been the first day, but oh well.

Yes, I actually made back-to-school treats! It wasn't easy, since we had three different starting days, and the kitchen was torn up (Mom and Dad remodeled), but I finally got them done.

And finally, one very long week later, Annie started kindergarten!

That's her teacher in the background...

with her friend Alli...

and wearing the 45 pound backpack that had all her supplies. Tim carried it to school for her- every time she insisted on putting it on, it just about flipped her onto her back!

It's nice to have everyone in school again and back on a schedule. I know that eventually I'll get tired of homework, practicing and activities, but it sure feels good right now!

AF Canyon

Before school started, we decided we needed one more day up in the mountains. AF Canyon is perfect for that, so we headed up- Grandma and Grandpa Walker even came with us! We ended up at Tibble Fork Reservoir- it was gorgeous!

Look at that view!

On our way to the picnic site:

Grandpa and Grandma!

On a hike- yes, I made them all stop and pose like that.
I think they're pretty cute!

Highland City Splash Park

We found a new place to play this summer! Highland has built a splash park in front of their new city hall, complete with a boulder-strewn stream. There were mostly little kids playing there, but it was still good for our family: cold water on a hot day, and free!

This is the Place Heritage Park

This has been on our "to do" list for years- and we finally got around to it! I had a gift certificate, so we got a family membership- we'll see how many times we can go before we move!

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, or how much the kids would like it, but we were pleasantly surprised- this is a place that we can easily stay for 3-4 hours before we have to drag the kids out. The zoo only lasts our family about 2 hours, so that's impressive!

Here we are on the train tour:

Playing pioneer games:

Pony rides. The age limit for these is 12. Josh did it, Price didn't- not cool, I guess.

The petting farm:

Panning for gold. When the kids found a "gold" nugget, they could take it to the bank to exchange for a piece of candy.

Getting a shave. This guy was completely hilarious. He put shaving cream all over Price's face- especially in his mouth. He had multiple jokes about blood and the "one-ear" society. It was very fun for us, and I think for Price, although he was a little worried sometimes.

Josh got the same treatment, but then the barber told him he was looking a little sick, and offered to let blood for him. Luckily, he got distracted and Josh made his escape!

The schoolhouse. At the end, the teacher told everyone that school started at 9 a.m., and we had all been late... that we should be sure to be there on time the next day. Annie took this very seriously, and asked me for several days after if we could go there at 9:00!

We could have stayed longer, but we were starving! Lunch was here- yum!