Summer Reading!

Monday, June 3, was Repeat Day so we went to the Summer Reading Kickoff event at the library again.

This time, it was actually at the Provo Library. The kids and I got to see a reptile show then do some activities. 

They had an obstacle course with toy horsies. Lucky used a horse and Jet and I just followed him around. They got temporary tattoos out of it, though.

They also had some arts and crafts so the kids did a bit of coloring before we picked up a prize for Jet for a library program he's participating in then headed home.

Earlier that day, the kids and I hiked to the Alpine Poppy Fields. We got some good advice from Utah's Adventure Family who let us know that this year they had little flags along the trail to show which way to go. I'll admit last year we had some trouble finding the right trail. We eventually got there but not on the trail that is suggested. This year, it was so handy to have the flags to follow.

It's always fun to see the "purple" bees in the flowers.

We also got to see some birds.

This is a house wren.

It was a pretty good day.

Last Week of School- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Last week of school continued.

I got to help put vinyl on T-shirts Lucky's grade wore for their dance festival. My sister, who has a LOT of experience with that sort of thing, helped me figure it out because I don't have as much experience. They danced to the song, "Thunder." Some of the shirts were black with white lettering that said, "Lightning," with a white lightning bolt and some were white with black lettering that said, "Thunder," with a black rain cloud.

Lucky's class also had a talent show that day. He played harmonica for his classmates and teacher.

Tuesday, May 21, was International Tea Day and Strawberries and Cream Day. I made scones with a recipe from The Fiction Kitchen Trio Cookbook. I did not make clotted cream to go with it. No, thanks.

The biscuits I made were based on the Funfetti Shortbread Bites we made January of 2021, but without the sprinkles.

 

Wednesday, April 22, was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday. Nichole and I chatted about Sherlock Holmes then she, Jet, and I went to our own Lost World that evening. O.K. So it was Bridal Veil Falls which is not lost at all, but Utah's Adventure Family had mentioned it on Instagram and made we want to go so we got a little evening walk in after taking boys to activities that evening.

And cuteness. Jeremy brought home a watermelon that Jet was so excited about, he got a plastic knife out of the drawer and tried slicing it. You better believe he got the first piece when Jeremy finally cut it up.

 

Thursday, May 23, I got out for another walk in the morning. I've been wanting to get out for walks more.

That evening, Nichole and I went to a Relief Society activity together. I love getting to do things with my girl.

An Expotition

Winnie-the-Pooh Day became a two day event this year. The actual holiday was on January 18. Since Monday, January 17, was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the kids didn't have school that day so we did some of the celebrating that day.

The kids watched "Piglet's Big Movie" then we went on an "expotition." It would normally be an expedition to the North Pole (Nichole even got our Winnie-the-Pooh book out to compare the A. A. Milne stories to the mini stories in the movie). Instead of going to the North Pole, Lucky wanted to go to the South Pole because... you know... penguins.

So we bundled up, got in the van, and headed South... to Spanish Fork.

I took the kids to a place I hadn't been to in many years. Dripping Rock. You can walk along the trail and the river/stream is below. Across the river/stream there are overhanging rocks that have water dripping/pouring from them. I found out recently from Utah's Adventure Family that in the wintertime if it's been cold enough, there are icicles hanging from the rocks. I never would have thought to go there in the Winter. So that is where we went on our expedition... to see if we could find any icicles at Dripping Rock and get some "fresh" air. We've been cooped up so much with sickness and Winter and the kids had online school on Friday, we needed to get out and get some exercise.

 

It was good to get out. We had a good time. Jet was especially happy to get out... after he woke up. He's been cooped up more than anyone.

There were definitely icicles hanging from the rocks and foliage at Dripping Rock. Jr. Jr. got really excited to see them as we walked along and with his imagination, he could see shapes in them and started thinking about stories to go along with them. 

Besides the icicles there was also plenty of water dripping from the rocks. It was neat to see in some places both together.

After the Dripping Rock area, we continued on up the path, going over some bridges then up some switchbacks (all paved, though. We saw several families pushing strollers) to the end of the trail where it met up with a road and some houses next to the golf course. We definitely got exercise. We even got to see the wind turbines since we were so close to Spanish Fork Canyon. I like wind turbines.

While we were walking along we were singing, "Sing Ho for the life of a bear. Sing Ho for the expedition." Jet was even getting into it. I'd sing, "Sing Ho," and he'd sing, "For the life of a bear," in his cute little voice.

Being a toddler, he did want things to be a certain way. He wanted to be held, he wanted to hold someone's hand while walking, he wanted to look through my binoculars, he wanted to let go of our hands and run off and he would throw a tantrum if he didn't get his way. Toddler.

It was still fun, though. Some of the boys started kicking pieces of ice down the trail as we walked. Jet wanted to be like his brothers so he was kicking ice on the trail, too.

Lucky was happy to have kicked this piece of ice all the way to the van. Way to go, Lucky.

We really did have a good time out and the kids are in agreement that we should come back sometime in the Spring or Summer to see even more dripping water at Dripping Rock. Jr. Jr. suggested we come back when it's even colder to see more icicles.

Later at home the children watched "The Lorax" because January 17 was Betty White's 100th birthday and she did one of the voices in that movie. Sadly Betty White passed away just a few weeks before she would have turned 100 but she had a long life and career and we can still celebrate that.

January 17 was also National Hot Heads Chili Day so we had chili and the kids ate spinach because it was also Popeye's birthday. Good job, kids. I made lasagna for dinner the next night because we didn't have enough time Monday. And hey, if we can celebrate Winnie-the-Pooh Day both days, we can celebrate Popeye's birthday both days, too. 

On the actual Winnie-the-Pooh holiday, the kids watched more Winnie-the-Pooh movies. They had at home school that day and a couple of the kids were sick anyway.

Kokanee Salmon- Take 2

After our disappointing trip to see the Kokanee salmon toward the beginning of September I found out from Utah's Adventure Family that there were more fish a couple weeks later when they went to the fish trap at Strawberry Reservoir. The kids and I headed back there on Thursday, September 23, and were very happy to see so many salmon this time. Yay.

There were some in the stream. There were plenty coming up the fish ladder/steps and going into the fish trap. We love watching them. There were plenty more in the fish trap area itself.

It was a beautiful evening and I'm so glad we made it back there even if Jeremy wasn't able to come this time. We did text him about what we were doing while we were there. That was fun, too.