Sunday walk by Bridal Veil Falls...

Paul walked a few miles in his boot with us! He's really making some improvements and healing quickly! There were fires and fierce winds at home, so we thought maybe we could escape the nasty weather by going down to Provo for a walk and a picnic. It was nice when we first arrived, but the smoke and pollution ended up following us down, and we didn't make it to our picnic. It was still fun to be outside and watch the kids explore in nature!

 

Hike to Herriman Flag..

Blaze really wanted to conquer the hike to the Herriman flag this summer. It's somewhat treacherous at the top because there's not a defined trail. You risk stepping on a cactus or sliding down the hill on loose rock. 

Then to top it off, James was holding us up and we left late and got stuck in the dark! Blaze really wanted to turn around, but we encouraged him to be tough and make it to the top. Unfortunately, the American Flag had been removed from the pole, so we just got a picture of the pole. 

 This is an afternoon of kayaking and fishing at the Granite Flats lake up above Tibble Fork. This summer has been crazy crowded at every nature destination we've been to because people aren't going on vacation etc. because of covid19. The kid's didn't catch anything, which was disappointing. I really loved enjoying the beautiful mountains and lakes, and I even got all the way in the frigid water to cool off!

Summer Fun Random Pics...

Cassie asked me to make a cake for Misti's birthday, and of course, I love any excuse to bake! It needed to be white with raspberries, and I made a really good raspberry frosting for the inside layers. I just couldn't get the flowers quite right, but maybe I will with practice one of these days! 

 One Saturday, we took Alanna and Jocelyn, and Oscar and Blaze to the Lindon pool. It was really nice to feel somewhat normal without having the wear a mask in public! A couple of boys Alanna and Jocelyn's age came up to them for a favor. One of the boy's told Jocelyn that he was dared to hug a girl, and he asked her if they could hug. Jocelyn obliged! Then the other little boy walked over to Alanna to ask the same thing, but Jocelyn said Alanna didn't even look at the kid and just walked away! She said it would be really weird and awkward to hug a strange boy! Good girl!! I can't believe they are old enough to start attracting boys though!

We ate at the "legendary" Purple Turtle since it is down the street from the pool. When I was at BYU, all of the local students raved about how good the Purple Turtle was. None of us were impressed, but at least now we can say we tried it! 

The "HIDDEN Canal"...

Caleb told us that some of his friends had found these amazing salt pools on the flats, but they wouldn't share their location. So he and mom had been looking at maps and trying to figure out where they were. Mom , Dad, Andrew, and Alex actually went out looking for them, but they didn't find them. 

So then Michelle said that social media was exploding with pictures of this amazing canal on the salt flats, and some people had posted directions to get there. We read several conflicting news articles about whether it was legal to go there, if it was safe, etc. etc. We decided we had better get out there and explore before the mining company and/or the cops shut it down!

I'm so glad that we did get to go because it's one of the coolest experiences I've had to float on the salt brine water! It was hard to even swim in it because you would just float on the surface. And paddling through it felt like paddling through a slushie, and it was almost impossible to turn it around! The color of the water against the white salt was just unbelievable, and I think I'll check this off as my substitute beach experience since that won't be happening due to covid19! 

Caleb had suggested that we bring our own clean water to wash with, and we definitely needed it! Our skin and hair were so white and crusty, and just look at my bathing suit! It all came out though. I wanted to take the kids back, but shortly after we visited the canal, the news was saying that cops were patrolling the area more heavily, and I didn't want to take a 2 hour drive out there for nothing. 

 

Father's day and Grandma CeCe's birthday!

I created this "Moon Pie" cake for mom's birthday, since she loves Moon Pies. I used a marshmallow meringue inside, and I should have used a different recipe! It was just ok, not particularly good. I had fun making and decorating it though! 

The kids made some really cute and funny cards for James for Father's day. They are all so creative!

We had a big meal for Father's day at mom and dad's house where Caleb brought a smoked tri-tip, and Andrew brought shrimp scampi. I felt like I was at The Buffet at the Bellagio with all of the tasty abundance of food options! It is so fun to have Andrew and Alex back in town for a while too!

 

Jacko's 16th birthday!

Can't believe this kid is 16 and will be out of the house in a couple of years! Unbelievable! My original plan was to send Jackson and James on a cool trip to celebrate his birthday. But once again, covid19 foiled yet another plan. So Jackson opted to spend the day swimming and trying to surf the Flo Rider at the Lindon pool. Then Jackson, Camden, and Ethan came to our house for dinner, games and watched a movie. I put together a slide show and a video of some special people in Jackson's life sharing memories of him. He's so blessed to have so many positive influences and love in his life! He was thrilled to get an Iphone 7, with a service plan!