Friday morning (July 16 ... my lovely mother's birthday ... don't worry, we visited her the day before and dropped off presents) we were in the car by 8 a.m. and on our way. The girls listened to/looked at the picture books with accompanying read-along CDs that we had chosen from the library the day before, then they watched a movie on the laptop. We stopped in Tremonton to feed Miri and chanced upon the city park. So the big girls ran and played while I fed the baby, and then we loaded back up and drove to Ogden.
We had considered going to Lagoon, but thought our little girls wouldn't fully appreciate or enjoy the rides, so we opted for a few substitutes instead.
In Ogden, we visited the Treehouse Museum. It's a very hands-on children's museum, and the girls LOVED it. Check it out:
Analee and Rebekah dressed up as firefighters and raced off to save the day.
Ana and Seth fulfilled teacher Rebekah's assignment to draw their favorite animal in the one-room schoolhouse.
Rebekah dressed up as a princess and presented a play.After the museum, we continued on to Salt Lake and went to Temple Square so we could tour the Conference Center. If you'll recall, we tried this seven months ago. But as was the case in December, the Center was closed due to a performance later in the evening. Since we had already shelled out the $6 for parking, we decided to enjoy the Square for a while.
Bekah, Miriam (in the stroller), Ana and Seth at the reflection pool outside the Salt Lake Temple.
This is how Miriam spent our time at Temple Square.
Bekah, Miriam (in the stroller), Ana and Seth at the reflection pool outside the Salt Lake Temple. This is how Miriam spent our time at Temple Square.The Grover family chooses to take everything to the extreme. When we looked at the lights on Temple Square in December, it was the coldest day in Salt Lake that year. We were ducking into visitors' centers just to escape the bitter cold. When we enjoyed the flowers and fountains in July, we were traipsing around on the hottest day of the year (104 degrees). We had to duck into visitors' centers just to enjoy the air conditioning.
After a long day of traveling and heat, we drove to my aunt's house in South Jordan, put the girls to bed and visited for a while. We knew we would have a long day ahead of us, and we wanted to be well-rested.
On Saturday, we packed a picnic lunch and some water bottles and went to Hogle Zoo. We were surprised to see my cousin Becca there with her husband and three kids (we knew they would be there that day, but we didn't really expect to bump into them), and we enjoyed a train ride together. Then we went our separate ways, and the girls made sure to see all their favorite animals and attractions. (Bekah's favorite is still the giraffes. Ana loved seeing Zuri, the new baby elephant.)
Bekah, Seth and Ana just monkeying around. Bad pun, I know. And not entirely accurate. Gorillas aren't technically monkeys, anyhow.
Ana riding an elephant on the carousel.
Bekah riding a frog.
After a long day of traveling and heat, we drove to my aunt's house in South Jordan, put the girls to bed and visited for a while. We knew we would have a long day ahead of us, and we wanted to be well-rested.
On Saturday, we packed a picnic lunch and some water bottles and went to Hogle Zoo. We were surprised to see my cousin Becca there with her husband and three kids (we knew they would be there that day, but we didn't really expect to bump into them), and we enjoyed a train ride together. Then we went our separate ways, and the girls made sure to see all their favorite animals and attractions. (Bekah's favorite is still the giraffes. Ana loved seeing Zuri, the new baby elephant.)
Bekah, Seth and Ana just monkeying around. Bad pun, I know. And not entirely accurate. Gorillas aren't technically monkeys, anyhow.Ana riding an elephant on the carousel.Bekah riding a frog.After we had had our fill of the zoo, we headed back YET AGAIN to Temple Square to tour the Conference Center and finally enjoyed success! Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of it/us there. The girls liked the water both inside and outside the building, and Seth and I enjoyed the art--especially the Walter Rane paintings.
At the end of our long, hot day, we cooled off at the Magna Fitness and Recreation Center's outdoor pool and splash pad. This was probably our favorite part of the whole trip. (Again, no pictures. It's impossible to shoot some when you're clad in a swimming suit and all wet and holding a slippery baby who is also swimsuit-clad.) The big girls enjoyed the kiddie pool, and Miriam just enjoyed the water. Seth and I were extra-protective of our baby since we ran out of sunscreen before we could spray her down; we relied on our shadows to keep her out of the sun.
Again, we retired to Aunt Susan's house for the night.
Sunday, the girls played with all of the toys they could find while Seth and I packed up. We attended church with the Clements and watched/listened to Sam's talk. Then we basked in the company of the Ahlstroms (and everyone else who had come to support Sam) during lunch before we made the long trip back home.
It was definitely a worthwhile trip that created many memories and much laundry (which I have yet to finish). To see more pictures of our adventures, click here.
At the end of our long, hot day, we cooled off at the Magna Fitness and Recreation Center's outdoor pool and splash pad. This was probably our favorite part of the whole trip. (Again, no pictures. It's impossible to shoot some when you're clad in a swimming suit and all wet and holding a slippery baby who is also swimsuit-clad.) The big girls enjoyed the kiddie pool, and Miriam just enjoyed the water. Seth and I were extra-protective of our baby since we ran out of sunscreen before we could spray her down; we relied on our shadows to keep her out of the sun.
Again, we retired to Aunt Susan's house for the night.
Sunday, the girls played with all of the toys they could find while Seth and I packed up. We attended church with the Clements and watched/listened to Sam's talk. Then we basked in the company of the Ahlstroms (and everyone else who had come to support Sam) during lunch before we made the long trip back home.
It was definitely a worthwhile trip that created many memories and much laundry (which I have yet to finish). To see more pictures of our adventures, click here.