My husband heard PB say a very interesting prayer in the bathroom:
“Heavenly Father, bless that I won’t have germs on my hands”
Joe went in to remind PB to wash his hands. He said he didn’t have to because he said a prayer instead.
Category: Life
Living Room
So this is my living room right now:
If you have been to my house, you will notice I recently acquired a black cabinet and new couch. I’m excited about it. I went into the store with an extreme low amount in mind, and I was actually able to find something in the price range that was perfect. Very awesome. The futon has been retired to the playroom, and the cabinet has made it possible to prevent Mr. C messing with all the cords and actually scan/print without losing my sanity. Although I might be picking up cushions all day from the pillow backed couch, it does make for good pillow fights.
Rain
We had a rainstorm! It actually rain enough to get everything wet and make streams run down the gutters. Utah tends to have a pathetic amount of good summer thunderstorms. So I enjoyed this one. I went outside and got wet. And I threw my kids outside too. Not for long, just enough to lighten my mood and have a very happy day. The kids were a little less enthused about it. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t get some good pictures of them.
If it rains, the best thing to do is enjoy it.
Golden Spike
PB kept covering his ears from the loud train whistle. But he enjoyed this day trip, and even got his Junior Ranger badge.
Wasps
PB came up to me and asked me if there was a beehive in the tree. I said no, and he then proceeded to walk me over and show me this:
It still isn’t a beehive. It’s a bald face hornet nest. I think most regular people would take a step back, or maybe even some more dramatic freak out. I am too much a biologist. I got closer and investigated.
I’m still trying to decide what to do about it. Options include letting it be, spraying it, duct taping and dumping it, or calling the landlord. Right now, I’ve mostly just let it be. It might be a hazard for stings: when these hornets sting it hurts, and they can do it over and over again. But they also are not going to sting unprovoked. I can see a failed removal attempt causing a lot more damage than just letting it be.
I do want the nest. It could be both educational, and something to incorporate into the home decor. It is gorgeous. This link even has directions…
What would you do?
Update: I collected it in late fall.
Riverdale Adventure
This post should contain a lot of pictures from the various fun outings we have. We went to a disc golf course, took an enjoyable bike ride on the Weber River Parkway, and waded in the river. All originated at the same parking lot, and we were done before lunch. PB has been practicing throwing a Frisbee and he’s pretty good. He can throw a good fifteen feet. We enjoy our wee-ride bike too, but I’m glad when I go with Joe and he rides it. It can be very heavy.
And now I don’t have any pictures because I left the camera battery at home. But check out the links if you are interested in some fun activities in Riverdale. This one has a map: we parked at the south trail head, where the disc golf course is located. The bike trail is pretty flat and does extend beyond this map. We made it off the map before turning around. This link has a more extensive map. We passed the kayak park, and it is an awesome place to go swimming/tubing. We need to go back there when the kids are a bit older.
Soap
It was soap and bubble time for school last week. Here are some of our projects.
If you are bored and randomly have a bar of ivory soap, microwave it. This was a big hit with Mr. C. PB was having after-nap-angst.
My brother in law talks about a slurry they use in his construction job. This is our version. It is soap, and I’m pretty such it looks and acts like nothing they are doing.
We also tried giant bubbles that only partway worked. (Dry climate? Hard water?) They only partway worked, so I don’t have pictures.
Everything Else
Picture time:
We went out to Willard Bay. It was fun. But we need some sort of boat to really enjoy it.
We went to Seven Peaks with my family, which was a blast. Mr. C loved about everything. PB loved the wave pool and lazy river. I convinced him to go down one slide. He wasn’t impressed. And it was too entertaining to take pictures.
Adams Canyon
We went hiking up Adams Canyon in Layton. This has been our third hike for the whole year, which is a pathetically low number. But we have to haul our kids, and they weigh a lot. PB complains, and then Mommy complains, and it turns out Mr. C would rather explore than take a ride so he complains as well. After a while, we figured it out. Mr. C moved from Dad to Mom, which he liked much better. PB was encourage to not say, “I’m too tired,” or “I can’t do it”, but instead ask for a rest. PB actually did a great job in hiking most of the trail by himself.
The hike was beautiful, dead ending in a big waterfall. There is a lot of scrambling over rocks, walking through sand, and pretty steep trails. More of a moderate level hike, but doable even with little kids. Leave early, because the first part of the trail is sunny and exposed in the later morning to afternoon. At 3.5 miles, we took just over four hours to hike it, and we were one of the slowest groups. See the link posted above for directions and a trail map.
This kid got very dirty on the hike. He liked to dig in the dirt and wipe sweat off of his face.
Camping
My Grandpa Claude is awesome. Not many octogenarians will go camping, but he took us up for a great night in paradise. We drove to this beautiful location on the Wolf Creek highway.
The kids had a great time. Mr. C was almost jumping up and down with excitement (he can’t leave the ground yet) when we put the tent up. We explored, and sat around and didn’t do much. It was wonderful.
I love camping fashion. It doesn’t matter what you wear as long as it’s comfortable.
Liz Braithwaite 