Civil War at This is the Place

We all headed to This is the Place park for their Civil War day. The first item of business was to watch the soldiers prepare for battle.

Sunscreen was a must as well.

I can't help but take tons of pictures of darling Lucy.

Watching the battle and plugging her ears. The cannon really was quite loud.

The Confederate forces stormed the Union's cannon.

After the battle, we decided to see what the park had to offer. It is seriously impressive. Totally worth the money. Aidan was very excited to ride in the caboose of the train.

Another picture of Lucy. Seriously cute.

At the frontier school, Avery volunteered to be the dunce.

Aidan was happy to ride the pony.

Avery's lifetime wish of riding a horse was fulfilled. It doesn't get much better than that.

Donut Falls- Second Attempt

We left a little bit earlier the next day so we could finish our hike to the falls.

Lucy loves hiking, especially when she is strapped up high in the Kelty pack so she can see everything.

Aidan loved the waterfall. Here he is staring at some kids who are climbing up the rocks.

Mom and Avery

I'm so glad that my brother no longer lives in Davis county and that we get to do stuff together more often. Look at how awesome that family is!

Proof that I hiked up too.

Mom in her snazzy hiking boots. They really do make a difference.

Natalie, Avery, Lucy, Mike, and Aidan at Donut Falls. If you want a pretty easy hike for kids, I would recommend this one. The waterfall is really pretty. My goal is to snowshoe out to the falls this winter.

Donut Falls- First Attempt

We all decided to hike to Donut Falls. Unfortunately, we didn't start hiking until after 8:00pm.

We had to stop at the foot bridge because it was getting too dark.

SLC Children's Museum

I had a free family pass to the museum. Since I have no kids, I invited Natalie and kids to come with me. It was fun because it was free. I wouldn't recommend paying full price to go.

Classroom Pictures

I can't believe that school starts Wednesday. This summer has gone by quickly. I get to meet most of my students tomorrow at Back to School night. I have 31 students on my list right now. Since I've been planning on 35 this whole summer, 31 seems like a blessing.

Most things are the same for this year but I did make some changes in the set up.

One of my students was kind enough to take my big brown desk off my hands and I donated my computers to DI, so now I have more room in the back of my classroom.

Normally I keep school supplies for the kids on a white shelf that sits atop two drawer units. This year I am using the space where my computers used to sit.

I moved my easel up front. Wheeling it from the back of the room each time I wanted to use it was no fun.

My kidney bean table (love it despite the hugeness) is now by my desk. I'm not sure if I am going to love it here but I figured it was worth trying.

Happy beginning of school to everyone!

Thai Festival

The Thai wat in Layton had a festival on Saturday so I joined up with some friends to enjoy the deliciousness. I ate insane amounts of food: som tam, noodle soup, fried bananas, rot di.

Sumana, Me, Becky, Mary, Eryn

Ashley, Havilah, Me

Party at the Dodge's

President and Sister Dodge let several of us come to their house in Midway on Friday and have a party. Everyone brought some Thai food to share and it was definitely a feast.

A.J. and Sumana

Becky, Brent, and Nate

This was the first time I'd seen Brent or Nate since I got home. They were both in the MTC at the same time as me so I knew them fairly well.

Taben, Mary, Tiffany, and Eryn.

President and Sister Dodge. Two of the greatest people I know.

After dinner, we played Chairball. It is a game that may or may not have been made up in Thailand. The missionaries and members play all the time. By the end we were all dead on the grass. My favorite thing about this picture is my attempt (I'm the one in the black sweater with the white shirt underneath) to stop A.J. from getting the ball in the basket. I'm pretty hard core.

Danke

My washer finally arrived last week. Mike came to help me get the washer and dryer set up properly. Now I don't have to take huge loads of laundry to Boise to wash. Thanks Mike.

Tawnee

This is my friend Tawnee. She wanted to learn how to make Thai food so I had her over for dinner last week.

We made green curry and basil chicken. So good. I ended up eating Thai food every single day last week which was sort of ridiculous but also delicious.

Dinner

Pad gra pow is one of my favorite dishes and is super easy to make. Click here for the recipe I used.

A Pretty Perfect Saturday

I drove up to Layton to spend the day with Sumana. There is a Thai wat about two blocks from her house and they make food every Saturday. So, we went and partook. The food was authentic and heavenly and so spicy. It is ridiculous how happy eating Thai food makes me feel. Don't be too jealous.

After sitting for a few minutes to digest the food, we headed out to the driving range in Layton. The last time I went to the range, it was in Thailand and this random man named Bunchuu was trying to teach me what to do with very little patience. This experience was much more pleasant. Anyone who wants to go to the golfing range, let me know and I will go with you.