Just a little blog entry for my Jazzercise doin', bowling ball throwin', grandkid spoilin', QVC shoppin', Sunday dinner makin', extra hard-workin' Mom!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Promontory Point and Antelope Island
I feel like I've been working so much that I hardly have the time to enjoy the outdoors, but...when visitors come from Germany it's always a good thing.
Janina and Christian are our out of country visitors. Janina's parents are long time friends of my mom's family and their daughters Ann Christine and Janina have visited here a few times. Christian is Nina's boyfrind who has been living in LA going to school. They are in utah for a few weeks and so we decided a trip to Promontory Point, which is the place where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met up, would be fun.
It was a cute little place, with a cute little museum and an even cuter little Ranger guy who tells all and answers questions. The two trains representing those of the Central Pacific (Jupiter) and Union Pacific (#119) came out as shiny as can be, blowing their horns (much to Sam's dismay) and chugging along. Then they came together and faced each other almost exactly how they were on May 10, 1869. It was pretty cool to learn about this part of not only Utah history but a huge changing point in our Country's history. Of course I wont mention how I feel when hearing about the millions (yes Millions) of Buffalo that were killed and of course the ticked off Native American's who watched most of their food being wiped out, and just left to rot.
But back to the rest of the day...
After Promontory Point we headed out to Antelope Island. It was really neat to see Davis County from a different view. Natalie thought the cosway was cool since it's a stretch of land with water on both sides. Natalie, my mom, Nina and Christian walked a little ways to the Great Salt Lake, while my dad and I stayed back with Sam and played in the sand.
I have never been to Antelope Island, or Promontory Point so I had a lot of fun seeing something new that is now, right in my back yard!
Well it has officially begun. I have a second grader! CRAZY!!!
Aug. 21, 2009
Natalie started school this week and if THAT wasn't strange enough, she is at a new school this year. We decided to put her in a new charter school that just opened this year. The school is called Oquirrh Mountain (no we do not live by the new Temple...don't ask me why the school is named that). Anyway this week was their fist week and I have to say for being a brand new school things ran pretty smoothly.
Natalie was excited to be going to Oquirrh Mountain and we are very excited about the school's curriculum, it is similar to what they used at Challenger. Her teacher is Mrs. Miner and she's really nice, but also seems to be a stickler for kids obeying the rules...not a bad thing.
They have a dress code which consists of plain or striped collared shirts and plain khaki type pants. Not too strict, but nice to have a dress code.
I cannot believe how fast Natalie is growing up, I am amazed (and perturbed sometimes) at her independence! She is getting involved in activities and really showing her talents. She has started taking Piano lessons, she joined a theatre camp over the summer, she's back in dance, and if that's not enough, she has joined the plethora of children in the neighborhood who all ride their bikes and scooters and bop from one house to the next.
I'm sure each year that goes by I will see less and less of her, and as fun as that is for her, it makes me sad that my little girl isn't so little anymore!
PIONEER TREK
Wednesday July 29-Saturday Aug 1, 2009
WOW! That's all I can think to say about the awesome experience that is Pioneer Trek. It was so much fun and even though at first I was very reluctant about going, the closer it got, the more I wasn't dreading to go and now I have to say that I am SOOOO glad I did. It was so spiritually uplifting.
On Wednesday after our rides dropped us off we all waited to be put in our "families". I was excited when I got put in the Anderson's Family. They are a couple about my age and when I suggested that maybe I could be an Aunt, everyone said "No we want you to be a sister." It was pretty cool. We played a name game to get to know our family members. There were 6 boys and six girls in our family and right away we had a bond.
After a bag check, we loaded our handcarts and started out on our journey. We made stops here and there for drinks or snack breaks and we wound up pulling the handcarts about 10 miles then came one of the toughest and most spiritual parts of the whole Trek. It was the Women's Pull. The young men were taken off of the handcart and had to walk along side. Everyone had to be silent as we walked and as we pulled the handcart up this hill it started to get tougher and tougher and we were getting tired, but as soon as we made it to the top of the hill we were relieved, but then we looked up ahead and saw that our journey was not quite over and waiting for us was another hill. We were a very strong and determined family of girls and we made it up the hill. We wound up pulling the handcart 1 1/2 miles on our own, and as soon as the boys were allowed to get back on and help, each one of us girls were in tears because you could just feel, not only the strength from these young men, but also the love and respect that they had for us. That night we all pretty much crashed we were so exhausted. We had gone about 15 miles that day.
Thursday morning we got up, ate our oatmeal, and headed back out on the trail. We only went about 5 miles until we reached the Base camp. At base camp we got to find a campsite for our family and set up our sleeping quarters. That afternoon we played fun pioneer games like a 3 legged race, and log toss, and they even let us wash our hair! That night we had a Ho-Down where we learned square dancing. It was a blast.While at base camp we made our own food in dutch ovens. We destroyed bread that we made, and laughed about it for hours, and so did most of the Trek Company. We had a blast just spending time getting to know each of our family members. We had a lot of fun playing a handkerchief game, and a game called signs.
Friday was our "Sunday" and we had Priesthood Relief Society and Sunday School, then we had a solo time where we reflected on what we had experienced over that past few days. That evening the whole company had a testimony meeting and when went back to our family camps we just spent the rest of the night talking with each other.Saturday was the day we headed down, and even though we were all excited to be going home, there was definitely a feeling of sadness that we were leaving our Trek families,
After a bag check, we loaded our handcarts and started out on our journey. We made stops here and there for drinks or snack breaks and we wound up pulling the handcarts about 10 miles then came one of the toughest and most spiritual parts of the whole Trek. It was the Women's Pull. The young men were taken off of the handcart and had to walk along side. Everyone had to be silent as we walked and as we pulled the handcart up this hill it started to get tougher and tougher and we were getting tired, but as soon as we made it to the top of the hill we were relieved, but then we looked up ahead and saw that our journey was not quite over and waiting for us was another hill. We were a very strong and determined family of girls and we made it up the hill. We wound up pulling the handcart 1 1/2 miles on our own, and as soon as the boys were allowed to get back on and help, each one of us girls were in tears because you could just feel, not only the strength from these young men, but also the love and respect that they had for us. That night we all pretty much crashed we were so exhausted. We had gone about 15 miles that day.Thursday morning we got up, ate our oatmeal, and headed back out on the trail. We only went about 5 miles until we reached the Base camp. At base camp we got to find a campsite for our family and set up our sleeping quarters. That afternoon we played fun pioneer games like a 3 legged race, and log toss, and they even let us wash our hair! That night we had a Ho-Down where we learned square dancing. It was a blast.While at base camp we made our own food in dutch ovens. We destroyed bread that we made, and laughed about it for hours, and so did most of the Trek Company. We had a blast just spending time getting to know each of our family members. We had a lot of fun playing a handkerchief game, and a game called signs.Friday was our "Sunday" and we had Priesthood Relief Society and Sunday School, then we had a solo time where we reflected on what we had experienced over that past few days. That evening the whole company had a testimony meeting and when went back to our family camps we just spent the rest of the night talking with each other.Saturday was the day we headed down, and even though we were all excited to be going home, there was definitely a feeling of sadness that we were leaving our Trek families,
and all the wonderful experiences behind. We only went about 5 miles that day and when we made it to the pick-up point, there were family members there to cheer us on for what we had accomplished. Our family said a teary goodbye and promised a "family reunion" in the future!
It was such a great experience to go on Trek and I am SO glad that I got past the "no toothpaste and deodorant" rule and took a chance.
It was such a great experience to go on Trek and I am SO glad that I got past the "no toothpaste and deodorant" rule and took a chance.
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