Pioneer Day Celebration

This 24th of July celebration commemorates the Mormon pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley with Brigham Young in their quest to live according to their faith. I appreciate their historic efforts as well as the efforts of those who gave their time and talents to plan and carry out our local festivities.

Our family plus a friend dressed the part and enjoyed such activities as sack races, graces, apple bobbing, listening to guitar and fiddle music, and eating.

Exploring our neighborhood

Anna recently learned about a new nature center not too far from our house. We set off to explore it and the creekside trail that adjoins it. Turned out the center was not open, but we took the trail down toward the creek and found big, juicy blackberries along the way. It's fun to find the little pockets of nature nearby and learn what the native plants and animals really are.

I returned over the weekend to complete the trail with H and L. It was warm, but we spotted quite a bit of wildlife. H wasn't as disappointed as I was to find no snakes along the route.

An eventful summer vacation

Our family spent a week on the road visiting relatives and being part of my brother-in-law's wedding - it was wonderful. We packed in a lot of activities including stays at grandparents' homes, visits with cousins and friends, birthday celebrations, independence day festivities, swimming, kayaking, etc., etc.