Back to School!

School has started!

Lucy, our big 2nd grader, started on August 19th.

Here she is with her best buddy Madison. They are in the same class again this year - Mrs. Anderson's!

It was Spencer's first day too! He's teaching 5th grade again this year and has a good group, so far.

Mom and Lucy :)

This big kid started Kindergarten on August 26th!

Sammy was a little nervous but excited to start school. He has Mrs. Ruzzi - the same teacher Lucy had.

Mom and her big kid!

Daddy and Sammy

We got to go into his classroom with him and help him find his desk. He (and Mom) got a little emotional but neither of us cried. He had a great time on his first day!

Squeezing the Last Bit of Summer Out

A few more fun things we did before heading back to school:

We headed back to the farm at Thanksgiving Point one morning and the peacock was showing off.

Eliza adored riding on the pony.

And this time Sammy didn't need any convincing.

Lucy even waited an extra turn so she could ride the big horse. It was a lot more crowded than last time!

We feed the geese and saw the animals. The goats were still adorable.

And it was neat to see how much the place had grown since April.

Another day, in the afternoon, we checked out the Wairhouse. 

It's this fun place filled with trampolines and a foam pit you jump into.

We had a great time and got lots of wiggles out!

On the 15th we were invited to a neighbor friend's birthday party at the Tracy Aviary.

The kids made duck masks.

And then we went on a guided tour of the aviary.

It was neat to learn a bit more about the animals as we saw them.

The bald eagles were out where we could see them, which was neat.

We feed the ducks and the pelicans.

Feeding the pelicans was the coolest, once you got over the slimy fish!

Eliza didn't seem to mind the slimy fish though!

Then, after washing hands really well, we had lunch and cupcakes.

After lunch we went to a bird show. Lucy got to help out by adding weight to a crate on top of an egg. That thing was strong!

After school on the second day we went to the pool one last time.

It was really empty and nice to have the space to ourselves.

Lucy thinks Spencer looks like he's floating in this picture!

Ahh! Goodbye summer!

Couple Camping - Our new tradition

 The Sunday before Spencer had to go back to work (he had to go back on that Wednesday), the two of us took off for a night by ourselves. 

We went camping up Little Cottonwood Canyon - to the Albion Basin Campground.

As soon as we got to our campsite we saw two moose!

In a lifetime of camping and outdoors stuff, I've never seen a moose! 

Spencer hadn't either and we just sat and watched them (and took a ton of photos) for a half hour or more. It was really neat and peaceful.

The view out our tent was amazing!

There were wildflowers everywhere!

We set up camp and started a fire. Then we played a game of Dominion.

That afternoon light! We made tin foil dinners and banana boats and just sat in front of the fire. It was so relaxing and nice!

The next morning we slept way in, Spencer made a yummy breakfast for us and then he packed up camp while I read and took pictures of flowers and these beautiful birds that were hanging around camp.

Then we headed for a hike up to Catherine's Pass. I've actually been there before but from the Big Cottonwood side, so it was neat to do from the other side.

At the top! That's Lake Catherine in the background.

The sign on the border of the two canyons.

On top of the world!

We had such a great time, we are planning on doing this every year the week before school starts back up for Spencer. :)