Sunflowers and a Full House

The creative highlights of this week are my sunflowers and the completion of Full House.  I know I can't take much credit for nature's part in the sunflowers.  I did, however, find the seeds for these adorable two foot miniatures and plant them in prepared soil in a cute place for everyone to see as they drive by.

I pieced Full House back in March from charm packs of 1962 Battle Hymn of the Republic by Barbara Brackman and Jo Morton shirtings using a Schnibbles pattern.  It seemed appropriate to finish Full House as that is what we had over the Fourth.  More about those great times later.  Right now, I'm concentrating on the sunflowers.  They make me so happy!

This big one in another planter makes me happy, too.  Just look at all that yellow.

This is Glen's lone survivor from the corner.  He planted his sunflower seeds back in February.  See those clouds.  Arizona hearts are happy.  The summer rains are finally here.

And now back to my sunflowers.  Don't you feel happier?

There you have it.  A whole row of cheerfulness.

And Arizona sunshine.  These sweet babies seem to like it hot.

A bit of culture

While in Provo with the grand kids I tried to get in a bit of culture.  One of our first stops was the Provo Library.  I decided that it was finally time to take advantage of my Provo address and get a library card.  See that stack of books on Heather's lap.  She is a bit like her mother and grandmothers, can't live without the next book on a TBR pile.

The Provo Library is wonderful.  It is located on Academy Square which used to house the very first buildings of what would become BYU.  My mother attended classes on Academy Square while a student in the late 1940's.  The children's library is located on the bottom of this building and a new connecting building has been added with a connecting walkway on the east side.

I also took them to the BYU Museum of Art to see the new Beauty and Belief exhibit which explores Islamic art and its use on everyday objects.

It was interesting to see the great detail in the tile, metal, and wood work. They used calligraphic sayings as art.  I'm one who also likes a quote or two on my walls.

There was a new sculpture installation outdoors.

Toby found this much more intriguing than what was on the inside.

That probably had something to do with the "lego" look.

Yes, I can see you!

There was even a yellow duck in the water.

Sculpture paths collide.

Perhaps this one leads the way.

This was Toby's favorite, a permanent installation on the west side.

Heather liked this one.

Toby demonstrates his strength.

And the finale.

Look close and you might find the photographer in that ball.

We stayed around to listen to the Carillon Bells concert.

These are played on the hour at BYU but this evening they would be played for an hour.

They lasted just half an hour, but at least they were exposed to a bit of culture.

Note:  The teenager opted out of this entire cultural experience - imagine that :)

The campers

Part of our June Provo trip being shared with some of the grandchildren was the ability for them to experience different camps at BYU.  TJ spent five days on the BYU campus with much of that time in the Richards Building pool.

We registered and checked him into his room. We then took him for lunch at the Legends Grill before sending him to swim camp orientation.

Of course, Toby and Heather tagged along.

I snagged this picture of his age group returning to May Hall, a part of Helamen Halls.  He really enjoyed his week and making new friends.

The following Monday was Heather's turn.  She attended a writing camp for 5th - 9th graders at the Tanner Building.

After checking her in, Toby and I were off to the football stadium where Toby went to football camp for four days from 9:30 to 3:30.  This necessitated the application of much sun screen

The boys moved the fastest when it was time to get their popsicles.

Heather and TJ went with me to pick Toby up on the final day.

We sat in the shade under the bleachers and watched the 7 year olds play ball.

On Friday we all attended Heather's publishing party.  The boys came because they were also serving refreshments.

Heather especially loved her writer's workshop camp.  These are her instructors.

At the end, they asked her to do an interview on video for possible future publicity.

She was delighted to comply.

The Tanner Building is an amazing space.

As was the area under a gigantic evergreen.  All three had a great experience at BYU.  I was an awesome "granny taxi."

Salt Lake Sunday

Oldest grandson, TJ, joined us in Utah after attending scout camp at Camp Geronimo.  It was his first solo airplane flight from Phoenix to Salt Lake City.  The next morning he was dropped off at BYU for Swim Camp.  Keep that in mind when viewing the last picture of this post.

On Father's Day we woke them up early, fed them breakfast, had them dress in their Sunday clothes and drove them to Salt Lake and the Conference Center for a live viewing of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Music and the Spoken Word.  I think they mostly enjoyed the Choir's tribute to fathers on their special day.  We called their dad and told him to turn on the TV so he could view it live.

There was a crowd and a line of tour buses surrounding Temple Square.  We still managed to run into Uncle Lowell Bunker who was in town from Kansas for a Bunker Family Reunion. The world remains small.

I changed my position and now you can see the temple and tabernacle in the background.  The Music and Spoken Word broadcast is most often from the tabernacle but is moved to the conference center during the summer and December to accommodate all the tourists.

Grandpa captured us inside on his camera phone.

We decided to "drop in" on Nate, Nichelle, and Oscar and to show the Arizona cousins where the Utah cousin lived after the program.

Oscar was still in his pajamas but came out to say "hi."  He and his parents were busy getting ready for their church meetings.

We next headed up the hill to This is the Place Monument at the mouth of Emigration Canyon.

The monument honors all the different explorers and pioneers that first discovered and settled the Salt Lake Valley.

We walked around and read the different inscriptions.

North of the monument is Pioneer Village where different pioneer era structures have been moved to this spot.  It is closed on Sundays.

There was a distinct lack of enthusiasm for this outing.  Early to rise makes for tired kids!  I guess scout camp followed by swim camp makes one especially tired.  This is where we found TJ, prone on the other side of the monument, and sound asleep on a concrete bench!

We decided to head back to Provo where grandpa and grandma could also take a nap.  It was, after all, a day of rest.