Children's Discovery Garden

With a new baby sister in the house, the best way to help seems to be entertaining the brothers.  Monday was a no preschool day for Henry and early out for Raymond, so I used my Grandparents Pass and took them to the Children's Garden at Thanksgiving Point Gardens.  It is just over the fence to the south of the main gardens. There are caves and tunnels to explore, rocks to climb, and lots more.

The flower beds were full of freshly set out pansies.  I thought these also looked like Autumn.

The boys loved the  tree trunk balancing act just below the lookout tower.

 

This part of the park made me a bit nervous.

I could see more casted arms and legs in their future.

It's safe grandma!

Yeah, right!  Until you decided to jump onto a rolling log.

We even found a stage for Raymond.

He danced and danced.

While Henry kept the beat.

And the finale.

Then it was Henry's turn to dance.

He had some moves.

It was Raymond's turn to provide the beat.

The stairway led up the hill.

It was here that there were vegetation hiding places.

Tic tac toe tables

grouped on the hillside.

 Geometric forms

provided some climbing fun.

It was fun to watch them navigate their way up

and their retreat back down.

The Ladybug Stage was adorable

with its buggy filled back mural.

 It was surrounded by a grass covered hillside.

The pond is a special one.  On the opposite side there are windows for viewing the fish and other creatures.

I couldn't resist capturing the last hollyhocks of summer.

There were educational activities.  What was missing?  The lighthouse!  I don't know why.  The kids loved it.  They are beginning construction of a new museum between this garden and the golf course.  Perhaps that is why.

I sat under a crab apple tree while the boys played bear in the cave and tunnels.  My view up was beautiful.

Half of the the maze is also blocked off as it would now lead to the construction site.

That didn't stop the boys from exploring the other half.

I felt bad that we hadn't made a trip here while it was still warm.

Henry really wanted to see the animals on the ark spew out water.

He really wanted to go into that water.  I kept saying, "Next summer."  I love that it's so easy to make use of the Grandparents Pass.  I just have to pick them up and make our way under the I15 freeway.

Look who was waiting for us at home.  She really is the sweetest little bundle of joy.

Birth day and a birthday

We had a party this weekend.  The birthday boy was pretty excited for his big day.  He came home from school with a birthday crown and a scepter.

He called in the available cousins and other assorted relatives to join in the celebration, some from as far as Kansas and California who were conveniently in town for other reasons.

And best of all, his new baby sister came home from the hospital just minutes before the festivities began.

Once the noise level grew and the presents were opened, she and her mother went upstairs to their bedroom.

Ray is a man of passion.  His current passion is submarines.  I walked the halls of Target and this was all I could come up with, a penguin submarine from Batman 2.  Ray, however, was delighted and that's what counts.

I thought that we were all pretty awesome putting together a party and welcoming a new baby girl all in one week.

Opal's already won over the men in her life and they have fallen hard for her.

She is a bundle of sweetness.

Doesn't she look good just two hours after her birth?

I brought her bathed and pajama clad brothers to meet her before taking them home to bed.

Good timing mom!  Thanks for not having her in the middle of the night.

We all loved seeing her so brand new.

We followed daddy and baby to the nursery for a check up and sponge bath.  The boys were allowed to watch through the window.

They found it fascinating and had loads of questions.

 Henry, my ever observant one, was fascinated with the whole process.

There's a very happy daddy.

Henry watched until Opal was all cleaned up.  Raymond headed back to his mother's room.  I understand that he wanted to talk about submarines.

Opal returned with a hairdo

and a bit worn out.

So happy to have her safely here!  For the first time my little but growing family has more females than males.  And for the record, she's not an oval.  Her face is pretty round :)

The Loop

Soon we had Sundance in our review mirror as we climbed higher leaving the reds and oranges behind.  We were entering the highlands of the aspens.

It was still morning, so we also had sunlight shining through the aspens.  Aspens truly are one of my favorite trees.  They grow along the creek on the ranch in Idaho where my mother grew up.  I have felt a great affinity for them since just a little girl.

Soon we were near the top with the sun behind us so we enjoyed golden aspens with blue skies.

Henry is always my careful observer.

This tree brought forth a story from Raymond about how his paternal grandpa had craved the names of each of his children on an aspen tree at a special family place in North Carolina.

The boys walked  a little trail with me so that I might take their pictures looking back towards Sundance.

My pictures don't do justice to the beautiful color filled mountain sides, but they will be a reminder of a beautiful drive with the boys and Glen.

We were soon driving down into American Fork Canyon  and enjoying the reds and oranges once again.  As we exited the canyon, Henry commented that we were going through the crack.  The Alpine Loop, another reason why I love being in Utah for the Fall.