Red Butte and kiddie pool

Phew! We had a marathon day today, and I am looking forward to going to bed as soon as I hit “publish.” It was a great day–and I hope the summer is filled with days like today–but my huge, pregnant self is tired!

I made waffles before the girls woke up so I could feed them breakfast in the car en route to Target. I lost my swimsuit bottom last week, and I can’t exactly go swimming in just a top…but at Target, I found an entire replacement suit for $6.36! From there, we raced to the gym so I could swim some laps. All the travel time recently made me feel quite desperate for the swim. It felt so good.

We then headed straight to Salt Lake where we stopped by Trader Joe’s for our picnic, and then we met Chelsea and her kids at Red Butte Gardens. We wanted at least one last visit before my membership expires, and it was fun to go with Chelsea. She is a dedicated gardener, so she could really appreciate the gardens.

IMG_0563 IMG_0569 IMG_0574 (1) IMG_0577 (1) IMG_0580 (1) IMG_0583 (1) IMG_0585 (1) IMG_0593 (1) IMG_0595 (1) IMG_0597 (2) IMG_0599 (1) IMG_0602 (1)

The kids napped in the car on the way home, and when we arrived, I fed them popcorn and strawberries on the porch. We then headed downstairs to read books in their new play room. I snuck out as soon as they started playing with their toys. I napped for an hour while they played and crafted the whole time! I felt so pleased that the basement redesign is working as planned.

This is actually the state the craft room was in yesterday after Abe and I napped. The state of the children themselves sent us straight into action mode; they were covered head to bottom-of-feet in paint, and we put them straight in the bath. I am scared to see what happened today while I napped...but I figure it's so much better than electronics. The kids are happy, engaged and occupied--and I get to nap. I'm at the point where I (kind of) don't care about this kind of collateral damage.
This is actually the state the craft room was in yesterday after Abe and I napped. The state of the children themselves sent us straight into action mode; they were covered head to bottom-of-feet in paint, and we put them straight in the bath. I am scared to see what happened today while I napped…but I figure it’s so much better than electronics. The kids are happy, engaged and occupied–and I get to nap! I’m at the point where I (kind of) don’t care about this kind of collateral damage.

Abe came home bearing a kiddie pool. We promptly set that up, and the kids played delightedly while Abe and I ate sandwiches and watched. Here’s a video of the girls frolicking in the pool.

IMG_1504 IMG_1507 IMG_1508

Afterward, Abe taught a great lesson on the priesthood and how our family will be together forever because we were sealed together in the temple. We all drew pictures of ourselves, and Abe made our pictures into a paper chain to show that we are linked together.

IMG_1511

The kids then ate ice cream and went straight to bed. This is the first time they’ve been in bed (and stayed there) before 10 pm in…months? It’s been a while. I feel hope that between the basement, the kiddie pool, and all of the community activities going on, we can tire them out like this regularly and get them back on a reasonable schedule.