August family adventures

Monday, August 3: Thanksgiving Point Gardens
We hadn't been to the gardens for a few months and wanted to see what was in bloom. I think I've decided that August is my favorite time to visit the gardens. The Tulip Festival is grand with it's showy tulips and daffodils, but this time of year the whole place is thriving. Everything is green. The plants have been growing all summer and they are gorgeous. Yes, this family outing is purely selfish; Jeff and I get a kick out of identifying plants, trees, and flowers, and we make note of new ones we want to learn. The girls have fun, too, but not as much as we do.

the door of the secret garden

This is my new favorite flower!
(But what is it? I must find out!)

This is my favorite, favorite rose! It's scent is, in my opinion, quintessential.
It's complex perfumey scent is gentle and sweet.
I can't walk by without sticking my nose in and inhaling deeply.
(But it's unmarked! What is the name of this lovely rose? I must know!)

I L-O-V-E this color combination of bright fuchsia and lime green!

Thursday, August 8: Mini Golfing at Boondocks Fun Center
Out of all the family-friendly activities in our area, Boondocks Fun Center might be the only one we haven't taken our kids to. Until now, our girls have seemed too young for the activities there, specifically miniature golf. Ruby enjoys watching golf on TV with Jeff and has asked several times to play golf. We figured that a Thursday afternoon would be as good as any day to see how the girls would take to mini golf.

The result? They were totally clueless and hilariously bad. I taught them proper stance and how to hold the club. We coached them on technique, strategy. I didn't expect them to be golf prodigies, but they weren't exactly taking notes on my repeated attempts to help them get the ball to the cup. We didn't even approach the topic of scoring. Not that Ruby would care if she went 100 over par.

Their enthusiasm for this new sport lasted about four holes for Ellie and maybe seven holes for Ruby. Ellie straight up quit and went into tantrum mode [as seen below]. Ruby continued to play but had figured out that it wasn't as easy (and therefore, fun) as she had imagined. We finished out the 18 holes and played some games inside. It's safe to say we'll put Boondocks back on our "when the girls are older" list.

Saturday, August 10: Tracy Aviary
We hadn't been to "the aviaria" (as R still calls it) since March! Our membership had expired and we hadn't even seen the new exhibit they built for Andy the Condor. There were even new birds! In the new buildings by the bird show amphitheater there was a new owl that made this freaky screeching sound. It was fascinating! It sounded like a distant scream. There weren't any informational plaques, so I don't know what kind of owl it was, but it has replaced the spectacled ("puppy") owls for the number one spot on my list.

another one of my new favorites
(Again - no sign! Doesn't anyone know that if you don't put a sign on it I'm going to want to know what it is?)

Ruby got chosen as a volunteer to feed the whistling ducks again.
She did not actually like letting the duck eat from her hand.

Picasso did a live painting performance at the end of the show.
His trainers have worked very hard to teach him how to "paint."
Ellie told me, "Birds can't paint!"
But he painted the only way a bird can and it was captivating to watch (for a few minutes).

And this happened...again.

Monday, August 12: Catherine Pass Trail
Late Monday morning we set out to do a new hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was supposed to be a warm August day, so everyone dressed in short-sleeved shirts and shorts. When we got out of the car at the trailhead the breeze was a tad chilly, which I found refreshing. We hiked at the girls' pace, stopping to play hide and seek along the way. I was loving the new scenery and panoramic views of Albion Basin.

Ruby's getting better at actually hiding when we play hide & seek

rock climber

trail runner

About a mile in we started feeling sprinkles of rain. "This is refreshing!" I thought. As we continued on, I heard Ellie say, "This rain is pokey!" I looked on the ground and saw small pellets of hail hitting the dirt. It was pokey rain for sure. We kept going until the hail pelted too hard and we were all getting wet and cold. (And cue the whining!)

We wandered off-trail to find a spot in the trees for shelter. We saw other hikers doing the same; we all thought we'd wait it out. "This storm will blow over in a few minutes." I also noticed that none of the other hikers were out in shorts and t-shirts. They were legit-looking with wind slickers and long-pants and hiking boots. I noted, "Everyone else is properly attired." Ellie added, "I'M tired!"

We had a snack break. The hail turned back to rain. We heard a roll of thunder. We called it. I didn't think it was worth moving on. Our best option was to head back to the car. The rain was fine, the thunder made me pretty nervous though - it was echoing loud, earth-shaking rumbles over our heads. We started running (carrying the girls) and it started hailing again. What started as tapioca-sized hail turned to pea-sized, then chunks the size of blueberries. The girls started screaming. We were getting pummeled by sharp icy rocks and it was painful!

the trail turned white from the layer of hail that fell in a few minutes' time

When we made it to the car the girls declared that was "the worst hike EVER!" I couldn't disagree but I did have to point out that it was a great adventure. I'll never forget the time we hiked in a hailstorm!

Monday, August 19: Red Butte Garden
Our Tracy Aviary membership allows us to get into Red Butte Garden for free - at least it used to. We found out that Red Butte no longer reciprocates with the aviary (as of January 2013). Still, they let us in for free one last time because they are super nice.

We spent a majority of our time in the children's garden area. We were the only ones there; it was so peaceful. While the girls played Jeff and I got to hang out. It almost felt like a date!

swinging on a branch of the weeping mulberry

Ruby invented a new game where everyone else finds a flower that they think is the best/prettiest flower. We each show Ruby the flower we have chosen. She is the judge and decides which of the flowers she thinks is the best/prettiest. It is highly subjective and the judgment criteria is unknown. I think my flower won once because Jeff picked some ugly stick plant to be funny. Next time I want to be the judge - it sounds fun.

The rest of the family's August family adventures (The Beach Trip!) will be posted in September!

Ellie's turn for preschool

Ellie has been looking forward to going to preschool for quite some time and her time has come! Ellie had her preschool orientation on Friday, August 9. She got to play on the playground and meet her teacher and sing songs. She loved all of it. I loved watching her explore while I reminisced about the first time I took Ruby to orientation.

"I think I'm gonna like it here"
(so excited she's about to pee her pants!)

Checking out Ruby's old territory: the sandbox!

Ellie was the only kid who wanted to play at the water station

I never realized that they have a mini basketball court!
It was so cute watching Ellie shoot some baskets!

Ellie's first day of school was on Tuesday, August 20. She wasn't even a teensy bit nervous. She came with me to drop off and pick up Ruby from Newcastle for the past two years; she was more than ready for her turn to be unloaded and walk through those doors. It made my mama heart smile.

While Ellie was experiencing the first day of her educational career, I took Ruby on a special mommy-daughter date. It was adorable how jealous Ruby was that Ellie got to go to school. When I told Ruby that we'd do a special activity together she asked in the sweetest voice, "Will you take me to get a pedicure?" I've told her she could get a pedicure for her 6th birthday, but when she asked in such an unassuming, tender way I felt like that's exactly what we should do.

I actually took her to breakfast first, then we got pedicures. At the time she seemed a little freaked out because she got her toenails and fingernails painted by a man, but when it was all over she said she wanted to do that again. She picked sparkly blue for her toes and sparkly purple for her fingers. A-dorable!

That afternoon I took the girls out to get ice cream to celebrate Ellie's first day. Cheers to my baby starting preschool!

August water fun

I was on a mission to squeeze in lots of water fun before summer was over. I've fallen in love with summer sunshine and was starting to prematurely mourn the end of water season. Looking back, I wish we had made it back to Cowabunga Bay one more time. I guess there's always next year. (I'm thinking about getting a season pass. Should I do it?)

Friday, August 2: Highland Splash Park

I dragged the girls to Highland to check out this splash park I'd heard about. There's a fountain and a 'river' with boulder fountains. I thought it was pretty cool. We had been there less than fifteen minutes when a city worker came and turned off the water. Nobody was leaving and I overheard someone say that they have 'water breaks' throughout the day and that they'd turn the water back on. We waited and waited. The girls' enthusiasm had run dry by the time the water came back on. They played just a little bit longer then asked to go home.

Ruby decided she'd rather lay out than play in the water.
When we got in the car to leave she informed me:
"I HATED that!" Well okay then.

Monday, August 5: swimming at Dimple Dell
This was the first of a few times we visited the rec center pool as a family. This was the visit when Ruby decided she wasn't scared to go down the slide anymore. Ellie showed off her lack of fear for putting her head under, and both girls loved 'swimming' around the lazy river wearing lifejackets.

Tuesday, August 6: Riverton Old Farm Splash Park with McKinley & Molly
I only took one picture and it's so pathetic it's not even worth posting. Lins and I totally planned to meet at the splash park so the kids could play in the water and they ended up spending 90% of the time playing on the regular playground (in their swimsuits). It was pretty windy. Either way, Lins and I had lots of time to chat, so I was happy.

Wednesday, August 7: swimming with Cooper
It just so happened that we planned to go swimming with Cooper at his neighborhood pool on the same day that Ruby put her head under the water at swim lessons for the first time. That day at the pool Ruby proudly showed off her new skill and kicked around in her floaty without a care in the world.

Friday, August 9: Cassie's Farewell to Summer Party
Ruby's neighbor friend held her annual end of summer party. The huge slip n' slide was a big hit again.

Tuesday, August 13: swimming with Valerie
Valerie invited the girls and I to swim at their neighborhood pool one last time before school started. I'm sure gonna miss pool time with friends!

Friday, August 16: swimming at Allison's house
Allison's mom invited the girls over to play in their awesome gigantic slide/pool! This has got to be the perfect backyard pool - it blows up in less than 2 minutes, sprays water on the slides, and doesn't hold so much water that you dread seeing your water bill. You just have to have a yard big enough for it to fit in!

summer swim lessons [and overcoming fears]

Ruby and Ellie started swim lessons with Pyper at Alta Canyon on Saturdays in July. They were all together in the preschool level 1 class; it was Ellie's very first swim lessons and Ruby's third. (You may recall Ruby's last swim lesson experience a year and a half ago. You know, the preschool level 2 class that she didn't pass? I was just hoping for a better experience than that had been.) From the first class Ruby and Ellie loved swim lessons. The teacher was wonderful. The girls did everything the teacher asked and they had fun the whole time. I was so relieved that swim lessons weren't a struggle.

The last day of swim class was a water fun day. The girls' teacher wasn't there and when the substitute teacher announced that the kids would be going down the waterslide and jumping off the diving board Ruby totally shut down. She decided right then that she was not going to participate. I felt disappointed that Ruby would spend her last swim class sitting on the side. I knew she probably couldn't be convinced but that didn't keep me from trying.

We watched Ellie go down a few times (with her teacher and by herself). I was so proud of my brave girl!

The teacher offered to let Ruby ride down on her lap and even promised that she'd lift her up at the end so that her face wouldn't get splashed. And she did it! And wanted to go again! She patiently waited for the teacher to go with her and ended up going down five or six times. She was so proud of herself for trying something she was scared to do.

first time down the slide

swimming to the side

swim friends

That same week, the girls started MWF swim lessons at Draper Pool. Optimistically, I signed them up for preschool level 2, thinking that they'd pass level 1 and be ready to move on. [They did "pass" preschool level 1, but the teacher marked them off on lots of skills she didn't actually make them do.] I honestly thought, from my faraway viewpoint, that both girls did really well during that first lesson, but the teacher approached me at the end to tell me that she thought Ruby needed to move back to level 1. Ruby refused to put her face in the water. The teacher said she would give her one more lesson to see how she did, but no big surprise, after that second lesson she told me Ruby definitely needed to move back to level 1.

When we arrived that week for the Friday lesson, the teacher told me that Ellie should go with Ruby to the level 1 class. This took me by surprise because until then she hadn't mentioned moving Ellie back, too. (Initially this frustrated me, but it turned out that Ruby would have been the only one in her new class, and it was fun for the girls to be together.) And you know what that teacher did the very first thing, right after I told her that Ruby needed some time to warm up? She asked them both to put their heads under water. No warm-up games, no easy review stuff - straight to Ruby's roadblock. That wasn't exactly the best way to get her warmed up to the new class.

You know what else the teacher told her? If she wasn't going to put her head under the water she would make her do it. I knew that would only freak her out more, so Jeff and I decided to do anything we could to help Ruby get over her fear. We worked with her for a whole hour at the pool on Saturday, pulling out all our creative ideas. She promised beforehand that she was finally, really truly going to do it. But my stubborn girl Would Not Do It. [Meanwhile, Ellie was giddy with excitement over putting her head all the way under and blowing bubbles. Our girls are such opposites in many ways.] I started to lose hope that Ruby would ever be ready. She has, after all, since she was a baby, hated getting her hair washed and screams when she gets water in her face.

We took the girls swimming at Dimple Dell on Monday and she surprised us when she did something she was always scared of doing: she went down the small twisty slide. It's not the slide part she had previously been afraid of - it was the 'waterfall' you have to walk through to get to the slide. That day though, she walked through the waterfall, wiped off her face, and went down the slide. And she loved it. And she went again and again.

Right when I convinced myself that it might possibly take months (even years) before Ruby got over her fear of getting her face wet, she showed me I was wrong. On Wednesday (8/7), when the teacher asked them to put their heads under the water Ruby did it! No excuses, no half-hearted attempts - she just took a breath and went under the water. I was so shocked and thrilled, I teared-up from the emotion of watching my daughter conquer her fear. Would you believe that she went under the water four more times during class? I was blown away. I'll never forget how proud she was. We talked about how great it feels to do something that you've been afraid of doing to discover that it was possible. I asked her what made her decide to finally do it. She said that it was going down the slide at Dimple Dell that helped. I never would have predicted that. (She also had a toy incentive and a father's blessing from Jeff that surely played a role in her miraculous about-face turn.)

playing "fishy in a basket"
(Ruby went all the way "under" it!)

The Day Ruby Put Her Whole Head Under the Water!

After that day Ruby and Ellie had four more classes in the session. The change in Ruby's attitude was magnificent. She was excited to go to class! She did everything the teacher asked! She put her head under the water to fetch diving rings! She had fun! What seemed like an impenetrable wall of fear the week before was suddenly a non-issue. She passed preschool level 1 (again) and is legitimately ready to move up. I can hardly express how grateful I am that Ruby made it past this big hurdle. She may just turn into a swimmer girl after all.