Loving Life in Logan

Alrighty, we're just going to call this speed blogging 101. I usually spend far too much time trying to come up with cohesive (and possibly even witty) posts, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Due to the unusual hardships of being stuck in a lovely home full of lovely people on the banks of lovely Lake George without wifi, I am being forced to connect with actual people instead of online profiles, creating real memories instead of virtual ones. It's lovely. Only thing that would make it better is if my hubby were here. Miss you, Peanut Butter!

Since I am holed up at McDonalds stealing their wifi for a few minutes, here are some more photos from our lovely to visit to Hyde Park in June.

We drove all day on Saturday, arriving in time for Susie's patriotic concert with the American Festival Chorus and Utah State Alumni Band on Sunday evening.  Here's our crew all lined up in the auditorium, waiting for the concert to start.  You may notice the lovely Kate Taylor in the background--friend and family of Wheelers everywhere.  :)

While it's pretty hard to see, here's a photo of Susie (a brown head behind the bald trombone player.)  Believe it or not, as an upcoming fifth grader, Brooklyn got to join in for a couple of numbers too.  She's on the end of the riser wearing purple.

Susie and Brooklyn, looking patriotic and proud following this lovely performance.

And here's Jason with Annika.  Wonder of wonders, our munchkin finally fell asleep, letting us enjoy a bit more of the music.

Some post-performance smiles.

An adorable photo of Kate with all of our cuties.

I liked all the giggling in this shot.

Last but not least, playtime at home.  Our little Annie Mae was right at home in Kate's arms...

...or on the pavement, being silhoutted by sidewalk chalk.  Fun times!

On to other Hyde Park adventures...we loved seeing the mountains again!  Talia and I went running up the canyon together a few times.

Here are Jason and Charles and Annie on the back side of Lions Park.

Do you like the new astroturf play stucture?  My kids sure did!


As for my biggest kid, he had the most fun playing frisbee.

Talia, on the other hand, loved doing cartwheels.  Lots of cartwheels.  We have a video of her doing twelve in a row.

Our energetic munchkin.

Oh wait, there she goes again, in front of Grandma and Grandpa's home this time.

Suise and I, enjoying a peaceful picnic on the grass.

Grandma Susie has the greatest toys, carefully saved from the days when her own children were young.  Annie loved doing dishes in her very own sink.

If I had enough faith (and perhaps a good enough reason), I could move those gorgeous mountains right into my Nebraskan backyard.


While in Logan, we had fun exploring some of the local splash pads, all the way from North Logan to Providence.  Here's Eli, having a squirtingly grand time.

Brooklyn is the monkey in the middle.

Dance, dance, dance!

Love the scenic backdrop.

Is it just me, or does Grandma Susie look younger every day?  Must be the youthful vigor of all those grandkids rubbing off.  :)

Speaking of Grandma Susie, no post would be complete without a few shots of the amazing food that comes from her kitchen (with lots of help from Grandpa Charles too, of course.)  I adore the salads...

But nothing spells love as dearly as her pies.

Thanks, Susie and Charles!  And to my own sweet pie on his Omaha own, I love you as much as a strawberry rhubarb, peach, apple, and banana cream combined.

Visiting with Grandpa Hansen

Of all the wonderful things we did during our vacation to Logan this year, the most special was visiting Grandpa and Grandma Hansen in Idaho. Grandpa Hansen's health hasn't been great recently, so we visited him in the nursing home connected to the hospital in Rupert.

Here are Jason and Susie with her parents, Leland Junior Hansen and Norma Marie Heaps.  You can see where Jason gets his great smile.

Another photo with the entire gang.  Grandpa Hansen really liked the hex bugs that we'd brought along to entertain Annika.

Uh oh!  Looks like Eli's stealing the title of goof ball supreme from Talia.

Grandma Hansen and Eli, having a bit of a chat. 

Saying "goodbye" the first day was a bit easier because we knew we'd be back to visit again on Father's Day.  Here's Susie with her Dad as he reads his Father's Day card.

Eli is always the best snuggler.  I've always felt that Eli is a bit of an old soul in a young body.  These two souls certainly connected quickly!

Hugs make every day brighter.

As soon as my hubby walked in the door, Grandpa Hansen smiled and called out broadly, "Jason!"   Such a special moment, especially since grandpa's been struggling with memory recall lately.

 

Another shotwith all the munchkins.

Susie and Norma, capturing a few memories.

One more with me thrown in, just because I want Grandpa Hansen to know I'm thinking about him and love him too.

Since our last visit, Grandpa's health has taken a bit of a turn for the worse and he's back in the hospital.  We feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit when we did.  While Grandpa may not be particularly wealthy by worldly standards, he is rich beyond measure in the ways that matter most.


We love you, Grandpa Hansen, and are praying for you!  Thank you for your love and smiles.

Spring at Lauritzen Gardens

Okay, so this is the last catch-up post before I launch full-speed ahead into summer vacation.  Before embracing the scorching heat of summer, let's remember the gentle warmth of spring.  One beautiful morning in May, the littlest munchkins and I took a trip to the botanical gardens to see the tulips.

So beautiful!  The only problem was that Annie wanted to pick them all.

With just a month of summer left, I'm already getting melancholy about my little guy starting kindergarten.  Even though these two argue at times, they have so much fun together!

Tulips will always have a special place in my heart as our wedding flower.  The Logan temple grounds were blanketed with these beauties on the day we got married.

Eli smiles widely on our flowering nature walk.

"I looked out the window and what did I see?"

"Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!"

Ok, ok, so these may not be apricot trees, but the lilac bushes behind smelled even better than popcorn.  If only google would invent a scratch-n-sniff photo!

Crazy About Quest

Continuing our summer catch-up, Brooklyn had  a pretty awesome experience at the beginning of June.  She spent two weeks at "Quest," focusing on mathematics with a group of similarly bright and motivated fifth graders from all over the city.  On the last day, they had a great open house where they shared what they had learned.  My favorite part was this dance highlighting seven habits of happy kids to the tune of "Dynamite."

Here's Brooklyn next to her friend Sadie, teaching us how to make an origami magic circle, or ninja star.

Purty!


I really liked this pyramid fractal, a Sierpinski triangle.

They used beads to make bracelets sharing their birthdates through binary numbers.

Next station: sonobe cubes.  (I took a lot of pictures to use as future ideas, in case I ever need to throw together something similar.)

Annika thought these geodesic domes they made out of newspaper were pretty nifty.

"I stuck!"  Annie, maybe if you use some of the Mayan or Egyptian number systems the class studied, you'll be able to figure it out.

Last but not least, Brooklyn and Talia pose for a photo with the Einstein (a favorite of the kids because his pants kept slipping down.)

Overall, I was quite impressed with the program and grateful for the extra enrichment in math.  In general, I feel like our children are challenged in language arts through the dual language program at Crestridge, but it's much harder to get them engaged and excited about math and science.  Quest was a great way to get these analytical minds really thinking, even in summer.

Living History at Fort Atkinson

Our whirlwind summer continues! We've driven to Utah and back, then all the way out to New York and up to Vermont where I'm currently camped out in the kitty-free zone with my sister Callie (thank you allergies). We could give you a riveting report on the day which would include a cranky baby, delayed flights, and oodles of projectile vomit (Eila) or a listless toddler, lengthy car ride, and spikey high fever (Annie.)  

Instead, let's recollect the wonders of modern medicine by recalling how they used to treat the ill.  Here's Talia being bled by a practitioner during the Living History days in June at Fort Atkinson, Nebraska.  Don't worry, if the bleeding had been unsuccessful, they might have applied slugs.

While we'd visited Fort Atkinson before, the living history reenactments made this trip extra special.  During the 1820s, this military outpost was the largest in the nation, housing over 1000 U.S. soldiers, one fifth of the army at the time.  Established to protect the fur trade, the fort only experienced one small skirmish in 1823.  Even so, one might have occasionally heard a cannon.

Ready, steady...

Fire!

Eli thought the cannon was pretty loud.

This commanding officer gave a marvelous speech reminding us all about the true significance of Memorial Day.

A solemn march in memory of our fallen soldiers.

The kids had so much fun watching these two women make beautiful lace.

What a magnificent talent!

Naturally we had to stop by the blacksmith shop as well.  It was well-worth the trip, if only to see this beard.

Hard at work forging a spoon.

Before too long, we were in need of refreshment, easily procured at the general store.

Afterward, we watched the youth dance...

...and talked to the fur traders.

Interestingly enough, the primary reason the army abandoned the fort in 1827 was fashion.  The fur trade lost its importance when styles changed and the silk stove pipe top hat replaced the beaver felt hat.

No matter what the style, baby dolls will always be in fashion.

For all the sick babes here, get well soon!

Young at Heart

Our kids are growing up so quickly that sometimes it makes me sad. At other moments, I feel grateful that they've stayed "young," engaging in creative play long after many of their peers have been lost to video games.  I love this image of 10 year-old Brooklyn, happily dressed up as a princess as her scientific mind works on concocting a sound system with snap circuits.

The tune she wanted?  Here comes the bride.  As you can see, our basement recently hosted a royal wedding.

Just for the record, the prince did indeed kiss the bride.  I've got it on video to use as blackmail in future years.

While I may name my gray hairs after our munchkins, their laughter keeps me young.