Parades and Pumpkins!

Two weeks ago we went to Swiss Days in Santa Clara. It is the celebration of the Latter-Day Saint Swiss pioneers who gathered here in Santa Clara. Emily and Audrey LOVED the candy. Emily, of course, was afraid of everything, so Ryan held her a lot of the time. I held Audrey most of the time. She thought everyone was out to get her, especially Sebastian, the crab from Little Mermaid.



Yesterday, we went to the Staheli Farm and Pumpkin Patch. Emily loved the "jumping pillow," which I am sad we didn't take a picture of. Audrey, on the other hand, not so much. I would say it was better than a trampoline. Emily pet the pony and other animals, while Audrey wandered off to the pigs.

Emily liked the corn slide, as long as Dad was there to catch her. They both enjoyed the large swings, and the cow train ride, which we didn't take pictures of.

We also went on a "wagon" ride to the pumpkin patch. Emily did not like the witch, but Dad decided she needed to confront her fears. So, he made her take a picture with her.

Finally Grass

We finally have grass. After two summers of trying to eliminate "bermuda" grass, it was time to move ahead. The truck arrived Friday afternoon and I began working alone. However, two of my neighbors saw me out working and came over to help. I originally thought it was going to be fairly easy, but quickly realized the rolls of sod are somewhat heavy and take some effort to move into the right positions. I was completely drained afterward and am still really sore. I was extremely grateful for the help as it took us 3 to four hours to get most of it down. In total it was 3,000 square feet or 5 pallets full. Here are some before and after pictures. It is a huge difference to see green in the yard.

Emily pulled up a chair to watch the delivery.


You will notice in the following picture that not only can Emily finally lay down in our back yard, but also that our garden is no longer. Anne was sad to see it go, but in the end I think it looks better. It was next to the far wall. I had leftover grass so I decided to do the entire thing which ended up perfectly down to the last roll. Next year's garden will be where the rocks are near the trees.

July and August

If you haven't noticed, it has been quite a long time since our last blog. Sorry for that. I will try and do them more often. In July Anne and Emily went to see The Little Mermaid at Tuacahn. They both enjoyed it and Emily spoke of it frequently for several days after.


In August we went up north to see my parents a for few days. They were up in Provo again to look at the duplexes. We went to a Bees game Friday night. I didn't get a quality picture here with the mascot, but you get the idea.


We had good seats so I took some pictures showing where we were at and how interested Emily was in the game:). There was a fireworks show after the game which was impressive. Emily got a little scared at first with how big and loud they were but warmed up after a couple of minutes.


We also went to Bridal Veil falls and Nunns Park for an afternoon. The weather was a nice break from intense St. George heat. Emily amazingly had the courage to play next to the river. The water was freezing so we didn't get in except near the waterfall.

It took two pictures to get a good one of Audrey and Emily. Notice how one is smiling in each and not together.

Audrey got a good afternoon nap next to the river in the shade.

We spent some time at Vicki's as well. Here is a picture showing how opposite Emily and Audrey are. Audrey does not mind being a mess as opposed to Emily who can't stand dirty hands. Audrey had just finished a chocolate popsicle.


Who knew tomato's were that yummy. Audrey seems to like them and was caught after devouring about half of one.

Lastly, I introduced the harmonica to Emily.