Shakespearean Festival
For the past couple of years Alan and I have enjoyed going with our friends the Lundgrens to the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. I'm always so impressed with the quality of the performances knowing that they don't have much preparation time. I also enjoy the relaxed atmosphere surrounding the festival. It was a nice little get-a-way.
While we were away watching Shakespeare, the kids got up early to see the second annual Sandy Balloon Festival. Eight balloons were launched from a park near our home. The weather was great and afterwards the kids went out to breakfast for all you can eat french toast!
Freshman Interim for Elliot in the Tetons
It's a tradition at Waterford that a few weeks before school starts, a few of the teachers take all the 9th grade students on an interim trip. It is an opportunity for the students who often live some distance from each other to reconnect. It also provides an opportunity for new students to become acquainted with their new classmates. This year they went to the Tetons for some great hiking and river rafting. They are kept busy all day receiving instruction from the local science school. And of course, there is a fair amount of evening fun and late night antics. I appreciate the chaperones' ability to function well when sleep deprived! Elliot had a great time and came home with fun stories. Unlike some of the rest of us, he is not a camera guy and therefore we have no photos. Oh well, they would probably be kind of scary anyway!
August 16th marked our 25th wedding anniversary. We had thoughts of a trip to Europe, but for lack of vacation days, settled for a relaxed weekend in Park City. Alan's parents gave us a Marriott Week for Christmas and we decided it would make a great anniversary get-a-way as well as a fun family vacation before school starts.
So, Friday the 15th we headed downtown for a session at the Salt Lake Temple where we were married so many years ago. Afterwards we walked across the plaza to dinner at The Roof in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, again reminiscent of our wedding breakfast at the Hotel Utah. After dinner we headed up to Park City to the Marriott Resort for a couple of days. It was fun to shop, swim, eat out and watch the Olympics.
Sunday we drove back to Sandy to attend church with the kids and then we took them back up to Park City for the rest of the week. The BYU kids were between semesters and were able to spend some time with us when they didn't have to work. The best part was that while Alan had to work, he was able to work from his laptop enabling the family to stay together and keeping him from having to commute everyday. We had a lot of fun playing games, eating out and staying up late watching Olympics. Tess and I enjoyed a fun day of shopping at the Outlets and one afternoon I took the boys to the Olympic Park. We saw the museum (which is excellent, by the way) and watched skiers practice their twists and turns only to land in a swimming pool, clothes, helmets, skis, boots and all!
Conference Center
One of the advantages of living near Salt Lake is that once in a while we get a stake assignment to help clean the Conference Center. It is always from 9:30 - 12:00 at night because of course it has to be after they close, so this time the Stake Presidency decided that we should all go out to dinner together and then head downtown to clean. When we arrived, we all were assigned various cleaning tasks. Alan started vacuuming rugs and I was handed a swiffer duster and told they I should dust everything from the floorboards to all the fine art and statues. What a fun privilege to be able to dust the busts of the prophets and the frames around all the apostles. The Conference Center among other things is a wonderful art gallery and now not only have I seen some of it up close and personal, I have dusted it.
August has been a month for teeth at our house! It started with Madeleine finally receiving her new crown to cover her implant that has been in the works for years really. She now has a beautiful smile just in time for Senior portraits!
The last week of August saw Clark in the dentist's chair on a Monday getting his braces on and Elliot back in the same chair that Friday getting his braces off. A new look for everyone to start school with! It takes a lot of time and a lot of money, but it is amazing how much help we can get these days to be able to have straight and beautiful teeth. What a great age to live in!
We had fun our last weekend of the summer going to the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival and to the first BYU football game. And then, since we had played Friday and Saturday, on Monday we all "labored" getting the lawn mowed, the house straightened up, everything ready for the first day of school and of course in keeping with past Labor Day tradition, Alan defrosted the freezer! Whoohoo! Loren and Tess came up from Provo for Sunday dinner and to spend Monday with us and so we did have a holiday moment at the end of the day when Alan's parents and our niece Jessica (visiting from SF) came over for dinner and games.
What a great summer!