A Visit to the Castle (library)

"Castle!" said Curtis excitedly, yet matter-of-factly, as we approached the library today to go to story time (this was the boys' first time going there). While Jared attended the bigger kid story time, Curtis and Lydia played very nicely with a library toy:
Or at least they did for a little while; then Mom made the mistake of suggesting that maybe we should check out the younger kid story time also in progress, which led to Curtis spying a huge stuffed dragon and being sad that he couldn't take it home with him. *sigh* Nevertheless, it was quite a productive outing, because Mom found a friend from waaaaaay back when while we were there, and also one of our newer friends. After story time was over for Jared, we headed outside to see a little more of the "castle." Here's Curtis thinking about going a little higher:
He decided to continue his climb and was rewarded with a great view from the balcony/rampart:
And, last but not least, here we have Jared, also exploring the "castle" and showing of the letter D he got from story time.

Muffins out and about in September 2011

Soccer! Ever since he sat on the sidelines while Amanda played, Jared has been eager for his chance. Now, thanks to a league put together by some amazing ladies, Jared is a proud member of team 3, all decked out in the very same jersey Amanda used back in her soccer days. He got to play for the first time last week and enjoyed it.

That same day was also a big day for Amanda. BYU hosts a "Triple Crown" one mile race each year for the elementary schools around, and when Amanda heard about it, she decided she wanted to do it. Here she is before the race with her number pinned on:
And she did it! She ran all the way! She did it in about 12 minutes 24 seconds, which is not too shabby for a six year old running with seven year olds, and at high altitude, no less (we won't say how much she beat Mom's old junior high time by). Yay Amanda! (This picture shows her nearing the finish line; she's the one with jeans and a long braid out behind her.)

Meanwhile, Lydia and Curtis keep busy exploring the world. Most recently, Lydia is discovering slides. So fun to have so many double slides in the area for photo ops like this:

And, last but not least for this post, we all went for a family outing for family home evening recently to feed the ducks. Not only was it Amanda and Dad's first time at the pond, it also produced enough photos to motivate Mom to try her hand at collage-ing them in Picasa for the first time ever:

(One more note that Mom's throwing in just because: Dad just had another article accepted for publication [his third!]; Yay Dad!)

A Parade of Parks

C-ville Park:
What is Lydia so excited about? Ah, yes, an outing in the park! Or, as the case may be, several park outings. In the spirit of that classic July 2011 Muffin News post "Tales from two and a half parks," we now present "A Parade of Parks," summarizing our recent adventures exploring the parks in our new locale. We begin with C-ville park. Mom and Dad had unknowingly passed this park dozens of times back when we used to live here, which made it all the more fun to discover it. The boys are in this picture of the playground there, in a "Where's Waldo?" sort of way.
We've probably spent more time at this park than any other. It's got a couple of pavilions, a quarter mile paved loop path, and real bathrooms! (Actually, pretty much all the parks seem to have bathrooms here, but it's still a pleasant surprise after our Wyoming outhouse adventure.) We've even taken Grandma and Grandpa there for a picnic dinner. By far, though, the most interesting item at this park is the zip line. Here's Amanda using it.

L's Park:
The day after we found C-ville park, we had a chance to go to L's park. We didn't spend quite as much time playing there as at C-ville, but the kids still loved seeing the little river/canal anyway. It was definitely topped the playground in their opinion.
Our reason for visiting the park was a very nice one: a yummy dinner! Here are some Muffins enjoying:

Bc Park:
The next park we discovered was Bc park. Mom loved that the playground was set up so that you could easily see the whole thing from any of the benches around it. The kids liked the playground for awhile, too.
However, the park is also very close to the base of the mountains, and there were some highly intriguing hills behind the playground. Jared and Curtis made several trips to the edge of the trees and back. And, as you can see, their idea was rather popular. (The Muffins are somewhere in there; Curtis is the whitish figure.)
Lydia didn't hit the hills, but she did enjoy checking out the mulch and the sidewalk:

RC Park:
Our next park was RC park, located on the side of a hill/base of a mountain. We went there right after Mom had found some fun marshmallow "ice cream" cones for 50 cents. Here are the boys enjoying.
Lydia liked the cone part best.
One of the main features of the park was a large assortment of very large rocks. Here's Jared trying to climb one.
He had better luck with this one.
There were also lots of acorns at the park, which Jared collected and brought home. Dad and Amanda weren't there the first time we visited RC park, but they did get to go another day when there was a party to attend there. Actually, there were several parties there that evening. We saw a sign saying ours was at the top pavilion. So, we headed to the highest pavilion we could see, and there we found hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. As we ate, Dad searched the crowd. Finally he said, "I don't know anyone here." Mom didn't recognize anyone either, so Dad headed farther up the hill and found our "real" group. We were full by then, though, and the Construction Management club didn't seem too upset that we crashed their BBQ and let the kids play in their blow-up bouncy house.

R park:
It's a little funny that our next park took as long for us to get to as it did. After all, R park is right next to Amanda's school! (Probably helps that Amanda rides the bus and the rest of us don't get over there much.) Here's Amanda gracefully descending the "stairs":
Jared and Lydia enjoyed snacking at the park.
On our way home, we found the end of the sidewalk.
Jared took a picture of Mom helping to make sure a reluctant Curtis got home, too.

NG:
And, last but not least, we have our most recent park discovery, NG. It used to be private property, with a small house and large grounds. After changing hands a few times, the city bought the place and restored it to approximate its original grandeur. It really is a VERY nice park, and the kids enjoyed it right along with Mom. Best part, though: the ducks!
Here's Lydia watching the ducks while munching a snack and holding the Elmo ball, on loan from Curtis while he was busy duck watching.
We brought a lunch with us to the park, and of course we ended up sharing with the ducks. The second in line duck (after the leader heading for the pond) was especially fond of Mom's sandwich and took pieces right from her hand.
The boys also found some dogs to play with at the park. Well, there you have it. Six parks down, many more to go.

An interstate adventure

One of the perks of our new location is proximity to grandparents. After all the visits Grandmother and Grandfather made to us, we figured it was time to return the favor. So, Mom loaded up the Muffins one day after Amanda got home from school and off we went. Grandmother and Grandfather met us on our way and together we headed back to their home.

There were scattered thunderstorms as we drove, and some of them had been quite busy, leaving fires like the one we passed. Not that we WANTED there to be a fire, but it really was quite a sight for Muffins who have grown up in an area where everything was usually far too damp to burn.

When we got to Grandmother and Grandfather's house, Jared noticed these trees and said, "Mommy, look! Beach trees!" Yet another thing the Muffins only remembered seeing on film before.

One of the Muffins' favorite things at Grandmother and Grandfather's house was the water dispenser. So much more exciting than our taps back home.

Here's Lydia checking out Mom's old room. That's where the Muffins spent the night while Mom camped out on a futon she helped assemble years ago.

Luckily for the Muffins, they woke up nice and early, just in time to beat the daytime heat. One of the first orders of business was to play on the dirt hill in the back yard, the one thing Amanda remembered from her last visit to Grandmother and Grandfather three years ago. Here's Grandmother setting up a slide.

Even Lydia tried out the slide, in a slightly more dignified fashion than her older siblings.

Back inside the house, Jared wanted to know how Grandfather's record player worked. Yes, folks, that's a real wind-up phonograph, there, with absolutely no cord, completely crank powered.

Amanda was fascinated with Mom's old rock collection. The phonograph was playing while she and Jared checked them out. Therefore, it is a picture of a rock concert. (Couldn't resist that one.)

Notice how the green field makes the whole area look lush . . . maybe Mom could sell it to a post card company. So, you ask, why were the Muffins there . . .

Why, to see (and feed) the horses, of course! The lived not far from Grandmother and Grandfather on land owned by some friends.

For lunch, Grandmother and Grandfather took us to a Chinese restaurant (and a very yummy one at that). Hard to believe it used to be a pizza and sub shop back when Mom was growing up.

We got ready to head home about 24hrs after we'd set off in the first place. A bit of an exhausting trip . . .

. . . but definitely a fun adventure.

Putting the labor in Labor Day weekend

In all fairness, our big Labor Day headlines are probably all thanks to Ellie the dog, one way or another. Here she is. She followed the kids home again, only a little more literally this time.
Dad loves dogs. He was more than happy to let her follow the kids. Also, since Ellie's owner appeared to be gone, and Ellie appeared determined to escape her yard, Dad thought it would be good to keep an eye on Ellie for awhile. She loved visiting with the kids (and they with her), but Ellie's owner was less than pleased when Ellie returned home. Dad assessed the fence Ellie has mastered escaping and offered to give it one of his famous fixes. Ellie's owner declined. She really has no idea what Dad can do.

So, there was Dad with a supply of wood salvaged from a dumpster. With nothing but a dull, rusty saw, a hammer, and a few nails, he transformed it into this (a new shelf!):

and this (a slide! [anchored to the tree, don't worry]):

and this (a tea party table!):

We enjoyed it, yes. Thanks, Dad (and Ellie)!

Oh yes, we did some other stuff, too. Amanda has decided to enter a one mile race later this month, so we started the morning off with running practice at the park. (Dad and Amanda did most of the running; Mom timed them and watched the others play.) We also went to a BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa's house. And, best of all, it was cloudy today! Now, some of you may raise your eyebrows at that, but honestly, all the blue skies we've been having lately have been giving Mom cloud withdrawal. Seriously. Hooray for clouds! (Mom may feel differently after a few months of winter.)