Lydia turns 2!

Our activity for Lydia's birthday this year was a trip to Build-a-Bear. Amanda and Jared had gone a few years ago, and so this time it was Lydia and Curtis's turn to pick a special critter. The options were overwhelming, but in the end Lydia got a koala and Curtis got a monkey. However, the birthday evening had just begun. Our next stop was a visit to one of Mom's very dear friend from high school. She and her family graciously let us join them for dinner and a little cake party for Lydia. Here's Lydia getting ready to blow out the candles (with a little help):

And here she is pleased with the finished result:

Hooray for Lydia!

A little hiking

One evening as the Muffins were restless, Mom decided it was time to check out one of our long-neglected local attractions: Bridal Veil Falls. We drove up the canyon, parked at the park, and began our little hike. Here are the Muffins at the start of the trail (for our purposes, anyway):

A look down the trail:

The Provo River, which ran alongside the trail much of the way:

Bridal Veil Falls, upper section:

Crowds and camera issues kept us from getting any good Muffin pictures by the pool at the bottom of the falls; we'll just have to go back sometime.

Splashing at the Riverwoods

We made a remarkable discovery back in Utah: they've got places to play in water, here, too! Here are scenes of the Muffins enjoying splash time at the Riverwoods shopping center.

Apricots

When we first moved in to our Utah home last summer, we were a little disappointed to see that we'd missed the fruit season for the apricot tree in our yard. Not this year!

Here are Amanda and Jared hard at work trying to harvest whatever they could:

Amanda with her apricot knocking implement of choice:

Jared with the harvest:

We enjoyed the fruit while it lasted. After our tree ran out of pickable/eatable fruit, we got some from the store. The Muffins agreed that they just weren't the same as the tree ripened fruit.

Home again, home again (jiggity jog)

The day that Mom the Seattle fan had been dreading all summer finally came: time to go home. However, in the interest of preserving the spirit of adventure we'd discovered in Seattle, Mom planned a couple of things to do on the way home. First stop, the Hagerman Fossil Beds visitor center. We saw several fossils inside and part of the visitor film, but ultimately the restless Muffins preferred the hands-on fossil bed just outside, where they eagerly dug up and recovered the remains of what was most likely a contemporary bovid.

We then had a chance to have lunch at a park with friends, followed a few hours later by dinner at another park with Grandma and Grandpa. Here's Curtis on the playground near Grandma and Grandpa's house: