It wasn't too long ago that we were caught in slot canyons in a rain storm. After observing us adults react to the storm with some level of concern and even panic, our children have been a bit frightened of rain since then. My mom has been great about working with Ammon. He is now quite confident in the rain, loves to explain that he is waterproof, and will even go out to run around, play in the gutters and jump in puddles. Summer storms are just too much fun to miss out on!
We had planned to go to the open house as a group with a large portion of my family. That was before we realized Andrew wouldn't be able to come due to his school schedule. Then we found that many of us needed to stay home due to swine flu. Some weren't feeling well enough to go - others just didn't want to spread the germs.
But my sister Rebecca was nice enough to take charge of Ammon and let him attend the open house anyway. She is a fun Aunt!
In the end, it was my parents, my sister, and my brother Joe with his family who were all able to be there with Ammon. It was the first thing he told Andrew about that night, so we take that as a sign that he enjoyed it.
Last night Andrew and I were out riding bikes and looked over to see the temple. It really is beautiful and lights up in such a way that it looks translucent. How fortunate we are to have so many temples near us!
Yesterday at church our Sunday School lesson was about the Holy Ghost. As I listened, I remembered that one of the first things I was taught in preparation for attending the temple is that the temple is a place where we can learn and practice listening to the Spirit. It is a peaceful place where meditation is easy and communication between self and the Lord is strong. I love temples and I am so glad that Ammon had this opportunity to walk the halls of the House of the Lord.
We had the most beautiful rainbow show up after a fun summer storm. I have never seen anything like it! I wish I were better able to really capture the image and do it justice. It was a double rainbow that made a full arc from one end to the other - it never just faded away anywhere. All over the valley, people rushed outside to look in awe. It was amazing! And then, just as quickly as it had come, it was gone.
We enjoyed a fun Family Home Evening style gathering with Andrew's brother and his family on Father's Day. We had a fun lesson by my SIL Jennifer who just got called to be a primary teacher. She is always an impressive person to be around, and she did a great job keeping the children's interest and making it fun for them.
We had a fun time listening to her talk about father's in general, our specific father's, and of course, our Father in Heaven.
There were three father's in attendance, and she had each of them come up to the front of the room.
Then the children had a chance to join their dad. They thought that was pretty cool.
Later, we had fun taking a stroll down memory lane and telling stories from the past.
After dinner on Father's Day, we spent some time at Andrew's brother's house. Ammon, Andrew and Derrick (Andy's dad) decided to bike there. Having a five year old join the 4+ mile bike ride was much more complicated than anticipated. There was the difficulty of getting the shoes, bike and helmet all out for Ammon (the ride really needed to get started for them to be there on time). Then there was the MAJOR issue of 2-year-old brother wanting to join the fun. Not happening! But I decided to follow Peter down the street and let him ride to the corner. Derrick started off, then Ammon, then Andy. They were in the street. Peter and I stayed on the sidewalk. Suddenly, I looked up to see Ammon crashed in the middle of the road. And then, before anyone could stop it, Andrew's tire was on his head!
At this point, we loaded up Peter into the car, and the three other Shadel men began their trek on the bikes. I kept parking just ahead of them in case Ammon needed me to pick him up. But that boy just kept going. I waited for him at various locations along the way, but he never even seemed to consider the option of getting into the car. Finally, over a mile later, he told Andrew that he was done. I was nearby, and met them at the South Jordan city post office.
For Father's Day, the boys worked hard to make muffins for their daddy. They each had their own kind to make - Ammon set to work on Lemon Poppyseed and Peter did the Blueberry. They are both great cooks, but to make it even better, Ammon decided to sing as he worked. We listened to him sing, "Do You Know the Muffin Man". Peter thought it was fun, and sang the song himself. (Video clips were posted on Facebook). I just love watching my boys working together and having so much fun.
Of course once we had the muffins baking, the boys each enjoyed sampling their batter.
Just before church, we also made a pudding pie for Grandpa. Ammon ran the beaters all by himself and didn't even get his church clothes dirty. (That just seemed a bit miraculous to me.)
We had a fun time attending the parade for South Jordan's Country Fest. It was a last minute plan and we met some great friends there. I didn't take my camera, but we had great seats and enjoyed watching all the floats and vehicles go by.
The boys got TONS of candy and we received lots of coupons. One of the things that were handed out were tickets to a football game. I don't remember what league it was for, but that night Andrew bundled up the boys and went to watch the game.
Ammon had fun running away so they came home at half-time. Not the night Andrew had hoped for. But still, a memory was made... ;-)
My niece just turned two and had a fun party in her backyard. I even got up in the bouncy house long enough to take a few pictures.
Ammon had a blast at the party. Kambria has a cousin on the other side who is a little older than Ammon, but they hit it off and had a blast together. They played in the bouncy house, went down the slide and even snuck off to the park together. (Yeah, a couple of angry moms at that one...)
Peter went on the slide as well, but actually ended up with a bloody nose. What a mess that was! It was all over him and all over the slide. Luckily there were lots of people there who were able to jump in and help get everything cleaned up.
Krista also had a fun craft for the kids to do. Ammon loved it! It was just so thoughtful of Kambria to have a birthday. It provided us with a great excuse to party!
Whether traveling from Salt Lake to Yuma, or to California, the path from Vegas to South Jordan is the same. The boys travel well and the trip was uneventful. We have made it a bit of a tradition to stop at the Maverick in Filmore and let the kids play on this playground.
As we pulled up, Ammon looked out the front of the car, and with a hint of surprise said, "I think I have been here before." Indeed, he has.
It was the perfect break - just two hours from home. After letting out some wiggles and filling the tank with gas, we started the first DVD of the day and headed back out. We got home just in time to drop Andrew off at the Trax station so that he could head up to the U for his class. Then the boys and I went home and began to unpack.
We got the condo in Vegas, which turned out to be great because once we were driving we realized we were a lot more tired than we thought. The idea of driving late into the night was much less appealing than the concept of extending our vacation by one more day.
We all had so much fun swimming. The rain in Salt Lake had been long behind us and forgotten but I was talking to another woman in the hot tub and heard that it had continued to rain the ENTIRE time we were gone and it wasn't about to let up. We enjoyed our last moments soaking in the sun!
The boys loved the water. I am excited for Ammon to start his swimming lessons in another week. I remember last year, in Arizona, all the kids his age were like little fish. I think he'd like to be. He definitely loves the water that much - it's just a matter of opportunity to be in it!
Peter was a little bit tentative about getting in the big pool. He preferred the hot-tub (he was very happy to enjoy water sports in that Arizona climate...) We convinced him to have fun in the pool though (after I got too hot being in the hot tub with him and refused to go back).
We all had a lot of fun together. Andrew is planning to do a sprint triatholon this fall, so he enjoyed "practicing" for the swim.
We bought some Digornio pizza's for dinner and so I cooked them in the condo while I watched the guys swimming from the window.
Swimming all evening was WAY better than finishing up an 11 hour drive. Thanks, Katy and Jeremiah, for hooking us up!
Originally the plan was to wake up early Sunday morning and drive straight home. But before heading into the mountain (where we had no cell phone service) we asked my sister to arrange a condo for us in Vegas. We wouldn't know if the arrangements would pan out until we were on the road and back in phone range, but we decided to make the gamble and have one lazy morning at the cabin before ending our visit to California.
We lounged around enjoying yogurt and marshmellows for breakfast. Well, that's what the boys ate anyway. Ammon and Uncle Danny headed out for a hike. Andrew fiddled with the fire to get it ready for an afternoon of roasting hotdogs.
The boys enjoyed visiting with Grandparents and Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Danny who all stayed upstairs that night. They had fun exploring the UPSTAIRS of the cabin, where they hadn't previously spent much time.
They especially liked climbing into the loft.
After a slow-going morning, we broke out the hotdogs for our final meal before leaving. 
It was fun to roast things on the fire, and we vowed to use the firepit in the backyard more. At the time we had no idea that the rain was continuing on here in Utah. Maybe one of these days it will let up long enough to build a fire...
Overall, we had a great time at the cabin and are so glad that Dad found this fun alternative to a hotel stay. It turned our trip into a unique vacation rather than another random jaunt to SanDiego.
We said farewell to those who were stretching their vacation, loaded up in the car, and drove out not sure where we were headed. Home or Vegas? Either way - here we come!
