Gold!

In an attempt to get out of the house and stop nagging the kids to do their jobs all summer, I decided one day last week to drive the boys up to the mountains to go visit the Phoenix Gold Mine.  There are a few big gold mine tours available right off the freeway, but we went for the hole-in-the-wall more authentic variety.

The boys were thrilled (albeit a little nervous- Adam and Evan insisted on holding my hand through the whole tour).

After the tour we did a little gold digging ourselves.  There is a stream that runs down from the top of the mountain and goes right by the mine.  Gold is continually washing down the hill, and they let people pan for gold there in the stream.  Anything we found, we could keep.  While we were there a girl found a rock that the gold-man said was worth $20-30.  We found a speck.

It turns out our speck wasn’t actually gold, but gold-glass (a form of fool’s gold).  Very different on the value scales.  If you look carefully you can kind of see all the little flecks of gold floating in the water (that is actually probably gold glass, since gold is heavy enough that it sinks to the bottom).  It was much more thrilling and shiny in person!

We didn’t come home rich, but we sure had fun!

Photo Shoot

Even though our family pictures in Utah recently did not go so well, it did motivate me to take some pictures of Amelia (without her sad, hungry face) before she gets any bigger.  As the stereotypical mother to multiple children, I have not taken Amelia to get professional pictures taken even though she is NINE (can you believe it?) months old.  By the time Derek was nine months old, I think I had taken him in to get professional portraits at least 3 times.

Amelia still has no professional pictures, but here are some that I took to document her cute little face before she grows teeth and grows up.   Get ready- I wanted to make sure she is well documented!

And at this point I decided she must be done with the picture-taking….

Having a little girl is so much fun!

Ludwig Reunion Time!!

Nothing says summer like family reunion time!  We just (2 weeks ago) got back from the Ludwig family reunion.  We had a great time- as is to be expected when gathering with a group that wonderful.  We had a lot to pack into those few days in Utah, so we had a whirlwind trip!

We left Friday morning at 7:00 am and drove 8 hours to American Fork where we went to visit our dear friends Dave and Natalie Moore.    We pulled up to their house and peeled ourselves out of the car, dropping empty water bottles, tattered books, and well-worn toys in our wake.  Despite our ragged appearance after such a long time in the car, the Moores were able to make us feel like welcome royalty and treated us to pizza and popsicles.  It was a reminder of just how much I miss being their neighbors (we lived across the street from them in Virginia).  They are some of my favorite people!

After a much-too-short visit, we hopped in the car and headed over to get our family pictures taken.  A generous photographer named Jared Medley was doing a fundraiser for Dallin and Amy Wengert.  I used to babysit Dallin during my high school days, and he was recently in a serious car accident, so we were excited about participating in the fundraiser despite the low odds of getting a decent family picture after 8 hours on the road.  I was right to have low expectations.  The boys were very wound up, continually playing with sticks and pine cones, and Amelia was grumpy and desperate to eat.  I forgot to change out of my flip flops and Glenn forgot to shave.  We were quite the group, but the pictures will at least be a good reminder of what we are really like at this time in our lives!

Saturday was Jaci’s baptism.  I don’t know how I managed to get through that one without taking a single picture, but it was a special morning nonetheless.  It reminded me of just how much I love my family and how grateful I am for all I’ve been taught.  I’m glad we could be there!

After the baptism and a family lunch we headed up to Heber, Utah where we rented a house for the next few days.  The wild party officially started!

We played games, painted shirts, watched movies, played outside, laughed, ate, flew model helicopters, reminisced, did crafts, and had an altogether fabulous time!  The kids thought it was great that Grandma had coordinating t-shirts for the grandparents and the grandkids.  Nobody but Grandma would think of that!

Adam and Afton spent most of the reunion fighting over the babies.  Almost every time one of them would start talking or playing with Amelia or Cooper, the other would say, “You’re not the only one who can play with her/him!”  There was a lot of kissing and smothering going on!

Adam must have thought we weren’t doing enough art projects, because at one point when left alone for a few minutes too long, he decided to redecorate the house.

Luckily Grandma also thought to bring extra-washable markers and it came right off!

On Tuesday we headed over to Park City to the Olympic Park Resort.  We watched the ski jumpers practicing their moves by jumping into a huge jetted swimming pool.  It was very impressive and fun to watch!

We had planned to stick to the free museum and activities there, but somehow the group peer pressure started up and pretty soon there was talk of going on the zip line.  I am so wimpy that I’m afraid of even walking within 10 feet of a steep ledge, so the zip line was out of the question for me.  Somehow I was talked into potentially facing a life of single-motherhood by letting Glenn go on the “Extreme” zip line.  We braced ourselves as Glenn, Brian, my dad, and Amy all headed up the chair lift for the long trip to the top.  Before too long the chutes opened and down they came!

Once they arrived safely on the ground, it was evident that they had actually enjoyed themselves in that life-threatening situation.  The excitement was so great and the enthusiasm in the air so thick that somehow I got caught up in it all and pretty soon I was headed up the chair lift with my mom and Derek for our own chance to pay good money to risk our lives.

We made it, and had a great time in the process.

There’s nothing like hanging in mid-air to create some family bonding!

Tuesday evening I was able to squeeze in going to get frozen yogurt with Brad and Jeanine Benson, friends for almost as long as I can remember.  That little outing sealed the distinction of that being the best day of the trip.  After all, I had ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day.  A day like that surely can’t be beat!  Besides, it was also great to see Brad and Jeanine again, along with their adorable little Ava!  There is just nothing like a friend who has known you since the awkward days and still loves you anyway!

Wednesday we woke up and headed over to BYU with Brook and her cute girls.  Of course the first stop was the old stomping grounds at the law school.

Adam was so excited about the footprints Cosmo left in the BYU Bookstore, so he was beyond thrilled to go and get a picture taken with him!

After BYU we started our long journey home.  We took a bit of a side trip to go see Eric and Keri Jacobsmeyer and their family in Kaysville.  I loved having the chance to sit and chat with Keri- it reminded me of just how much I miss having her live close!  Glenn and Eric kept the kids nice and wound up.  Leaving great friends makes facing 8 hours in the car even worse- we didn’t want to leave!  But, we eventually said our goodbyes and headed home.

What a great trip and a wonderful family reunion!  If only Glenn didn’t have to work and we could travel around the country eating ice cream all day long, spending time with family, and visiting good friends!  I guess I can dream, right?