Keeping busy

This has been a month of somethings and nothings, with a lot more nothings then somethings.  

Some of the somethings:

I had the opportunity to hike to Timpanogos Cave with the Bear Den at the beginning of the month.  They are a good bunch of boys or we wouldn't have done this: very steep mountain trail + active 9 year-old boys = first aid kit (usually).  There were a couple of times I was holding someone by the backpack when I though they were a little too close to the edge, but that was probably due more to my fear of heights than their lack of fear.  

Do any of you remember this from "back in the day"?

These are the "Salt & Pepper Shakers".  They were the only thing in the cave you could touch.  Now you can't.  So, don't tell a group of 9 year-old boys that when they get inside the cave they will get to touch them, they will be very disappointed.  The tour guides don't even tell you about them now unless you ask about them so you would probably walk right by them and not know it- they aren't even lit up like other formations.

The boys were really tired after the hike (they aren't dramatic at all!) but they still managed to pass off their outdoor cooking with their hot dogs and marshmallows.  That evening Mike was so kind as to remove my stitches so I no longer had the foot of Frankenstein.  

Prior to all the hiking, during my guilt-free reading time while my foot had to be up, I had read (for the first time) Les Miserables.  I really enjoyed the book and since Tuacahn is one of the very few places in the US allowed to preform it I had to take advantage of that.  Even though it was a sultry 108* and now and then a breeze would blow that felt like a blow-dryer was pointed at you, I loved it.  It's amazing how much they can do with that stage!

I took the kids up to visit my sister and neice in Ogden and we went to the Dinosaur museum.  

Here's a "Jurassic Park" moment.

Eliza's favorite part.

Her least favorite (they were a little noisy)

Some kids dig to find dinosaur bones

Some kids dig to find their own hands

The World's Most Dangerous Creatures!

To celebrate Steel Days we took our kids to the Firemen's breakfast at 6:45 am, and then stayed up to watch the fireworks that didn't start until 10:40, which made for a very long (but fun) day!

Other than these highlights the kids have assured me that they have been thoroughly bored.  I'll have to come up with a couple more "somethings" before school starts in a month.

Do you see what I see?

Look closely at this picture.  

I promise there will not be a test at the end of this post.

I decided it was time to put something in my barrel, and after some looking around bought the little white Vincas (I think my new favorite flower!) and a Trumpet Vine that would climb up my little trellis, even though the nursery said it wouldn't flower until next year.  Well, to my surprise the Trumpet Vine did flower this year, but not like I thought it would.

All of these pretty flowers are on the back-side of the trellis, hiding out by the bricks.  It is a "full sun" plant in a "partial shade" area so it's not like the blooms are hiding from the sun!

It'll be interesting to see where the flowers bloom next year.

Maybe I'll have to turn the barrel around.

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Speaking of gardens... as I was leaving Macey's this morning, the radio was on and the Savage Garden song "I want you" was playing (I know... that whole "garden" connection was a stretch!).  Right as they sang the words "ooh I want you, I don't know if I need you, but ooh I'm dying to find out" (I think I'm somewhat close on those lyrics!?) I looked up and saw written on the back window of the mini-van in front of me the words "I want you, I need you".

What are the odds??

Independence is happiness

Susan B. Anthony said that.  

An article I read the other day said that "happiness has a lot to do with values--and it's key to our prosperity as a nation" (ok, it was the Reader's Digest).

Here are some other quotes about happiness that I liked-

All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse, and a good wife.  Daniel Boone

Being passionate about something is the key to success.  But using that passion to help others is the key to happiness.  Arnold Schwarzenegger

Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness you are able to give.  Eleanor Roosevelt

Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.  George Washington

Happiness is a by-product of a well-lived life, and it is achieved through the pursuit of endeavors that are meaningful and sometimes painful.  Mark O'Connell

And now some pictures of our 4th of July happiness at the Cul-de-sac of Fire.

Happy 4th!