Mini vacations--and school

My apologies for the lack of a post last week--but we'd just started the first leg of our mini vacation to Richfield, UT, at the time that I usually post, so it didn't happen.

On the other hand, this week's post is bound to be longer than usual--and there's pictures! So stay tuned . . .

We spent the last full week of summer vacation enjoying a leisurely schedule. We finished swim lessons (Andrew was disappointed not to pass level 4, but as he still needs to get his side breathing down, I think this is probably okay.)

The kids blowing bubbles for themselves--and Oliver.

Evelyn and Andrew have started soccer for the season. Evelyn's team is the pink flamingos--they've won one game and lost the other. It's clear that Evelyn doesn't have quite the soccer experience as the other girls on her team (she tends to bounce after the ball rather than run, and she spends as much time cheering on her teammates as she spends chasing the ball herself). But she's fun to watch.

Andrew's team is the Thunderbolts (Andrew wanted to call them the Makos, but he was out voted. Personally, I think Mako sharks are much cooler, but whatever). Andrew plays with his usual intensity, but so far this year it appears that his team is better than it has been in the past. He scored three goals in this particular game--the first goal less than a minute after the game started, which made him extremely happy. (On an unrelated note, I've discovered that Andrew can't keep his eyes open when the flash is on. It makes for some interesting pictures).

Dan, unfortunately, spent much of the summer working. We managed to squeeze in a couple of days before school started for the kids and took a mini vacation to Richfield. After Sunday night at the hotel (everyone was up by 6 a.m., thanks to Oliver), we spent the morning up around Fish Lake.

A kind highway construction worker gave us a couple of tips about places to stop on the highway loop past fish lake: a spot where white pelicans gathered on the shoreline (just out of sight of the picture below), and a rest stop where wild raspberries grew just around the parking lot.

Turns out Oliver likes raspberries as much (or more--if that's possible) than his sister.

 We rounded off our morning with a trip to Cafe Diablo, in Torrey (just outside Capitol Reef). Dan's been dreaming of this particular visit all summer, so I'm glad we were able to go, even if the reality didn't quite live up to our expectations. Apparently the cafe has changed owners, so while the food is still good and unique, it doesn't have the same dramatic artistry of our first visits.

After an afternoon swim and a visit to Gary's shoes (Sarah and Poppy will be pleased to know that Andrew came away the proud owner of a new pair of Keen shoes), we joined up with some cousins. Jon and Jolynn were gracious enough to host us. Oliver had fun with baby Clara--the two of them crawled around (and over) each other the whole time we were there. (Clara also generously shared her cold with Oliver, but that's a different story!)

Jon carved some miniature boats for all the kids (and a couple of the grown-ups too), and then we raced them in the canal. Evelyn and Oliver refused to race their boats, as they'd invested too much time into decorating theirs.

 Oliver, who might be the only person who didn't care about the proceedings, won.

Our route ended at the Richfield cemetery, where we spent a little bit of time looking for some tombstones of my great-great grandparents. Luckily, the cemetery had a list so we didn't spend too long looking, as it turns out that my great-grandparents were *not* buried there.

Oliver at rest.

The next morning I asked Dan if we could drive through Monroe, which is where my grandfather was born. We swung by the cemetery--and lo and behold, there were the missing graves: Moroni Hunt and Samuel Willard Collings.

My great-great grandfather Samuel was only nine months old when his family traveled west with the Martin Handcart company. Miraculously, his whole family made it to Utah.

Our final stop was the Fremont Indian state park, where the kids had the opportunity to explore some scale models of the pit houses of the Fremont Indians.

After a short hike on a hot morning, we were all glad to get back in the air-conditioned car and go back to Richfield for lunch before heading home. (It was, as I said, a *short* vacation).

Tuesday night, after our arrival home, my mom came down and she, Bubby, and I went to see Thoroughly Modern Millie at Tuacahn. It was delightful.

It was also a week of plays for my mom, who took Andrew to Peter and the Starcatchers, and then the two of us attended Anything Goes (also a fun musical).

Thursday, Andrew started his first day of second grade. We're very excited about his teacher, who has a master's degree in differential education--which means she focuses on teaching to the different abilities of all her students, both advanced and those who need more help. I'm hoping she'll be able to keep Andrew challenged.

 Oliver has recently discovered the pleasures of watching out the door for his brother to arrive home.

 Also, Oliver likes to "play" the piano with Andrew. (Not that either of them knows much . . . I'm hoping to start Andrew on real lessons this fall).

 This picture is a little blurry, but I love it because you can see how much Oliver likes his brother--this was his reaction to something funny Andrew was doing across the room.

All in all, we've been glad for a quiet weekend this week: we spent yesterday doing some cleaning, watching Evelyn's soccer game, and then in the afternoon Dan took the older kids to Planes while Oliver and I went grocery shopping and made dinner. (I suspect Dan got the better end of that deal).

Next week: meetings at the university.

Our summer is officially over.