Touring a Sacred Construction Zone

We had some free hours today before Cousin Owen's wedding festivities began . . .

. . . so since Joe had never seen the Salt Lake Temple before,

we decided to take a tour of Temple Square . . .

. . . or at least the portion that isn't being massively renovated right now.

The temple is almost unrecognizable inside its sheath of scaffolding . . .

. . . but the good old Tabernacle still looks the same.

I loved feeling the peace of the Spirit there . . .

. . . and seeing familiar monuments to pioneer faith and perseverance

through the eyes of someone for whom these stories are all new.

This evening, we shared a lovely dinner 

with my aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins . . .

. . . celebrating Cousin Owen's upcoming marriage to his sweetheart Tal!

She seems like a lovely person with a good heart.

Going West

This morning, I flew out west . . .

. . . to sunny (and smoky, because of some regional wildfires)

Salt Lake for my cousin's wedding.

I stayed with my brother Andrew,

and it was fun to explore his artfully decorated home . . .

. . . check out his koi pond 

(all of the fish are named Sebastian) . . .

. . . and watch a demo of his snazzy record player

(it's very relaxing to watch--oh yeah, and the music is nice too) . . .

. . . but my favorite part was hanging out with my family.

If I could change one thing about Massachusetts,

it would be to add a portal to my Mom's house in California.

First Day, Sort of

Today was the first day of our new school year.

Sort of.

While Joy and Todd were getting ready . . .

. . . so Joy could ride her motorcycle to high school . . .

. . . and Daddy and I could walk Todd to the bus stop . . .

. . . Daniel and Anna were lounging in their pajamas

because their charter school doesn't start until tomorrow.

They spent part of their last vacation day

playing a piano duet . . .

. . . then I took Daniel shopping to replace his worn-out tennis shoes.

His main criteria for ideal shoes: 

find the ones that have the most yellow

(it's his favorite color).

A Kind Heart, and Purple Shirts

We celebrated Anna's birthday today,

but somehow I only remembered to take one photo . . .

. . . when we were making her requested birthday dinner: chicken pot pie.

So I decided to share some recent pictures

that show things I love about Anna:

She loves to make fun memories with her siblings . . .

. . . dress up fancy . . .

. . . help out . . .

. . . enjoy beauty, worship God . . .

. . . and care for our birdies.

She also apparently likes to wear purple shirts a lot.

Happy birthday, Anna!

I love your kind heart, your cheerful demeanor,

and your commitment to doing what's right.

Unconventional Bingo

Anna, Todd, and I paid another visit to the 4-H Fair today.

The kids mainly wanted to watch an event called "Chicken Poop Bingo."

That spectacle turned out to be rather anticlimactic,

partly because the chicken didn't "choose" our square.

The bounce house was fun though!

Anna's favorite part of today's outing was getting her face painted.

I enjoyed the owl exhibit.

Todd's favorite part . . .

. . . was the hayride!

(His least favorite part was when his old, worn out flipflop kept breaking.)

As we were leaving the fair,

we saw a sign that said our local 4-H horse club

is the "oldest continuously active 4-H club in the US."

It's kind of fun to know that our little town

holds a national record.

Bunny and Cavy Facts

My rabbit-related field research continues.

Today's destination was the county 4-H fair to check out the bunny and cavy pavilion.

FYI, "cavy" rhymes with "savvy." 

Guinea pigs are called cavies at livestock fairs 

because they belong to the genus Cavia, 

and because the name "guinea pig" makes no sense.

They're not pigs, and they don't come from Guinea.

Anna opted to join me on my rabbit-related pilgrimage,

inclement weather notwithstanding.

In the bunny and cavy pavilion,

we learned some important bunny facts 

(e.g. pet the top half of a rabbit, not the bottom half) . . .

. . . and we watched some of the 4-H kids demonstrate

how to tell if their rabbit is in good health.

Ironically, this girl's bunny was home sick today,

so she performed her demonstration with a stuffed rabbit.

Our favorite part of the outing was petting this velvety tricolor Rex 

(when it wasn't busy romping around the obstacle course).

Summer Stuff

Summer went by so fast!

School starts next week, and the kids are enjoying their last few carefree days . . .

. . . playing with friends . . .

. . . finishing a family Dungeons and Dragons adventure . . .

. . . hanging out with the chickens . . .

. . . and finding our first egg this afternoon!

The girls and I also took a drive to the Boston Temple this evening with a few friends from church.

We strolled the beautiful grounds, then spent some quiet time praying and reflecting in the lobby.

We didn't have a baptism appointment, 

and the girls are too young to participate in the other ordinances,

but anyone can reverently spend time in the waiting room,

and we all agreed that there is a peaceful and uplifting spirit there

that we hope to come feel again very soon.

Falling for Rex

I'm enjoying our chicken adventure,

but I noticed early on that whenever I went out to check on our hens . . .

. . . I was more eager to see their cute little bunny neighbor 

(whom Joy has dubbed Sir Frederick).

I'm not planning to get rid of the chickens,

but I started thinking that perhaps I should have built a tractor for meat rabbits instead.

After toying with that idea for the last few months . . .

. . . I decided to visit a big rabbit show in Topsfield today

to talk to some breeders about what raising rabbits is like.

It was fun to see rabbits of all shapes and sizes (including this Jersey Wooly) . . .

. . . waiting their turn to be examined by a certified rabbit judge.

This black rabbit is a variety called Rex, which is famous for its short, velvety fur.

I went to the show leaning toward raising Silver Fox rabbits 

because they have good size, gentle temperaments, and are good moms,

but when I held a Rex rabbit at the show today I fell in love.

They are so divinely soft!

Although I didn't buy any Rex rabbits at the show

(I still want to figure out some things before I dive headfirst into rabbit raising)

it's probably a only a matter of time before I put some stickers like these on my minivan.

Hero Camp 2023

Our Primary hosted a fun Hero Camp this week!

Peter, Paul, and Mary traveled back in time

to teach us some important lessons.

We also made crafts . . .

. . . ate olives . . .

 . . . and learned some songs and dances

to perform for parents on the last day of camp.

Todd's favorite part was the water balloon toss at the end!