the Oettli Family: August 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

Sunday Afternoon at Silver Lake

We love Silver Lake at the Brighton Ski Resort so much, that we went twice this summer. The second time we met all our family there for our monthly get-together, and to celebrate Sara's birthday. The highlight of the afternoon (in addition to Laura's yummy dessert) was that we saw a moose! He ran across the trail right in front of Rosie, Will and Max. We watched him wade in the water and eat the water plants. It was very interesting, and also a little frightening when we had to walk across the path directly above him to continue on around the lake.

The cousins loved climbing a steep rocky wall, we were glad Uncle Jonny was there to supervise and help the younger ones climb down. They also loved playing in a large clearing, walking across fallen logs. It was a great afternoon!

This is what the cousins did while we ate dessert; they played in the water and mud and got very dirty!

Here are our pictures from an earlier visit to Silver Lake. We didn't see any moose; just lots of fish, a fuzzy caterpillar and some ducks.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Thanksgiving Point Gardens

We spent a fun Friday morning exploring the Children's Garden @ Thanksgiving Point with some of our cousins. The gardens are beautiful and have lots of fun play areas for the kids. Our favorite place was the bear cave with secret tunnels to explore. The kids also loved splashing around Noah's Ark and running through the falling water. A fun outing!

Bud was very concerned that when he went started school again, Coleman and I would have fun without him. He even told me not to do anything exciting during school hours. So, if you speak with Bud soon, don't tell him about our Friday playdate with cousins!

Monday, August 24, 2009

The First Day

It's official: School has started! Last week we shopped for school supplies and new lunch boxes. Last night we packed the bags and Jono gave the kids their back-to-school blessings. Here we are at the bus stop, saying good-bye to summer and hello to 3rd and 5th grades.

The kids were excited, in varying degrees, to go back to school. They were especially looking forward to seeing their friends again. This morning, as the kids were putting on their backpacks, Coleman got his backpack out of his locker and put it on, too. He starts preschool next week. We hope it's going to be a great school year for the Oettli family!

Here are the neighborhood kids on their way to school!

Friday, August 21, 2009

The Last Day of Summer Vacation!

On the last Friday before school starts we wanted to do something FUN! So, we met our Summerhays cousins at the aquarium and had a great time looking at all the fish and water animals. The new South America area is especially impressive, the kids are always captivated by the sharks, and the sting rays were very active. Will got wet trying to touch them, but Max stayed far away. Remember that he fell in last time he was here!

After the aquarium, we went to Rock Creek Pizza and Greg joined us. My kids had never eaten at a buffet before and thought it was very exciting. I definitely ate the most out of anyone; the dessert pizza is very hard to resist. After the kids ate, they played in the game room and the adults could chat, which was nice.

After lunch, Will and Max came over and the kids played together for the rest of the afternoon. Mission accomplished: the kids fulfilled their goal and had a fun day. Ready or not, it's back-to-school time!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Sporty Family

We had the busiest summer that our family has ever had! We played lots of golf, had tennis lessons everyday, and went swimming many times a week. And, it was not unusual to do all 3 activities in one day! Combined with our cousin play-group, playing with friends, dance, scouts and a golf clinic, it was a very fun summer and it went by very quickly. I am actually sad to send my kids back to school, we loved being together all summer.

Here are some of our swimming pictures!

Coleman is so fair-skinned, I make him swim with a hat and swimshirt on, every time. Rosie avoided being sunburned until the very last day we went swimming; then she ended up with very rosy cheeks. Rosie lost her swim goggles, then lost her replacement swim goggles a week later. She now swims without goggles. Bud, on the other hand, has never lost anything his entire life. Bud could pass for his uncle Jonny-Boy in this picture, don't you think?

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Beach

Coleman has been asking to go to the beach, and so we went-- to the Herriman Beach! There is a new, man-made lake in Herriman, just perfect for swimming, floating around, and playing in the sand with your cousins. We had a wonderful time!

We started off the day by driving and driving; Herriman is far away! We finally arrived and the kids were so excited. The freezing water didn't deter them from getting right in the water, Brady's lips were blue and he still wouldn't get out. I started blowing up the 4-person tub, and, with help from Laura, finally got it blown up. The five older kids floated all around and had a great time. Everyone also loved playing in the sand, especially Abby, who also loved eating the sand.

This was such a fabulous place to spend the day, we would love to come here again!

This brings back childhood memories of playing with

our cousins in the cold water at beautiful Bear Lake!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Down Town Fun

School starts soon, so our goal is to pack as much fun and adventure into the last week of summer vacation as we can. First stop; riding trax to the Gateway and visiting the Children's Museum. Laura and Macy rode the train with us, and Sara, Brady and Abby met us downtown.

We love the museum and had fun at all the interesting exhibits. Bud and Macy especially enjoyed the kitchen, check out Macy wearing oven mitts. Coleman loved the construction site the best and Rosie was off exploring most of the time. Once, she was the mail carrier and another time she was the checker at the grocery store.

The second level has a helicopter and lots of building stations. There is a radio studio and a news studio. Rosie became Nadine Wimmer, Bud was Bruce Lindsay and Macy was Carol Mikita on special assignment.

After all the museum fun, we ate lunch in the courtyard. There was a whole zone of missionaries and it made us think of Grammy and Grampy! After lunch, we let the kids run through the fountain for a while. Actually, my kids ran through, Macy ran away! Within seconds, Rosie was sopping wet, but the boys were only moderately wet by the time we left.

The train was right at the station when we arrived and we hopped right on. Laura and I commented to each other what a peaceful day it was, for so much adventure. Then, a fellow passenger informed us we were on the wrong train, oh no! We had to get off, ride another train back to Gallivan Center, and then board another train to get home. Whew!