Being Together

The best part of getting together is being together.
Baby Ben is a sweet, mellow little guy.  He enjoys food.  

Everyone wants to play with him.  He's an amusement all by himself.

Bonding is good.

This park at BYU has never made sense to me until this visit.  My kids told me these are pixels.  The grandkids recognized them as Minecraft art.  That made more sense.

The Eyring Science Center is always a big hit.

Magnets are always, always fun.

The vortex cannon is my favorite.

Volunteers for targets were unlimited.

No shortage of shooters, either.

The top of the Joseph F. Smith Building has wonderful things to see.

Back at the ranch, perler beads are always popular.

Sometimes just a little help is necessary for complicated projects.

All of us enjoyed Utah's corn on the cob, just in season.

Julia is an absolute panic, a joy to have around.

While others tended Baby Ben, she tended Baby Stella.

Julia's mode of locomotion is bouncing.

It's wonderful.

And constant.

My magnet collection is growing.  Two clicks and we had more.

Uncle Dave can tend and build at the same time.

Creativity is abundant around here.

Preparations were necessary for a party.  Kate helped with the baking.

This is Kate on medium speed.

Ella and Kate taught me a fancy way to frost cupcakes.

Anticipation is contagious.

Helping makes the time pass more quickly.

We celebrated everyone's un-birthday.

Fire makes any party better.

Singing was required.

We sang the un-birthday song twice, in fact.  With Gusto.

Both times!

And then we all blew.

Maybe some blew twice.

Jacob made a special wish.  I'm sure it came true.

Making Baby Ben laugh is easy.

Safari rides were a pleasant diversion.

A surprise hit was scones for breakfast on Saturday.  My mother used to make them for me and out of the blue I got up early and made them for breakfast.  And then I made them again Sunday.  And I got in trouble for not making them Monday...

Corinne painted everyone's nails.

She made the mistake of asking Janey to hold still for 5 minutes while her nails dried.

My new old favorite, tortes, were a sneaky treat.  Hidden in the freezer, they got eaten one at a time during special moments.

Papa Ben found a watermelon.  We ate it on our almost-new deck.

For the record, this baby can eat anything but Cheerios.

Horsing Around

Papa Ben arranged for us to ride some horses.

The babies had a good time.

All of them...

The kids enjoyed this more than rock climbing the day before, which surprised me.  

This was a new experience, but not scary.

Nope.  Not scary at all.

Well, one of us thought it was terrifying.

The rest of the kids took to it quickly.

It was a peaceful afternoon.

Maybe a little intense.

Definitely exhilarating.

Nate liked to ride with company. Dad worked.

Or a cousin, it was all the same.

Or even an uncle.  It all worked.

Will and Jacob were quickly pros.

Will has the knack.

Mel got to the point where this was peaceful.

Except no one rode the peacocks.