The Zoo with Papa

Papa was kind enough to drive back to Washington with us from Utah since Gordon had to get back to work before we were done playing. The trip back went really well and then we had fun playing once we got home. On Sunday we had Great-Grandpa and Grandma Thomas over for dinner. They had never been to our home so it was really fun to have them at our home. After dinner the kids put on an impromptu dance performance which everyone enjoyed watching; we had a fun evening.

Then the next day we headed to the Zoo and had a wonderful time seeing all of the animals. The highlights were watching the polar bear swim and the sea lions swim; we also enjoyed the bird show.

Well, Papa spoiled us while he was here and we were grateful for the extra time we got to spend with him.

Daddy and Adalyn

The kids in the eagles nest.

Cute Talmage

Talmage and Papa

Audrey on the Elephant.

Playing the drums.

Riding the lion.

Adalyn riding the cub; she wanted nothing to do with the lioness.

Papa also came and saw Audrey's dance class while he was in town which was fun.

Smith Time

Before we headed to the Thomas family reunion in southern Utah we spent a night with my sister Melanie and her family in Layton, Utah. They were unfortunately going to be gone the whole time we were going to be in SLC after the reunion so we got in a quick visit.

The kids were so excited to see their Smith cousins after a long day of driving in the car. They didn't waist any time and the girls were painting their nails within 15 minutes of our arrival. We had a great time visiting late into the night and the kids enjoyed doing sparklers. We were sad our visit was so short and look forward to seeing them all again when time permits.

Audrey and Amelia

Dress-ups and nail painting; what could be better.

Adalyn liked the idea of getting her nails done but didn't like that it stuck and didn't come off; so we had to take hers off right after. I was impressed that she would sit still that long.

The boys and their sparklers.

Adalyn with her first sparkler.

Breakfast.

We had pink and green German/Monster pancakes in the morning; I prefer the normal yellow color but they were still delicious.

Thomas Reunion

The end of June beginning of July the Thomas/Jeppson families drove from Arizona, California, Utah, and Washington to be together at Brian Head, Utah for a three day reunion. We had a wonderful time hiking, playing games - mainly Moods for adults and Wii for the kids, and just being all together. We also ate delicious food and gained a few pounds I'm sure. The kids loved being with their cousins, staying up late and eating a lot of sugar.

One of the highlights of the trip was an unbirthday party. Since everyone lives in different states we rarely see one another on our birthdays so Aunt Myrissa planned an unbirthday party with a cousin gift exchange. My kids had such fun going to the dollar store and picking out gifts for their cousins. Everyone had a great time at the party and enjoyed eating birthday cake.

The reunion was really fun and we look forward to our next reunion in two years.

Notice the birthday cake on the counter.

Little Meg and Adalyn were not to be trusted with the birthday cake for the unbirthday party, so we moved the stools from the counter and these little girls got resourceful and moved over the bench; what stinkers!

Talmage with his birthday gift.

Logan reading Audrey the book he gave her at the unbirthday party.

Logan was so cute with all of the little girls the whole reunion; what a great big cousin.

Adalyn with her dolphin; someone needs to cute her bangs.

Cedar Breaks

The second day of the Thomas family reunion we headed to Cedar Breaks National Monument and it was really fun. The kids all got booklets so they could complete the Jr. Ranger program and get a badge. Most of the morning was spent learning about the weather at Cedar Breaks, Cedar Breaks bingo, and attending the bird class. The kids especially liked the bingo game because their was so much to look for. I love that in all of the pictures you see Jr. Ranger booklets being held or looked at; we created a great new set of Thomas/Jeppson Jr. Rangers that day!

After the monument we went on a hike and it was not what we expected. Cedar Breaks still had a lot of snow patches so we hiked over many patches of snow and over and under a lot of fallen trees; we did make it though. That night though we attended a star gazing show at the monument and it was amazing. The area was so clear of trees and city light that the stars were majestic to look at. We also got to see Saturn through a telescope which was really cool; it was a great way to end the day.

Talmage and Ian

Papa and Adalyn

Gordon and his Dad.

Audrey and Emma

The kids listening to the bird class.

Talmage helping out at the bird class.

The kids learned about different birds that live or visit Cedar Breaks and they were about to pass off one of their Jr. Ranger requirements.

Our Jr. Rangers so cute with their badges.

Mom and Dad with their Jr. Rangers.

The crazy hike we went on you can see the trail was not the best.

The sun setting over Cedar Breaks before the star show.

Cascade Falls and Navajo Lake

The last full day of the Thomas reunion we headed to Cascade Falls and Navajo lake. Cascade Falls is a beautiful hike with gorgeous vistas of the Cedar Break area. The end of the hike you see the beautiful falls coming right out of the canyon wall. The falls actually starts from Navajo lake and travels from a sink hole in the lake and then comes out of the canyon wall; it's really impressive.

After the hike we went to Navajo lake to hang out at the lake. Well, the lake was super high and their was no beach to be found but we still made the best of the situation. At the lake we rented a canoe and the kids had fun going for rides; Uncle Gordon and Uncle Jared got their work out paddling everyone around the lake. We had a really fun day and were happy to have sometime playing in the water.

The three Thomas brothers with their little girls on their backs and Bronwen; very cute.

Talmage by the falls.

The only picture we got of the falls funny enough.

Our family

Talmage and Audrey with Grammy and Papa; we had a fun time hiking with them.

Two out of three isn't bad.

Adalyn with her sticks on the hike.

Most of our family on the canoe; I was nervous about taking Adalyn but in the end she did great.

Jared, Meg, Bronwen, Adalyn, and Gordon.

Adalyn loved the canoe and didn't want to get off; we had quite the tantrum when it was time to go.

Talmage and the sling shot.

Uncle Grant bought the sling shot and the kids had a great time shooting rocks into the water.

Audrey and Papa

Cove Fort, Manti Temple, Mt. Pleasant

Sunday after we left the reunion we hit a couple spots on our way back to SLC. Our first stop was Cove Fort. Cove Fort was built as a station for the pioneers traveling along the "Mormon Corridor" -- settlements stretching from Idaho to Nevada connected by a network of roads, telegraph lines and postal routes. The fort was really neat and it was fun to see how people lived during it's time of operation during 1867-1887 my kids thought everything was really neat. As we were leaving the fort we saw a "sun dog" scroll down to see a picture and explanation it was really cool.

After leaving the fort we headed to Mt. Pleasant where my Mom grew up. I have fond memories of this small town because we would visit my Stevens grandparents and McAllister cousins at least once a month; Mt Pleasant is about 2 hours southeast of SLC. I wanted to show my kids where my Mom grew up and I really wanted to see my grandparents graves. The stop was short but was really wonderful for me.

Before we got to Mt. Pleasant we drove through Manti and saw the temple. I had a fun time telling the kids what Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles got married there. The temple is so picturesque on top of the hill and Gordon got some really great pictures of it.

The telegram office.

The kids thought it was really neat that a message could be decoded from the beeps that they heard.

The washing room.

Sisters sitting on the window sill.

Our family at the top of the fort.

When they built the fort they thought they would have to protect themselves from Indians but they never had to. Actually, Ira Hinckley who ran the fort was in good relations with the Indians.

Our tour guide demonstrating the "sharing" toy that children played with at the fort.

This is the "sun dog" we saw as we were leaving Cove Fort. A "sun dog" is when a cloud is so high in the sky that ice crystals form in the cloud and as the sun reflects through the cloud it creates a rainbow. We have never seen anything like this especially on a 100 degree July day; it was so beautiful.

The back of the Manti Temple.

Front of the Manti Temple

In front of my Grandparents grave.

My G & G Stevens home in Mt. Pleasant, Utah