summer field trip

Today we went on our first of hopefully many summer field trips.

The Beehive House.

I love the Beehive house & have taken my kids here before. I remember visiting here as a kid when we were in Salt Lake. It's really fun.

We took Caroline & Lily with us. Brittany & her roommate met us here.

First off we went into what used to be Brigham Young's office & saw his tools! Trent was pretty excited about that. It was neat to see his initials carved into them BY. Cool. I think Brett should start carving his initials into his tools BM. Of course brother Brigham made his tools & our tools are frequently found out in the lawn covered in snow or rain....

This desk was made by him out of a covered wagon that came across the plains!

His secretary had the first typewriter in the valley.

This lovely art work is also in the office. It is really different. The women used to comb their hair at night then save the hair & yep... make this flower art work. Hmmmm.

Here we are waiting for the tour to begin.

The rooms were magnificent. This home is so beautifully restored. Every detail is fantastic.

This is the music room. I think it was my favorite. At night the adults & children would play music. Kind of like we do, instead of watching TV. That was sarcasm.

This is the kitchen. Brigham's wife Lucy kept a pot of soup on at all times for stop in guests. She was really a super mom with seven children.

This picture is fuzzy but it's the the play room. It was right next to the school room & by far the kid's favorite. The little toys are so cute.

This was another favorite. His oldest daughter Clarissa's room. This dress is her wedding dress.

She was tiny. Her foot was a size 3. Above the wedding dress is another flower hair art piece. Those pioneers were hard workers & had some serious time on their hands.

These are our two fabulous sister tour guides. One was from Minnesota the other Australia.

At the end of the tour they give everyone a lemon drop. That was something Brigham Young always did. I remember getting to choose a lemon drop or piece of horehound candy after taking this tour as a kid. Fun times.

Of course the grounds are spectacular. Everything is so green here from all the rain we are getting.

We watched a photographer taking photos of a bride & groom. We were so lucky to have such great weather on Megan's big day!! It wasn't raining at this moment, but this poor couple had to be cold & wet.

We went upstairs at the Joseph Smith building to take in the view!

This is the best view in town.

I am so amazed at how much fun we had today. Mostly in part because Trent was so good! When he was little we stopped taking him places for a short time, then started back up but always with a back up plan. Outings have always been so hard for him. But, not today! He was PERFECT.

I am so relieved- there is hope- all our hard work is starting to pay off.

I hope I didn't just jinx myself....

Brittany & Sue stopped here The Garden Restaurant for lunch. If you are ever in Salt Lake City it's a must stop for lunch or dinner. The food is fantastic, be sure to ask for a table near a window- the view is breathtaking!
We on the other hand went to my favorite bakery. Everyone picked out a treat!

Trent got a plain croissant. What?? I know I have failed as a mother...

Caroline got this yummy chocolate hazelnut thing. Oh my it was delicious.

Chloe had a cream puff with strawberries. I was seriously jealous.

Lily a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse. She just started piano & there's a treble cleft on the top- how fitting!

I had bread pudding. I am in love with bread pudding.

Next we dropped off over 450,000 pop tops at the Ronald McDonald House. It's just down the street. Our school collects these all through the year. It's a great project. The kids count & sort them in their math lessons then I drop them off in the summer.

Thanks to Lily & Caroline for going with us.

It was a great field trip day!

Food & Coat Drive- Great Good Mail

I knew it was going to be a good day today- but this put it over the top. Today I got a fabulous good mail package from Michelle. She made these beautiful tags & sent me some. I can't believe it- I love blogging- I love these tags. I think they are just about the cutest Christmas tags I have ever seen.

Thanks Michelle I absolutely love them! A couple of years ago when I was the PTA president at the elementary school we started a food & winter clothes drive. Usually I am really involved. This year the student council was in charge- great job for them- & all I got to do was the really fun part- deliver the goods!
The kids filled the back of my mini van with the food. (this is the second food drive this year, the first one was just before Thanksgiving)

Chloe had to get in & move it back, there was so much.

413 lbs. to be exact. They took over 500 lbs. last month too! Not too shabby.

I went back for the coats, boots, snow pants, hats, glove, etc. Last year we didn't collect coats I thought maybe we had over done it. We did it this year & what a load!!

I was worried I wouldn't be able to see out the back window.

Totally full! This is a great project for an elementary school. So many kids grow out of this stuff & others really need it.
I am so happy I could deliver it. I feel bad the kids didn't get to go. It was so fun to take it to where it needed to be. Even though it was small I am so glad I could help this year.

A Big Part of My Life~ Volunteer Work

I love my volunteer work. It truly is a big part of my life. I am very aware that what I do would not be possible without such a supportive husband & children~ thanks guys!

A couple of years ago when I was the PTA president at my children's elementary school- I decided our school needed some service opportunities. So, I delegated really well, & left a few jobs for myself- one being a series of service projects throughout the year. (I had a committee helping me too.) They turned out so well that I have continued them for the past few years.

Today was a little pay day for me as I learned a little bit more when I visited the Ronald McDonald House on the way to a doctor's appointment downtown. Our school started collecting pop tabs for them that year & another mom always dropped them off. Well, she moved & I have been meaning to drop off last year's collection all summer. I was excited today because I had a doctor's appointment just near there so hey I thought I would stop by there first. This is a great service project. It doesn't cost any money, raises awareness, kids get it, etc., etc., and there are Ronald McDonald houses all over the country that could use this and other kinds of help. (just a little plug) Learn about collecting pop tabs for them here!

I am so inspired by this great place.

The volunteers at the desk gave me some additional brochures & stickers for the collections jars that are in all the classrooms. They acted like I was the greatest thing ever dropping off the tabs- it's so not a big deal- they were great & didn't mind me taking a few pictures.

I am so thankful our family has never needed to stay here.

I am proud to say our little school has donated almost 100,000 pop tabs in the last three years!

This was my view on the drive back home. I love my city. I stopped the car while no other cars were around and took this picture. I thought I was alone sticking my head out the window with my camera when I heard a voice say "do you want to be in the picture?" I guy parked on the side of the road was watching me.

I went straight to work after that with Brian the missionary in waiting & thought I would grab a picture of the -not sick him- while I had a chance. I walked in- there he was- he saw my camera- ran.
COWARD!

Here is us eating lunch. Picture by Linda!
I have two more service projects this year. Collecting winter coats/clothes for kids in our school district who need them & a Holiday food drive for the same kids. Like I said I love volunteering. I will post on how the other two projects go when we do them.