Ryan & Erinn's Family: August

As I'm writing this, it is February 2018, which makes this the absolute farthest behind I've ever been on the blog. I'll try to be concise so we can get a little closer to the present day!

August was a much better month than July. We started with a day-trip down to Orange County to play with our friends, the Jepsens. We stopped at the beach for a few hours, and realized that OC beaches really are just a little better than the ones in L.A.

Random Baby Friend

Evan got lost while we were at Costco one day, and had a spiritual experience. He wrote it down to share with his Primary class that Sunday. It's titled, "A Prayer Saves My Life." He told me at the time that he was sure he'd become an orphan.

Corinne turned five years old! Her birthday requests included PB&J for lunch, Blaze Pizza for dinner, a chocolate cake (which she still talks about as proof of her father's love,) and some Calico Critters toys.

Connor stepped on a set of unused staples. It was gross.

The day after her birthday, we set off on our August Utah/Eclipse trip. We were able to stay in a room that night with five twin beds, which seemed like such a great idea, but at 11 at night, everyone was so grouchy all they did was fight over who got which spot. Rising Star Resort is a great place to stay in Mesquite, though! We got to Grandma and Grandpa's house the next afternoon.

We were able to attend Alpine Days with our recently-moved friends, the Kennys. It was punishingly hot that day, but this carnival was amazing. So many attractions and rides in a huge area, and with very few lines. A good example of Utah versus California lifestyles. Corinne disappeared for quite awhile, and we all ended up combing the park for her in a panic, but it turns out she had gone over to the giant zipline and had been riding it over and over again all by herself. That girl isn't afraid of much. (The fact that the ride operators let her do it is another example of the less-litigious culture of Utah....) After Alpine Days, we went back to the Kenny's amazing new house and played and ate shaved ice until dark. I think my kids were still having a hard time adjusting to their best friends' move.

Foam Party

Evan on the Mechanical Bull

Hot Baby

We found her! She wasn't very sorry.

We went to the drive-in in West Valley with the cousins. We thought it was going to be Despicable Me 3, but when we got there we found out they'd replaced it with the Emoji Movie. It was awful, but the kids didn't seem to notice. Celeste cried the entire way home, despite having my phone to play with. This was our only outing with the Murrays this visit, since they had to leave a day or two later for Oregon.

Very Sad Baby

Grandma Cloe came over one afternoon, and she got a chance to play with the baby and listen to the kids play piano. We also read some of Grandpa Dean's college essays. This one is titled, "Eleven Days on a Boat," and is about his trip home at the end of World War II. It should have gotten better than a B+...

We spent most of the next week just enjoying being around my parents and doing Utah stuff. We toured the new MTC buildings, went on "popsicle walks", and spent a day in Springville and a day at the Nephi Pool. My mom had to leave for a few days to pick up a new RV in Indiana, so we were in charge of the house and dogs. This meant we couldn't be gone long each day, because Chuck couldn't be alone too much, but it allowed us to relax and do more low-key stuff.

I made a little schedule for our trip.

Corinne at Walmart

I love this picture.

Everyone was obsessively watching the weather in Idaho.

Evan on the Climbing Wall

Baby Conference

The "Great American Eclipse" could be seen across the entire U.S., but to see totality, you had to be in very specific places. One of the best spots to see it was in and around Idaho Falls, partly because the weather was more likely to be clear than in some of the other "zone of totality" cities. We made reservations several months in advance at a BYU Idaho student apartment (we also invited Kevin and Liz - Kelli and Kyle would be watching from Oregon). Everyone was predicting crowds, food shortages, and traffic jams. Ryan flew up from L.A., we packed all our own food and water, and headed north two days early, only to find no traffic, no crowds, and a nearly empty Rexburg. It was surprising, but very pleasant. We especially enjoyed spending so much time with Kevin and Liz. This was one of the best things about the trip, (even though the trip was filled with awesome things.)

Rexburg Temple

Rexburg Civil Defense Caves

It was really cold and dark in there.

On August 21, the solar eclipse began at 10:15am, and reached totality at 11:33. We hung out on picnic blankets watching everything through our glasses until a little after 11, then headed to the stadium across the street so we could get a view of the western horizon. From the top of the bleachers, we were able to see the darkness as it swept across the valley towards us, and we were could hear the crowds in the nearby park screaming and cheering as the sun disappeared behind the moon. It sounds silly, but it was an overwhelming and life-changing moment. I still get emotional thinking about it, although I can't explain why.

Empty Rexburg

Making a Pinhole Camera

NOT Where We Watched the Eclipse

Crescent Leaf-Dapples

This was the best my camera could do at getting the crescent sun. See the tiny dot in the center.

Kevin had more luck on his camera with a solar-flare setting.

Mom and Celeste in Totality

The trip home that afternoon did, in fact, have some pretty bad traffic. Where the drive up had taken about five hours, the drive back was closer to 12. We didn't worry about it too much, and spent a little time at the Eclipse Carnival before we left, along with a bunch of other shortcuts and stops along the way.

Spray Paint Art

Sadly, it was closed, so we couldn't go inside.

After a short stay in Levan, we headed back to California. Connor attended "Merit-Badge Mania" the day after we returned, where he ran into a kid he met once at his friend's birthday party. It apparently warranted a text to said friend. Meanwhile, Celeste took it upon herself to learn to stand, then to climb chairs, all within the space of three days.