Thanksgiving Point Gardens

We got up early Saturday morning to tour the Thanksgiving Point Gardens.  Within the 55 acres are 15 themed gardens.  Each one unique and beautiful.  We did not see any unusual or rare plants, but we saw amazing landscape and garden design  We enjoyed zooming around in our golf cart and stopping to walk around the different gardens.

Once again Ava took after me and snapped tons of pictures of the beautiful scenery.  As I drove the cart she kept telling me to stop every 30 seconds so she could take a picture.  I eventually had to just keep going so we would be able to see the entire 55 acres.  Even with the golf cart we barely saw everything within the 90 minutes we had.

Squished in the front of the golf cart in front of the Italian Garden.  For most of the drive Ava rode next to me and she made Rich ride on the back.

Waterfall Garden

Waterfall Garden

The Grand Allee

Ava taking a picture of me taking a picture of her.

Ava showing me her pictures.

Monet Waterlily Garden

Feeding the Koi.

The Koi went crazy for the food.

Rich and I in the Italian Garden.

Italian Garden.  Look at that poor red face.  It got really hot.

Italian Garden

Italian Garden

Walking down the steps of the Italian Garden.

 Light of the World Exhibit

This exhibit contained 12 bronze statues depicting the life of Jesus Christ.  The sculptures where created by Angela Johnson.  The artwork was beautiful and amazing.

The First Vision:  When Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith.

Jesus walking on water.

Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

Another view of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead.

Studio C

Studio C is a sketch comedy show that is created, filmed, and produced on the BYU campus.  This is one of Ava's favorite shows and she calls it the "Silly Show".  We decided since we were going to be at BYU we would go see where Studio C is made.  This sounds easier than it turned out to be.

Before our trip I searched the internet for the address of Studio C and wrote it down.  After our lunch I typed in the address on my phone and followed the route.  Unfortunately, it took us on a wild goose chase.  The address I had was not for the TV show Studio C.  It was for some other BYU warehouse type buildings.  We drove around for a while and almost gave up.  I knew this was a big deal to Ava, so I decided to ask for directions.  We stopped outside a building that looked like it had an office inside.  I went in and found a whole bunch of people working at cubicles, wearing headphones, and giving me the weirdest look.  A couple people took out their earbuds and were kind enough to give me directions.  I hopped back in the car and we drove to the broadcast building (who knew there was a broadcast building...obviously not us.).  We literally drove 1 block and it was across the street.

I'm glad I decided to ask for directions because it was the highlight of Ava's BYU trip.  At first, just Ava and I went inside because we couldn't find visitor parking.  As soon as you open the door you are greeted by life-size cutouts of all the cast members.  Ava was super excited and had the biggest smile on her face.  We didn't know where the actual studio was, so Ava patiently waited in line to ask the man at the front desk.  He told us where the door to the studio was and that there was a window upstairs that we could look down at the set. 

While looking down onto the set we saw a few people moving around.  We could only see legs and feet, so we didn't really know who it was.  Ava believed the person wearing the white shoes was one of the cast members named Adam because he was wearing white shoes in his life-size cutout.  I thought that was a good theory, so I rolled with it.

Ava was so excited about everything she decided Rich needed to see it.  We left our car in permit only parking (oops, don't tell anyone) for a few minutes, so Ava could give Rich the tour.  She made sure he saw everything and we took some pictures with the cast members.  The only sad thing about the experience is Ava was unable to buy a Studio C t-shirt at the bookstore because they are only sold online.

Ava with all the Studio C cast members.

Ava with her favorite cast member, Mallory.

Ava being silly with Jason.

Ava in front of the Studio C door.

Rich with his favorite cast member, Matt.

BYU

One morning we drove to Provo to visit BYU.  We didn't have much time, so we focused on showing Ava the campus.  We did quickly drive by the apartment complex where Rich and I lived and first met.  Ava loves hearing stories about how we met, so it was fun that she could get a quick look at the place.

We started our campus tour in the Wilkinson Center and the bookstore.  Ava LOVED the bookstore and said it was her favorite part of the campus.  For some reason she took 100s of pictures of random things in the bookstore.  Okay 100s might be an exaggeration, but only slightly.  We had to temporarily put her camera way, so we could decide what to buy.

Once we made it out of the Wilk we walked around the rest of the campus.  We toured the buildings and told Ava stories about our time as students.  At first she was enjoying the tour, but as time wore on it got pretty hot and we got hungry.  We made sure to make it to the gigantic underground library before leaving to get lunch.

Ava taking a picture of me taking a picture of her.

Ava taking a picture of a shirt in the bookstore.

Ava thought the BYU Cougar mascot was cool.

Ava and Rich ready to learn.  I think I had a class in this room or really close by.  It has been 14 years and it is hard to remember.

This is in front of the Maeser Building.  This was our favorite building while we were students.

Rock and mineral display inside the Eyring Science Building.  Ava loves rocks, so this was great to see.

One Sweet Slice

Our first night in Utah we went out to find dinner and stumbled across One Sweet Slice.  This bakery won the Star Wars episode of Cupcake Wars.  I was REALLY excited to go inside and try their cupcakes.  The cupcakes and bars looked delicious, so we got a variety to try over the next couple days.  Ava's favorite was the "Dirt" Cupcake.  I think my favorite was the straight up chocolate.  All were yummy and if I visit Sandy, Utah again I will go back.

Utah Trip

At the end of July we headed to Utah.  This trip was kind of a last minute adventure, but one that was meaningful to Rich.  At the beginning of the summer he learned his Mission President, President Dibble, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  His family decided to throw him a surprise mission reunion.  It was important for Rich to be there, so we turned it into a family trip.

We spent a short few days in Utah, but we did a lot.  We showed Ava BYU and found where her favorite show, Studio C, is filmed (on BYU campus).  We toured several attractions at Thanksgiving Point and made it to Temple Square.  One of the highlights of the trip was finding One Sweet Slice which is a bakery that won Cupcake Wars (another one of Ava's favorite shows).  It was a busy few days and we were exhausted by the end of it.

We had a great time.  We enjoyed our family time and Rich loved his mission reunion.  It was kind of a last minute crazy trip, but it was worth it.

We stopped at the Salt Flats to stretch our legs.

Disneyland in the Summer

Since we were going to be in Long Beach for my brother's wedding we turned it into a family vacation.  We went to Disneyland for the 3rd time this year.  I don't know if I have ever been to Disneyland in the summer, so it was a new experience.  It was too hot and there were too many people, but we still had fun. 

Since we have been a couple times this year we were able to relax and take it slow.  It was nice not to feel rushed or that we had to cram every ride in.  We enjoyed our favorite rides and attractions and tried a couple new things.  Ava was brave and went on Thunder Mountain Railroad.  She did not like the ride because it was too fast.  I was brave and took Ava on the Teacups.  I survived thanks to my little seasick patch behind my ear.  It's wonderful and I will never go to Disneyland without one again.

Squished inside the clam shell on Ava's favorite, the Little Mermaid, ride.

Being brave and slowly spinning the teacup.

We survived and I didn't get sick...YAY for me!

Ava happily driving on Autotopia.

This was Ava's first time on the Rocket ride.  She Loved it!

This time we were able to avoid waiting to take pictures with characters.  I think Pluto was the only one this trip.

Toy Story Mania is one of our family favorites.

After the day at Disneyland and the rehearsal dinner in Long Beach that night Ava was exhausted.

Enjoying a Mickey Ice Cream bar on a HOT day.

On the day before the wedding Ava was excited to spend a little bit of time with Uncle at Disneyland.  She wanted to ride with him on Buzz Astro Blasters and Star Tours.

Getting ready to enjoy the fireworks on the last night.

After an exhausting 3 days Ava fell asleep before we left the park.

While waiting for the fireworks Ava was a little crazy.  She was telling the lights to turn off, so the show would start.

Welcome to the Family

On July 12th my brother married Elizabeth and I gained a sister-in-law.  It was a beautiful ceremony at the Long Beach Japanese Garden.  It was a wonderful day and we are happy to welcome Elizabeth to our family.  I have never seen my brother smile so much.  It is nice to see.

First Dance

My Parents

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