Day one of our "Visit to Salt Lake"

This is Eyewitness News at 10:00. Hi, I'm Teresa. And I'm Wayne. We're here to tell you about a great new program being offered in Salt Lake City this month. There's a pass called the Visit Salt Lake Connect Pass. It offers 14 fun places to visit along the Wasatch Front. They are offering a special on their website right now where if you buy a one day pass before August 21, you get the second day free. You can use the pass any two consecutive days between now and December 31. I think this might be a fun staycation idea for people who are planning ahead for UEA this fall. The pass costs $20 per adult and $16 for kids (3-12).

If you want more details, check out http://www.visitsaltlake.com/visit/activities/connect_pass/.

Here's what we did with our two day pass:

Maybe that sounded more like a commercial than a news report. Anyway, this pass was a fun way to spend last Friday and Saturday. Wayne has a few extra vacation days to use up, and his sister Wendy is in town, so we had to do something exciting. We started off with the Lion House Pantry lunch. With the pass, you get a $10 dining credit per person. Wayne had prime rib. I had citrus chicken. Benjamin had chicken tenders (of course). Now you might think that Daniel would want a kids meal, but you would only think that if you've never been to a restaurant with him. He ordered pot pie. Daniel has very mature taste in food.

Next, we found our place in the Universe! We went to the Clark Planetarium. I know, those of you who have been there are thinking that this was a rip-off to include it with the Connect Pass because the Planetarium actually is free to visit. However, with the Connect Pass, we got to see an IMAX movie and a Dome Theater movie. We saw "Ultimate Universe" which Daniel loved. I liked it, but if you go see it, be prepared to discuss the creation of the universe and the "Big Bang Theory" with any kids who are old enough to understand.

We also saw the IMAX 3D movie "Under the Sea." The pictures were amazing, but the commentary got kind of annoying (Jim Carrey). It was heavy on environmentalism Also, there was a lot of "birds and bees" discussion in relation to the fish. Nothing you won't see on any nature channel; it just may spark questions from curious kids.

Our last stop for the day was the Discovery Gateway Children's museum. This is a fun place for kids to explore and be creative. And yeah, that's where Wayne and I got to live out our dream of hosting the 10:00 news for KSL.

This is me with my sister-in-law Wendy. It was fun to see you Wendy!

Parade Pictures

We were able to get a couple of pictures at the Fiesta Days parade. I think our float got more cheers than any other. Of course, that might have something to do with the bags and bags of candy we threw. And Wayne was especially popular because he could throw the candy so far. Being tall has its advantages.

I made the t shirts we are wearing the night before the parade. They have a teddy bear and say "Hoping to Adopt" on them. My boys love them and have already worn them a couple of times since the parade.

I'm glad they like helping us advertise our desire to adopt!

How To Get To Our Adoption Profile

Several people have mentioned that they weren't sure how to get to our profile, so here's the link:

https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/22920363/photoAlbum.jsf

If you go to our profile, you can see our Birth Parent Letter, a photo album, and a "getting to know us" page. Enjoy!

100!

I know I shouldn't be quite this excited, but we got our 100th hit on our profile! That means our adoption profile at LDS Family Services has now been looked at 100 times. I have no idea whether those people were mostly friends and family or if we have attracted the attention of any birth parents (we hope!), but either way, it's exciting to know that there are people thinking about us and supporting us in our efforts to adopt.

For anyone looking for something fun to do this weekend for Pioneer Day, I recommend going to the Fiesta Days Parade in Spanish Fork. The Provo-based chapter of FSA (Families Supporting Adoption) has a float in the parade, and we get to ride on it. If any of you are down at the parade, I would love it if you could take a picture of us on the float and email it to me.

Temple Open House

This is the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan, Utah.

On Friday night, we went to the LDS Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. If you have not been yet, you can get free reservations online at lds.org. Anyone can go. We also went to the Draper Temple Open House a couple months ago. The kids enjoyed both experiences. We thought it was especially important for our boys to be familiar with the temple because they will have the opportunity to go to the temple with us after we adopt.

In Utah, adoptions can be finalized six months after a baby is placed with an adoptive family. After the finalization, the family can be sealed to their baby in the temple, and the baby can be given an official "Baby Blessing." When a baby is sealed to the adoptive parents, the other children are also invited. That's special because children generally aren't allowed in temples after the temple is dedicated.

Daniel and Benjamin were actually reverent and quiet as we walked through the temple. Benjamin's favorite part was the baptismal font. Daniel liked the Celestial Room. There are volunteers stationed throughout the temple to help out the visitors, and Daniel asked the man in the Celestial Room (quietly) how big the chandelier is. It is 15 feet tall and has 19,000 crystals.

This is the view looking east from the temple.
In the very middle, you can see the Jordan River Temple
(also in South Jordan).

After we went to the open house, we went to eat at El Farol, my favorite Mexican Restaurant, which is in Midvale. The last time we were there, we saw President Monson leaving just as we were arriving (although we didn't get to talk to him or anything). This time, it wasn't quite that exciting. But the food was great, as always.

A Baby Blessing

Yesterday, we went to a baby blessing for my newest nephew! His name is Kai. His family lives in Las Vegas, but they came to Utah for the baby blessing because so much of our extended family lives here.


Kai's big sister Jordy is sitting on the couch with Daniel and Benjamin in this picture. Alyssa, another cousin, is standing behind her.


Here are a couple of the other cousins who were visiting:


It used to be a lot harder for me to go to baby blessings, baby showers, etc. Basically, I couldn't sit through them without crying. At one point, I stopped making any sort of baby presents, and I avoided baby parties. Over time, it has become easier. Now, I'm making baby stuff like booties and quilts again. Some in anticipation of our adoption, and some for other people. This is the quilt I made for Kai:

Out of Town and Back Again

Wayne had two big conferences that he had to work at in June. The first was in Las Vegas, and last week he was in San Francisco. He makes computer stuff for the conferences, like the software used for checking in attendees, scheduling classes, making surveys, etc. I'm sure he could explain that better than I just did. While he was at the first conference, the kids went to a fun day camp called "Summer Fun" hosted by their older cousins in our neighborhood. They had a Fiesta, Carnival, Water Party, Pirate Day, and Sports Day.

While Wayne was in San Francisco, we went to visit my mom and dad for a few days. The kids love "sleepovers" at Grandma's. We also got to see Brandon and Jacqueline who were there right before they left to visit Jacqueline's family in Spain. We went out for ice cream (or Mice Cream, as Grandpa calls it), played on Grandma's swings, made crafts, and played lots of baseball (with a plastic bat and ball). Is it any wonder the kids love visiting their grandparents?

We also took a drive up to the Bingham Copper Mine because Daniel has been asking to visit a mine for a while. I think he really wanted to go in a mine like the Park City Silver Mine (which used to give tours). But he thought this was great, too.

This is the Bingham Copper Mine as we drove toward it.

Benjamin was a little scared of how big the mine was,
but he liked seeing the huge trucks down in it.

Daniel read (and probably memorized) every sign at the Visitors' Center.

Like most little boys, Benjamin loves rocks.

I recommend vising the Bingham Copper Mine early in the morning, before it gets hot, or in the evening. It costs $5 per car, so if your kids like this kind of stuff, it's not too bad. And technically, the money goes to charity.