Destination: The Aquarium

For years, I've heard presentations at the SLC Rotary about the creation of a local aquarium.  Where to build it, how to finance it, what exhibits to include.  Finally, the Living Planet Aquarium was completed in South Jordan.  Dave and I visited it on August 23, 2014, and we are impressed. 

The Living Planet Aquarium doesn't have the breadth of the Baltimore or Monterey aquariums, but it has the essentials for an interesting afternoon.  There are sharks and a tunnel to walk through as they swish above and around you; jellyfish; otters; a walk-through Brazil area with piranhas, jungle plants, and small jungle mammals; a hands-on area where visitors can touch star fish and manta rays; desert exhibits that show how plants and animals survive on dribbles of water; and many tanks and exhibits of random interesting creatures.  We will go back.

An Olde English Weekend

My Christmas present from Dave this year was tickets to all of the Utah Shakespeare Festival plays.  What luxury!  On August 17, 2014, we travelled to St. George for the first weekend of plays--"Sense and Sensibility," "Into the Woods," and "Twelfth Night."  Michael and his friend, Eric, spent the weekend in St. George at our house, and we enjoyed chatting with them as we relaxed between plays.

 "Into the Woods" was a musical by Steven Sondheim, mixing and matching fairy tales to develop the theme of showing courage when venturing into the harsh, cruel world--"the woods."

The Utah Shakespeare Festival's production of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" was particularly witty and (amazingly for a Jane Austen adaptation) fast-paced.  It was our favorite play of the weekend.

"Twelfth Night" was set in the American "Old West," a modern take on Shakespeare setting the play originally in Turkey, which was the "wild west" of the Renaissance.  Shakespeare plays are so much better, produced by the Utah Shakespeare Festival, than when I read them in high school! 

Breakfast at Mike's

It is always a treat to have breakfast at Mike's Victorian home in the Avenues.  On Sunday morning, August 10, 2014, the Eberts and I joined Mike for waffles, fresh fruit, and the gourmet syrups Mike buys at the Farmer's Market (apricot, maple, blackberry....).

Alyssa and Bryce Visit SLC III--Northcrest Parties

Bryce and Alyssa love to swim.  We had two family parties at Northcrest Swim Club while they visited.  They also spent a few days in St. George with Aunt Camille and their Ebert cousins, soaking in our swimming pool there.

The day Alyssa and Bryce arrived from Seattle, we had a pizza picnic with their Ebert cousins at Northcrest.

 Alyssa and Bryce were also in SLC for the second annual Spendlove Pool Party, on August 7, 2014.

 Dave's extended family enjoyed us for swimming and dinner.  Mike came, as did Camille with her family.  Dave's sisters, Nancy and Janice, arrived with their children and grandchildren.   Bryce enjoyed the pool with Ezra and Mia.

 There were lots of new babies, including Megan and Jared Moench's baby, Zoe, who was passed from aunt to grandma to mom and back again.

 Ezra in his goggles.

 Emilie.

 Jane, Nancy's daughter.

 The dinner spread.  Janice and Nancy are vegans, so we had both vegetarian and meat lasagnas, kale salad, and lots of fresh fruit.

 With a big extended family, someone is always having a birthday.

Jet Alvey, Charlotte's little boy, with his mom and his Aunt Ashley Moreland, both of whom are expecting babies.

 Nancy cutting the cake, with Jared, Jared's daughter, and Darrell looking on.

Alyssa and Bryce Visit SLC II--Lazer Tag and the Cabin

We tried to squeeze in as many fun outings for Bryce and Alyssa as we could.  Of course, they wanted to spend a night at the cabin and try on the hats from Grandpa's hat tree.  We also took them to a movie and lazer tag, with a stop first at a Greek restaurant for gyros, falafel, Greek salad, and baklava.

The movie theater gave us coupons for the "fun palace" next door.  Alyssa and Bryce started with a session of lazer tag, and then played one video game after another to see how many prizes they could amass.



 Alyssa playing video games with the guys.

 Bryce with his prize tickets.

 The prizes from all those tickets....

 Bryce and Alyssa bundled up with blankets on the mountain at Deer Valley as they watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing with the Utah Symphony.

 We drove from Deer Valley to the cabin to stay the night.  Bryce and Alyssa gathered up some bears from the upstairs "bear room."

 Alyssa donned her helmet for an ATV ride around Pine Mountain.

 We stopped at Road Island Diner for hamburgers and to play the juke box.

 The owner of Road Island Diner mingled with the guests.

 Next stop was the Kamas Rec Center, with its huge, warm water pool and slides.

Dave and I stopped to talk with Doug Rich, Dave's former boss, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer two years ago.  He has outlived everyone's expectations.

 Uncle Mike joined us for supper at Zao, a new Asian restaurant we discovered in SLC.

 Afterwards, Alyssa and Bryce joined Michael for board games in his apartment.

One other favorite tradition is dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.  "Can I throw peanuts on the floor?" Bryce asked the waitress as we walked in.  He had visited the Texas Roadhouse before and liked throwing those peanuts.  "Honey, you can throw anything anywhere," the waitress promised.