Fishing Trip - Hagg Lake

 This Summer, a friend of mine organized weekly field trips that we have dubbed "Thursday Thrills".  Each Thursday a different Mom organizes and hosts the event.

This Thursday, the event was fishing at Hagg Lake, and then playing on the beach (if it can be called that!)  This was Emma's first fishing trip, and she was very excited.

We started the adventure the day before, when we visited Grandpa to have him help Emma learn to cast.  Grandma and Grandpa had gotten Emma a small fishing pole as a End of School present, which is great as they live on a lake.  Emma loved learning how to cast from Grandpa, and does a great job.

 So this was my first trip to Hagg Lake.  For the fishing portion, it was the Gates Family and us.  Tammy was the organizer, and it was a really fun morning.  Her eldest caught our one and only fish, which worked perfectly as he could get his merit badge by catching, cleaning and cooking his fish.  There was another catch, when his line caught on a mess and pulled up this lovely can that Tammy is holding.

 After lunch, we were joined by the Fishers of the Hillsboro Ward.  Emma loved playing with her two friends, but boy was she muddy a the end of the day.  It was everywhere, and I am not sure our sandals will ever be the same.

First Week of July

 July 4th
We are still not use to being home on July 4th.  This is the second year in a row that we are not camping over the holiday with my extended family.  This year we decided on July 2nd to ask my parents if they would join us for the day. We played some games, had a BBQ and set off some fireworks.

 I have been wanting to do some Grilling. To be honest, I am not the best on the grill, but really want to improve my skill.  So this day, I did some overkill!  I grilled BBQ Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Zucchini and Summer Squash and Asparagus. And even if I do say so myself, it all ended up fairly tasty. 

 Emma helped me set the table for dinner.  She loved having Grandma and Grandpa over to entertain her (because lets be honest, at the age of 4 it is all about you!)

 

 July 5th
Taking advantage of Glenn having a Friday off, we decided to visit the zoo.  Emma is totally enamored of Tigers lately, so she was thrilled to watch this one do more then just sleep. Actually, it was a great day for the zoo, and with the nice, but cooler weather in the morning, many of the animals were active and put on a good show.

 We enjoyed chatting with this keeper about the birds.  They seem to love her hair, and as of this point in the day had not left her any deposits.

 Emma got a new friend at the Zoo which was named Tigerlily after much discussion.  It had two things going for it. 1) It is a Tiger... and 2) it is Pink. She has played with it pretty much non-stop since we purchased her.

And did you know our zoo had Flamingo's?  I saw the adds, but had a hard time believing it since I had not seen them last time I was here (in May).  So this time, I went searching, and I found them.  Emma loved these guys as well because... well, their Pink!  She does love anything pink.

 If I ever want a study of Emma's growing, all I need to do is find her photos of the zoo statue's.  She spends half of each visit climbing and playing on these things.

We were thrilled to see Baby Lily, and were lucky to catch the penguin feeding.  It is really quite fun to watch these guys be fed.  They are quite funny.

 July 6th
Saturday was upon us, and something I have wanted to do for years was visit the Farmers Market.  This day, we made it happen.  I was excited to get some farm fresh vege's to help with my diet.  And I really thought Emma would love the experience.  What Emma loved was the fountain!

After the Farmers Market, we ran lots of errands.  Isn't that what Saturday is for?  We did take some time to stop and play at two different play grounds, eat (of course) and get a nap.  I had only slept two hours the night before, so a nap was essential.  Also, with as busy as we had been the past few days, Emma was starting to get a little cranky.  A nice family nap was the perfect break in the middle of all our errands.




We ended our evening with Dinner at the PF Chang's at Bridgeport.  We had a lovely meal, but did end up with a wait for our food.  I had ordered the Salmon, and the kitchen ended up having a problem with their Steamer.  We really didn't mind the wait since Emma had her food, and Glenn and I had already had our soup and dumplings, but the manager came to our table and apologized for the long wait and took the price of my meal off our bill.  He also gave us gift cards to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the company.  It was such a great experience that I just have to let people know that it is a place worth going.

Thursday Thrills

 So today was my turn to host the Thursday Thrills.  The plan was to do the Rose Garden / Elephant House picnic, however when I saw the weather was suppose to be cool and wet, I sent an e-mail to change to the alternative of the children's Museum.

So Emma and I rode Max to the Children's Museum.  She loved the train ride, and was so good walking to the museum. She was so excited, and had been waiting for this trip since she learned about the place.  She went right in to play and had a blast.

 We were suppose to meet another family here, but they did not show.  I did finally text her, only to discover that the e-mail I sent was only sent to one person, and she was waiting at the rose garden.  I felt better when I learned that another family showed there as well, so they were not alone.  The wet didn't come and they had a nice trip.

 So Emma and I explored the entire museum, ate lunch and then took Max back home.  I have promised Emma that we will return.  She thinks this is a great place!