Hirsche Family

Hopefully another update will be happening soon. We have been quite busy the last couple of weeks but not with anything really blog-worthy. Scott's birthday was on the 12th, we celebrated by going to the Scottish Festival on the 11th (see last post). I worked lots of extra hours the past three weeks, so Geddy got to visit a few different babysitters. He had a blast and was mostly good though every time I picked him up afterwards he told me to leave because he was having fun. Back to regular schedule next week. My sister Carrie and her husband, Ben, stayed with us over the weekend. Hopefully I will have pictures of that next week as Carrie took some on her camera and she needs to e-mail them to me. Geddy had great fun playing all sorts of pretend games with Uncle Ben. Carrie and Ben gave Scott and I a wonderful anniversary (12 years!) gift on the 18th by watching Geddy so Scott and I could enjoy a nice dinner without the company of a 2-year-old. We went to The Olive Garden. Carrie also mowed our lawns for us so I didn't have to!!! YEAH! She's the best! Now I have to get caught up on laundry and other housework I have neglected for too long. Scott has four days off this weekend so we plan on doing lots of fun things for Geddy's third birthday, which is Monday. I can't believe he is already 3!!!! So if all goes as planned, there should be lots of fun pictures to post next week.

We went to Payson's Scottish Festival today. One clan had mock fighting at their booth. Geddy was fascinated by it. Scott asked if he wanted to do that and he responded with a very enthusiastic "YES". It was free so we got in line. We kept expecting Geddy to change his mind because the guy the kids were fighting was a tall guy with a full helmet on so you couldn't see his face. Nope, Geddy was excited about getting his armor. He was hoping he would get chain mail and gauntlets too. They didn't have any helmets for such small heads but this one seemed like it would work. All the other kids we saw do it were probably between 5 and 12 years old.

Here is the battle. Sound isn't necessary. You will hear bagpipes in the background and people, including me, telling him to "go for the legs", "try your spin move", "chop at him".

The battle only lasted about 40 seconds. Geddy decided he had had enough. He was a bit bothered by not being able to see the guys face. Then when the guy put one arm behind his back to pretend that he had been wounded, Geddy thought he really had hurt the guy. He was in tears as we returned the weaponry and left. He remained somber throughout the afternoon and frequently looked around to make sure, "that giant knight wasn't coming to find him". Great, now he is going to have nightmares because of this little battle. Actually, he has watched the video on the computer and thought it was pretty funny. He said, "it is not the same as having a lightsaber battle with Daddy".

Last Friday we went to the Freedom Festival thing in Provo. We wandered through all the booths (nothing worth buying). The first thing we saw was this guy dressed up as a Storm Trooper! Geddy was a little intimidated. I don't blame him, the guy was huge! And it's always a little creepy when you can't see someones face and they don't talk.
There was a re-enactment village where they had a little Mayflower. Geddy thought it was pretty fun to steer such a huge "steering wheel".

We parked at the lower parking lot which meant we had a bit of a walk to actually get to the falls. We didn't plan this, we just followed the first sign we saw for the falls. But we did eventually get there. Scott and I don't remember every being able to wade and play at the foot of the falls, but apparently it is quite the thing to do. The place was packed.As usual, it took Geddy a few minutes to really get into it. But once he did, he loved climbing all over the rocks and playing in the water. The water was cold, but felt so good!Geddy especially loved all the big rocks that were perfect for him to sit on and also to jump off of.
Being the brilliant and efficient mother that I am, I put Geddy in this cute patriotic tank top and didn't even think about sunscreen. His shoulders and upper arms were quite pink by the end of the day. The funniest part was he had a Pirates of the Caribbean temporary tattoo on his upper arm. When I washed it off in his bath the next day there was a lovely white skull and crossbones where his tattoo had protected his skin from the sun. He told me he thought it was cool and was going to show everyone in nursery.

We have lived in Payson almost 5 years, yet we have never really taken the time to explore our surroundings. On Saturday we finally decided to drive the Nebo Loop up the canyon.
We checked out Payson Lakes (at least one of them). There was a $7 fee that we didn't want to pay as we knew were only going to be a few minutes. We just quickly walked to this little lake and took some pictures.







We couldn't have picked a more beautiful day to explore. It was a great reminder of what a beautiful world we live in. I know that I take the mountains and nature itself for granted a lot. I get caught up in my immediate surroundings at home and at work and don't take time to look around me. This weekend was a perfect family time for us. I just hope we can have many more. Geddy always asks if we are "going to do really fun things" or "have new adventures" when it is Saturday. Scott and I try our best to make it so.
(Sorry for all of the pictures, I am terrible at deciding which ones not to include).