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Transracial Playgroup

I avoid posting pictures or names of other people's children on my blog because I know some people have privacy concerns. I'm making an exception here because I have to share a picture of the transracial playgroup Baylie and I go to every Friday. It's made up of other transracial families from here in Utah County. There are similar groups in Davis County, Salt Lake, Weber and I think one in Heber as well.

I have learned so much from associating with these families. I think as Baylie gets older it will also be a source of strength to her to know other kids that are in her same situation (even though she doesn't look too thrilled in the picture). I hope that after David gets his doctorate we can move back to this area so we can continue interacting with these families.

Seven Peaks

On Thursday we went to Seven Peaks with David's brother and family and everyone had a blast. David has wanted to go there ever since we moved to Utah, but I'm not big on water parks (love to swim, terrified of the big slides). Baylie especially loved the lazy river and the wave pool. We had to keep a close eye on her because she wanted to just jump right in.

We had such a great visit with the family and were so sorry to see them leave.

Stop the Insanity!

Things like this make me crazy.

Watch this.
Then sign this.

Hiking Timpanogos Cave

David's brother and his family are visiting from Oregon. We don't get to spend much time with David's family so this has been a great time for us. Baylie is getting to know her Batchelor cousins and is loving every minute of it.

Yesterday we hiked to Timpanogos Cave. The last time I went to the Cave was when I was about 12 years old. Now I know why it took me so long to go back. It is a hard climb! I'm sure I slowed the group down, but our cave tour time was for 12:40 and we made it by 12:30, so I was at least within the time limit. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes. The cave tour takes about 40 minutes. It was tricky carrying Baylie the whole way. Sadly, she slept through the cave and is too little to remember anything anyway.

The way down was much easier and probably just took 30 minutes or so. I felt badly for the people heading up as we were going down because it was so much hotter. I figured I inspired people since they could say, "If that fat lady can do it carrying a baby, then certainly I can do it." The cave is definitely worth the hike, but next time Baylie goes, I think it will be a daddy-daughter date.

Advice to others considering the climb:

• Start in the morning and the climb will be mostly in shade.
• Drink lots of water.
• Take lots of breaks.
• Strollers are not allowed, so be prepared to carry small children. (Backpacks can be used on the trail, but not in the cave.)
• If you are afraid of heights like me, be aware that there are steep dropoffs in some places.

On Monday we went to the Children's Museum. It was really cool, although pretty pricey. I had never been to the Gateway area and was impressed. Baylie especially liked the water feature, although at one point she crawled right in it. Oops!

Bridal Veil Falls

When I was a kid my family used to go to the canyon to cook breakfast. It was always a fun thing to do and I have great memories of it. Thankfully my brother has continued the tradition and he invites us all along. So last Saturday we had breakfast at Canyon Glen in Provo Canyon. Then we hiked the short trail to Bridal Veil Falls. There's a fun wading area at the bottom of the falls where the kids played. It was freezing cold water, but we all had a great morning.

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

We finished our all-day Harry Potter marathon on Thursday. (To be honest, I had to watch the end of the 5th movie on Friday morning because I fell asleep Thursday night.) We went to a matinee today to see #6. (warning: spoilers below)

I liked the movie, but was a little disappointed in the ending because they left so much out, especially with the invasion of the castle. I also wish they had shown more of Snape and Voldemort's pasts because I think it's important to the development of the story. And I guess there's some stuff they'll just leave out altogether because of the way they developed this movie (i.e. Bill's wedding).

I understand that there isn't room in a movie to include everything that's in the book, but I'm not sure why they would add stuff that's not in the book (i.e. burning down the Weasley's home).

Overall, I did like it. I'm glad I didn't re-read the book before going to the movie because I think it would have frustrated me. I'm in a Harry Potter mood now and want to re-read all the books, but I don't think I'm ready for the time commitment involved. Isn't it amazing how JK Rawlings has shaped the world? She has added words to our vocabulary right from her imagination (i.e. quidditch, muggle, dementor).