DARWIN is on his 12th year of teaching, currently at Springville High School teaching astronomy, geology, environmental science, and physics. He also teaches physics at UVU for a 7 week STEM summer school program for junior high students. He also teaches teenagers in our church ward. He's super busy, but still makes time to be an awesome dad and husband.
Darwin's parents left on an LDS service mission to Bluff Fort, Utah in February. It's an 8 month service mission so they'll be back the end of October. As senior missionaries they have a lot more liberties than young missionaries do and we had the chance to go down and visit them on their mission. This was our last big hurrah before Darwin starts back at work for the school year.
Day 1 - August 7, 2016
We left for Bluff after church on Sunday and aimed to be down there by dinner time. It's almost a 5 hour drive from where we live and we got a later start than we hoped but we made good time and got down there just in time for dinner! We only had to make one "potty stop" along the way. Lucky for us there happened to be a beautiful arch across the street for the girls to see. This one is called Wilson Arch.
The girls were in heaven the minute we pulled into Bluff Fort. Not only did they get to see Grandma and Grandpa, who they miss terribly, but it was a free roaming playground for them too!
They had so much fun playing on the covered wagons.
The missionaries were in the process of building a beautiful water wheel. The girls thought it was pretty awesome even though it wasn't finished yet.
This is the visitor center gift shop.
The girls LOVED these little horses.
It was hard to pull them away from these horses the whole time we were down there :)
Savannah especially loved them. She LOVES horses!
Talmage thought they were okay ;)
Grandma and Grandpa always have treats for the girls. Inside their apartment they gave the girls some circus animal cookies. We thought it was funny that Savy got some pink frosting stuck to her teeth :)
Day 2 - August 8, 2016
The next day the girls were up and exploring again as soon as we let them outside our little motel room. Like I said, they were in heaven while we were there! Grandma had fun exploring with them and teaching them about the Fort along the way.
A Navajo hogan
Sitting in the big covered wagon.
Aurora driving a covered wagon :)
Selfie with Dad
Savannah taking Grandma on a horsey ride :)
Pulling a great big handcart!
Savannah giving Aurora a ride in a handcart :)
Savy's such a cutie. Pulling a cart more her size.
This one was much easier to pull!
Daddy is always lots of fun. He pulled both girls around in the handcart for a while in the blistering sun.
He's such a great daddy!
(One of the senior missionaries saw Darwin running around pulling the girls in the handcart and commented that only Mike Deming's son would be crazy enough to be running around with a handcart in that heat! Haha!)
So sweaty in the heat!
The rest of us stayed cool in the shade and the kids joined us to cool off for a while too.
Talmage getting some Grandma time.
There's a group of replica cabins on the fort that guests can tour and do a scavenger hunt type game. We took pictures of the Perkins cabin specifically for my sister who married a Perkins.
The Perkins family.
It was fun to see that the husband's name was Hyrum Perkins--that's my nephew's name :)
Darwin took pictures of the Lyman cabin too because we know a family of Lyman's from the nearby area of Blanding.
Aurora checking out a cabin from the outside.
A replica of a water well.
Talmage and I had to leave the group periodically so I could take care of him. He was always happy when we joined back up with everyone. He especially loved listening to Grandpa :)
Grandpa put some cool water on his handkerchief and put in on Talmage's head to help cool him down. Talmage wasn't so sure about it :)
Grandpa was in charge of taking care of the grounds at the Fort (and he did a great job--they looked beautiful!) and because he was the one with the key for the sprinkler system he turned the sprinklers on and let the girls run through them for a while. They had a blast!
Grandpa took Talmage for a stroll through the sprinklers too :)
Grandma, Grandpa and Talmage having fun in the sprinklers!
This senior missionary couldn't walk very well without his cane so Grandpa offered to let him hold onto him and they went for a stroll through the sprinklers together. It was very sweet :)
After so much fun in the water Talmage was tuckered out!
So cozy in Grandpa's arms :)
I found this praying mantis that looked like it had an egg sack but it also looked like it had been stepped on. Poor thing.
A pretty katydid!
Grandma having a snooze, and Dad messing around with the camera settings :)
We dressed up like pioneers and had a little photoshoot :)
Don't we make cute pioneers? ;)
And in some in color.
Silly faces!
Talmage wasn't a fan of being dressed up so he and I changed out of our pioneer clothes pretty quickly after taking some pictures as a pioneer family. Dad and the girls had fun dressed up as pioneers for a little bit longer.
Our cute pioneer girls :)
She's so cute...
...and silly!
Our sweet Savannah!
Our pioneer girl pulling a handcart.
I love this picture!
Such hard workers!
Rori's turn to be pulled by Dad.
Savy was struggling a little bit so Dad was helping from behind.
My little pioneer cuties!
Doubling them up!
Hi, camera! ;)
(It's an inside joke.)
Getting cozy in a little handcart.
Thanks, Grandpa for taking all those pioneer pictures for us!
That night for dinner Grandma and Grandpa treated us to some yummy food at a local restaurant near twin rocks--rightfully named :)
Talmage didn't eat much at the restaurant so he had a little snack back at Grandma and Grandpa's apartment. He's so cute sitting in his bumbo! Plus, while we were down in Bluff he discovered he could grab his feet :)
Day 3 - August 9, 2016
Bluff Fort is about an hour away from Four Corners so on our second full day we decided to go check it out because I had never been there before, and obviously our kids hadn't been there before either. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was pretty neat. How cool is it to say you've been in four states at once?! Now I can say I have! :)
We each stood in a different state.
Dad (Utah), Aurora (Colorado), Savannah (New Mexico), Mom and Talmage (Arizona)
Aurora is in four states at once!
One of these days I'll compile all of the state "Welcome To..." signs we've taken over the years.
Free roaming sheep in the road on our way home.
After visiting Four Corners we went back to hang out at the Fort for the rest of the day.
Our cute little Talmage! Can't get enough of this sweet boy!
The girls played on the horses for a long time!
The rest of us lounged in the shady grass and enjoyed some down time.
My handsome boys!
Aurora practiced the lasso skills she learned at the pageant just a few days earlier.
Our sad little deputy :(
(At one point when she was dressed up like this she came to me and said, "Mom, this deputy needs to go potty." I thought it was pretty adorable. She LOVED this purple cowgirl vest and bandana. She was convinced it belonged to her and we had a hard time talking her into leaving it in the dress up box for other kids to use.)
Handsome Talmage!
The girls thought it was pretty fun to feed currants to the chickens in their coop.
We were a little worried Grandma might ride off into the sunset without us! ;)
These next few pictures are names of Darwin's ancestors who helped settle the area.
All of the missionaries at the Fort had signs like this by their living quarters.
I'm glad the girls had so much fun playing at the Fort while we were there. Good memories were made!
Silly girls :)
We found a sheep that was just the right size for Talmage!
Day 4 - August 10, 2016
The next day it was time for us to head back home.
Savannah slept later than everyone. Cute little sleeper :)
Happy kids snuggling with Dad who wanted to still be sleeping.
Last photo opp with Grandma and Grandpa.
(As a side note, Savannah chose that hat as her souvenir from the gift shop because she loved the one in the dress up box so much.)
Silly faces :P
We stopped by the Monticello LDS temple on our way back home. Eventually we'd like to take our kids to all of the temples in Utah.
There were lots of grasshoppers around!
Savy was brave and wanted to touch them :)
My handsome hubby!
Us together :)
The girls thought it was funny to get in our picture. Talmage was sleeping the whole time, as usual.
We took a walk around the temple grounds so the kids could get some wiggles out before being trapped in the car for several more hours.
Savannah chasing down a grasshopper.
Watching some windmills spin in the distance.
Angel Moroni.
Our sweet, sleeping Talmage and the bobcat he got from the Bluff Fort visitor center.
Touching another grasshopper :)
She wanted to hold it so Daddy picked it for her.
It was missing its hind legs and couldn't jump away. It was the perfect grasshopper for Savy to hold!
Such a happy girl!
I love this picture :)
And that was the last shot of our trip to Bluff Fort to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We had such a nice trip and we were all so glad to spend some time with them for a couple of days. We definitely miss them and look forward to having them back with us!
They had so much fun playing on the covered wagons.
The missionaries were in the process of building a beautiful water wheel. The girls thought it was pretty awesome even though it wasn't finished yet.
This is the visitor center gift shop.
The girls LOVED these little horses.
It was hard to pull them away from these horses the whole time we were down there :)
Savannah especially loved them. She LOVES horses!
Talmage thought they were okay ;)
Grandma and Grandpa always have treats for the girls. Inside their apartment they gave the girls some circus animal cookies. We thought it was funny that Savy got some pink frosting stuck to her teeth :)
Day 2 - August 8, 2016
The next day the girls were up and exploring again as soon as we let them outside our little motel room. Like I said, they were in heaven while we were there! Grandma had fun exploring with them and teaching them about the Fort along the way.
A Navajo hogan
Sitting in the big covered wagon.
Aurora driving a covered wagon :)
Selfie with Dad
Savannah taking Grandma on a horsey ride :)
Pulling a great big handcart!
Savannah giving Aurora a ride in a handcart :)
Savy's such a cutie. Pulling a cart more her size.
This one was much easier to pull!
Daddy is always lots of fun. He pulled both girls around in the handcart for a while in the blistering sun.
He's such a great daddy!
(One of the senior missionaries saw Darwin running around pulling the girls in the handcart and commented that only Mike Deming's son would be crazy enough to be running around with a handcart in that heat! Haha!)
So sweaty in the heat!
The rest of us stayed cool in the shade and the kids joined us to cool off for a while too.
Talmage getting some Grandma time.
There's a group of replica cabins on the fort that guests can tour and do a scavenger hunt type game. We took pictures of the Perkins cabin specifically for my sister who married a Perkins.
The Perkins family.
It was fun to see that the husband's name was Hyrum Perkins--that's my nephew's name :)
Darwin took pictures of the Lyman cabin too because we know a family of Lyman's from the nearby area of Blanding.
Aurora checking out a cabin from the outside.
A replica of a water well.
Talmage and I had to leave the group periodically so I could take care of him. He was always happy when we joined back up with everyone. He especially loved listening to Grandpa :)
Grandpa put some cool water on his handkerchief and put in on Talmage's head to help cool him down. Talmage wasn't so sure about it :)
Grandpa was in charge of taking care of the grounds at the Fort (and he did a great job--they looked beautiful!) and because he was the one with the key for the sprinkler system he turned the sprinklers on and let the girls run through them for a while. They had a blast!
Grandpa took Talmage for a stroll through the sprinklers too :)
Grandma, Grandpa and Talmage having fun in the sprinklers!
This senior missionary couldn't walk very well without his cane so Grandpa offered to let him hold onto him and they went for a stroll through the sprinklers together. It was very sweet :)
After so much fun in the water Talmage was tuckered out!
So cozy in Grandpa's arms :)
I found this praying mantis that looked like it had an egg sack but it also looked like it had been stepped on. Poor thing.
A pretty katydid!
Grandma having a snooze, and Dad messing around with the camera settings :)
We dressed up like pioneers and had a little photoshoot :)
Don't we make cute pioneers? ;)
And in some in color.
Silly faces!
Talmage wasn't a fan of being dressed up so he and I changed out of our pioneer clothes pretty quickly after taking some pictures as a pioneer family. Dad and the girls had fun dressed up as pioneers for a little bit longer.
Our cute pioneer girls :)
She's so cute...
...and silly!
Our sweet Savannah!
Our pioneer girl pulling a handcart.
I love this picture!
Such hard workers!
Rori's turn to be pulled by Dad.
Savy was struggling a little bit so Dad was helping from behind.
My little pioneer cuties!
Doubling them up!
Hi, camera! ;)
(It's an inside joke.)
Getting cozy in a little handcart.
Thanks, Grandpa for taking all those pioneer pictures for us!
That night for dinner Grandma and Grandpa treated us to some yummy food at a local restaurant near twin rocks--rightfully named :)
Talmage didn't eat much at the restaurant so he had a little snack back at Grandma and Grandpa's apartment. He's so cute sitting in his bumbo! Plus, while we were down in Bluff he discovered he could grab his feet :)
Day 3 - August 9, 2016
Bluff Fort is about an hour away from Four Corners so on our second full day we decided to go check it out because I had never been there before, and obviously our kids hadn't been there before either. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was pretty neat. How cool is it to say you've been in four states at once?! Now I can say I have! :)
We each stood in a different state.
Dad (Utah), Aurora (Colorado), Savannah (New Mexico), Mom and Talmage (Arizona)
Aurora is in four states at once!
One of these days I'll compile all of the state "Welcome To..." signs we've taken over the years.
Free roaming sheep in the road on our way home.
After visiting Four Corners we went back to hang out at the Fort for the rest of the day.
Our cute little Talmage! Can't get enough of this sweet boy!
The girls played on the horses for a long time!
The rest of us lounged in the shady grass and enjoyed some down time.
My handsome boys!
Aurora practiced the lasso skills she learned at the pageant just a few days earlier.
Our sad little deputy :(
(At one point when she was dressed up like this she came to me and said, "Mom, this deputy needs to go potty." I thought it was pretty adorable. She LOVED this purple cowgirl vest and bandana. She was convinced it belonged to her and we had a hard time talking her into leaving it in the dress up box for other kids to use.)
Handsome Talmage!
The girls thought it was pretty fun to feed currants to the chickens in their coop.
We were a little worried Grandma might ride off into the sunset without us! ;)
These next few pictures are names of Darwin's ancestors who helped settle the area.
All of the missionaries at the Fort had signs like this by their living quarters.
I'm glad the girls had so much fun playing at the Fort while we were there. Good memories were made!
Silly girls :)
We found a sheep that was just the right size for Talmage!
Day 4 - August 10, 2016
The next day it was time for us to head back home.
Savannah slept later than everyone. Cute little sleeper :)
Happy kids snuggling with Dad who wanted to still be sleeping.
Last photo opp with Grandma and Grandpa.
(As a side note, Savannah chose that hat as her souvenir from the gift shop because she loved the one in the dress up box so much.)
Silly faces :P
We stopped by the Monticello LDS temple on our way back home. Eventually we'd like to take our kids to all of the temples in Utah.
There were lots of grasshoppers around!
Savy was brave and wanted to touch them :)
My handsome hubby!
Us together :)
The girls thought it was funny to get in our picture. Talmage was sleeping the whole time, as usual.
We took a walk around the temple grounds so the kids could get some wiggles out before being trapped in the car for several more hours.
Savannah chasing down a grasshopper.
Watching some windmills spin in the distance.
Angel Moroni.
Our sweet, sleeping Talmage and the bobcat he got from the Bluff Fort visitor center.
Touching another grasshopper :)
She wanted to hold it so Daddy picked it for her.
It was missing its hind legs and couldn't jump away. It was the perfect grasshopper for Savy to hold!
Such a happy girl!
I love this picture :)
And that was the last shot of our trip to Bluff Fort to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We had such a nice trip and we were all so glad to spend some time with them for a couple of days. We definitely miss them and look forward to having them back with us!
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