The Utah Arts Fest... 2 ways

We have found it… It’s official… the BEST way to do the Utah Arts fest as a family.

Do it twice! Once as a date night (we did Friday), and Once as a Kids day out (we did Saturday morning).

It is the perfect way to fully enjoy the festival.

Arts Fest #1: Date Night!

Thanks to my wonderful parents A and A had a fun sleepover, freeing me and Jeff up for a grown-up night at the Fest. We were able to leisurely stroll through the aisles of art. Jeff chatted with fellow artists and we ran into several friends we could stop and chat with. We ate and drank some of the wonderful offerings at the Fest and stopped to enjoy some of the fun entertainment, (the aerialists were especially impressive! We stayed out late and enjoyed the Arts fest at a relaxed pace (not something possible with A and A).

Arts Fest #2: Kids Day

We picked up A and A and headed out for Festival opening. This Arts fest experience was completely different from the one we had the previous night. It was kinetic, full of joy and energy. There was very little stopping at any of the booths, however some of the bright, bold pieces did catch A and A’s eye.

There was no time for chit, chat, no time for pleasantries. There was one focus… the art yard! The kids had the BEST time! They painted the huge “sculptures.” A put big blue A’s everywhere!  They did all of the activities; Tracy Aviary was doing “seed bombs,” Museum of Natural History did DNA bracelets, there was wish bottles, and time capsules. The SO delicious Dairy Free company gave out free “ice cream” bars to everyone (They actually ARE SO delicious!). It was all perfect and the weather was absolute perfection, 80’s but sunny, couldn’t have asked for better! A and A had an amazing time and since we had done the festival the night before we didn’t have to drag them to do anything they didn’t want to.

Another Arts Fest for the books!

1...2...3... Strikes... and we're out

 

It has been nothing but baseball, baseball, baseball at our house this spring (early summer).

Both A and a and me and Jeff have been doing pretty much nothing but baseball.

 

Big A moved up to AA ball this year. This means it's competitive now! Outs count, they keep score, there's a draft, Kids pitch, and it has all become very, very serious. There were 20 games. Jeff decided to coach again this year and he and Big A were part of the Pirates. It seemed like such a daunting thing when the season was starting, it seemed like So many games and so much effort.

 

Little a was old enough to start tee ball this year. She was so totally excited for it! She has spent 3 long seasons watching her brother from the stands and she was ready to hit the fields herself. Since Jeff was taking on the AA team I decided to try my hand at coaching (It's tee ball, I can teach them to run to the right!) It was an amazing experience. The kids grew so much and so improved from the first game to the last. By the end of the season I had 3 kids hitting a pitched ball (Little A was a total slugger, hitting a pitched ball so good!) I loved it!

 

It really has been all baseball for all of us for the last few months (My Amazing parents, Ma and Pa attended EVERY game!). Now that the season is over and I'm cleaning cleats and putting away bat bags for the year I can't believe it's over! It really did fly by. It was so wonderful watching the kids grow and improve, watching them form the wonderful bond of a team, watching them gain confidence as the season progressed. It was so fun getting to know the families, cheering on all the players. Now that it's over I can't wait for the next season!