91% ECLIPSE

I had been hearing about the August 21st eclipse for a while. Mostly due to the fact that Rexburg, Idaho was supposed to be one of the best places in the world to see this total eclipse. Being averse to crowds and then realizing that the eclipse was going to be on Stella's first day of school, I didn't even consider going up to Idaho to experience this once in a lifetime event. Also, what if it wasn't a sunny day!? So, I didn't take it that seriously. But not going to Idaho on this one special day is probably my biggest regret of 2017, maybe even...dare I say it...my life.

So we were told that Salt Lake would experience 91% totality. 91% seemed like a lot. It seemed like it would get pretty dark, so I wasn't worried about it. I didn't even have eclipse glasses, but I got them on a whim from Mark when we had had dinner at the Sallays the night before.

After dropping off my precious child at school and then heading to Home Depot to work on the Sallay Front Door Crisis, I popped down to my parents' house. The whole thing took over an hour and the sun was already partly covered but was still so bright.

We were watching the news and seeing everyone in Idaho getting excited for the big total eclipse and Dad and I were SO annoyed with ourselves for not going up there to see it. What we saw was pretty cool and very exciting, but guess what? It never got dark. The sun is really powerful guys and even if we only have 9% of the sun, it still is pretty sunny. The coolest thing we were able to enjoy was seeing how our shadows looked.

After totality happened in Idaho, Heidi called me in tears and said it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. And Dad and I were crushed. She got a 360 degree sunset and then this burst thing as the sun reappeared. Apparently in about 27 years Salt Lake City will be in the path of totality, but as Dad said: "I'll be dead by then."

Yet, at the end of the day, it was a fun morning to spend with my parents, and Vivi looked cute in the glasses. Which of course was so delightful. Not as delightful as a 360 degree sunset, but still delightful.

FOURTH GRADE!

I really hate how soon school starts every year. It is a real bummer. I really wish we stayed in school longer through June and then went back later, because Stella always dreads going back. This year we did get a few extra days of summer as school started on August 21st. She was nervous as usual to get back into the swing of things, and she managed to smile for a few pictures, but I went ahead and let her show her true feelings. On top of it all, Stella didn't even have a real teacher for Spanish class on the first day. It has been frustrating, but overall not as bad as I anticipated.

I just can't believe my baby girl is in 4th GRADE!!! I remember 4th grade so vividly and can't believe she is already making school memories that she will remember so well when she is 40 too. Oh my sweet baby girl. Pretty sure I was the only mom still taking pictures this year. I think she might be officially too old for her mommy to follow her to school and take pictures, but do you think I care? Nope.

FAREWELL CONDO FUN

Before we knew it, the last day at the Solitude condo had arrived. Our last day was August 17th, so the girls and I stayed the night before. We had a fun surprise as Grammie and Papa came up to share our deluxe hot dog dinner.

The next morning the girls and I had the pool to ourselves. It was already chilly again and it was just like our first day at the beginning of the summer. We loved having the condo all summer long--it was a great addition and made Vivi's first summer even more special.

EVERYBODY LOVES A PARADE

About a year ago I was informed that we as a stake were going to be responsible for a float in the children's Pioneer Day parade on July 22nd. I expected it to be this huge undertaking, but actually it ended up not being much work for me. When the dates of the family reunion were decided I went ahead and invited all of the Sallay cousins to participate. Most of them decided to join us and that was really fun.

It was a really early morning and I was absolutely exhausted from the sealing and then Lagoon the previous two days. My body and head were so done. But hey, we were going to be in a parade and be on TV so I kept it peppy.

Turned out we didn't end up on TV at all. We were the very last float and they cut off coverage way before we even got to the cameras. My mom was furious. I was pretty annoyed as well. We had gone to great efforts to get all of the TV release forms from everyone and then it was for no reason at all. Several months later now I really don't care but at the time I was pretty mad.

Still, it was a fun morning. Stella had a great time with her ward friends, and I think the cousins had a good time too. There was a lot of complaining because we had to wait so long, but for the most part, I just ignored it.

After the parade there was a carnival that had a ton of fun things for kids to do. It was crazy busy though. We hung out for a while though and it cleared out fast, so Stella was able to do most of the things she wanted to with her friends.