Ashton Gardens

This week was a lot more chill than the previous two weeks. By now, Krystle and her family had left to spend time with her in-laws before going back to Texas, and Dad had already flown home. That just left Mom, Nichole, Kate and Tyler...and Tyler was flying home this evening. For Tyler's last day, the boys went back to Lowe's Xtreme Air to hang out while us girls (and Jonas) went to Ashton Gardens. These are the gardens at Thanksgiving Point. They are simply breathtaking. I love the peace and serenity you can find while surrounded by God's beautiful creations. I have visited the gardens several times, but Mom has never been...hence the trip to the gardens. We started our tour of the gardens with a yummy lunch on the terrace at the Terrace Cafe. I have always wanted to eat there but they are only open for breakfast and lunch...and Jeff and I usually come in the evenings for date nights. It was delicious. We then strolled through all the different themed gardens, snapping a few pictures along the way. Mom really enjoyed the Secret Garden and was disappointed that the Light of the World garden (with life sized bronze statues depicting various scenes in Christ's life) was not quite finished. Still, we kind of snuck back in a few locations to look at some of them. Shhh...don't tell! It was a beautiful day and I couldn't imagine any better way to spend it. I loved sharing it with my mom and sister.

I love this picture. How many times do we stand at the doorways in our lives and wonder what lies beyond. I hope Jonas will never be afraid to open those doors.

My favorite picture of the day!

Some of the life sized statues in what I like to call the "Sacred Garden". It isn't finished yet but we snuck back to take a few pics of the work in progress.

Once we finished at the gardens, we went back to pick up the boys...and what would the day 7/11 be without a trip to 7/11 to get our free slurpee! It was a fun way to end our day. The rest of the evening we just relaxed at home. Mom then flew home on Wednesday (7/13) and the fun started to slow down...or so I thought.

Dallin and Tyler at Lowe's Xtreme Air Sports.

7/11 Slurpee Heaven!