This is the Place Heritage Park

Mike's company held their annual family party at This is the Place Heritage Park again this year. Kristin & Dan came with us last year because Dan works at the same company, but they weren't with us this year because they were on an Alaskan Cruise. I feel so bad for them, don't you? We missed them, but we had a great time anyway.

We started the day out riding the train from the parking lot into the park. Notice Connor's smile, he's going through that awkward I-don't-know-how-to-smile-for-the-camera phase, if you couldn't tell...


Once we got to Main Street in the park, we hopped off the train so that we see the Candy Cannon explode...


Pure chaos...

Cohen got a few pieces of slightly charred old-fashioned taffy...

So did Connor. But, Aiden came back with a huge handful...

After that, we headed over to the little train for a ride. Yes, I look quite large sitting in that little train...

Then we headed over to the stream to try our hand at panning for some gold...

Next to the river, we found Mary Fielding Smith's house. Since she is Mike's Great-Great-Great-Great Grandma & the kiddos' Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandma, we had to get a picture next to her statue...

We actually learned something really interesting about Mary Fielding Smith while we were there. When she first got to the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young offered her a prime piece of land right in the heart of the city for her faithfulness & devotion to the church after the death of her husband, Hyrum. But, Mary didn't want her son, Joseph F. Smith, to be raised right in the middle of the city. She wanted him to grow up on a farm & learn all the responsibilities that come with it, so she gave up the piece of land in downtown & built this house on 40 acres in East Millcreek. Her farm was one of the most successful farms in the Salt Lake Valley back then. FYI for those of you not familiar with Utah, East Millcreek is only a 10 minute drive outside of downtown. It is right by Parley's Canyon, has awesome views of the valley & is now considered one of the most desirable places to live. But, back then, it was considered the middle of no where...

After that, we ate a yummy barbecue lunch & then the kiddos went to the petting zoo to hang with the farm animals for a little bit...

And then, they tried on a pioneer coffin for size. I like the sign. If you can't read it, it says, "FOR SALE. Only Slightly Used."

The kids had a great time again this year! They always love going to This is the Place Heritage Park & getting a taste of what it was like to be a pioneer child. The weather was perfect & we had a great day! --Lindsay