Utah Trip: Final Wrap-Up

We got to spend Saturday with all of John's family as well. We started out the day with Tyler & Abigail's baptism (John's brother, Ken's, oldest grandkids). We were glad that we happened to be in town for their big day. After that, all the siblings and their spouses got a family photo taken... it had been a long time since we were ALL together! Then we all headed up to Sundance for the rest of the day. Some of us hiked up to Stewart Falls...

This was our first sighting of it, but we still had such a long way to go...There were a lot of complaining children toward the end, but Matt Mo had it easy...

It was all worth it in the end!...
The cool water misting off the waterfall was just what we needed to get up our energy to hike back down...After we cleaned ourselves up from the hike, we had an awesome catered lunch in one of the rooms up at Sundance where we watched a huge slide show of pictures from each of the families. When our bellies were good and full, we took the boys on a chairlift ride up the mountains. I was sad I didn't bring the camera because there were some gorgeous views. I guess it worked out for the best though since Matt Mo fell asleep on my lap before it was half-way over. That hike really wore us all out!

Our last day was a lazy one aside from packing and cleaning the condo in Midway. We did take advantage of the beautiful outdoors one more time for a picnic lunch. We ate by this huge pine tree that made a perfect little fort for the boys...

After nap time we headed back down to Provo to stay with Granny & Opa so they could take us to the airport the next morning. We had a fabulous home-cooked dinner and then went outside to watch the neighbors doing some firecrackers. The boys got to experience Sparklers for the very first time...
They were a little unsure at first, but we discovered the trick was to put it in their hands first and then light it, otherwise they wouldn't take it from us. They were a big hit!...
We had such a great time visiting with John's family and wish we could get out to see them more often. The boys (including John) are already missing the mountains. Until next time...

Utah Trip: Days 5-6

Day 5 was spent doing a little shopping in Park City (gotta love the outlets) and then we headed up to one of the most beautiful places in all of Utah...

We couldn't go to temple square without posing for the classic shot...

We tried explaining a little bit to the boys how mommy and daddy were married here, but they didn't seem too interested. They were, however, quite fascinated with all the pretty flowers and water features...

We also stopped in to check out the tabernacle and got to hear them demonstrate the acoustics (they drop some straight pins and rip some papers and it's amazing how clearly you can hear everything).

It would have been cool to stay for the organ concert that was going to start 20 minutes later, but we knew the boys would be way too antsy. We decided to hop on TRAX and head up to the Gateway Mall instead...

Of course they loved riding the "train"...Aside from getting poured on as we tried to make our way back to the car, it was a beautiful day for walking around Salt Lake. After a short nap for the boys, we headed down to Provo for dinner with John's brother, Cory, and his family. They fed us well (they even made us home-made ice cream!) and we had a great time visiting with them.

Day 6 was even busier! We got to spend the day with all of John's family. There was swimming in the morning, a huge late lunch feast together up in Midway, and then back up to Park City to ride the Alpine Slide and Roller Coaster...so fun! Oh, and don't forget the stop on the way out for caramel apples at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory...yum! With all that fun, I somehow managed to only get one picture the whole day. It pretty much sums up how we all felt afterward...
I've got one more post coming soon to finish off the Utah trip... thanks for hanging in there with me!

Utah Trip: Day 4

Phew... day 4 was an eventful one. Get ready for picture overload! We spent most of the day here...
We started out at the Dinosaur Museum...The boys zoomed by most of the exhibits (very short attention spans in this family and they're a little too young to be interested in all the details) but they loved the interactive stuff...
Benny Boy seeing how he measures up to a dinosaur...
The boys immediately recognized this guy from Ice Age (even without all it's "woolly"-ness)...
Surely those aren't my children climbing on the exhibits :) Finally, another spot where getting into stuff is encouraged...
The boys were in heaven in this huge sandbox digging up dinosaur bones...
Ben also liked the "Design-a-Dino" exhibit. A dinosaur can't have too many spikes you know...
After we got our fill of fossils, we headed outside to the Farm where all the creatures were actually ALIVE...
The tiny baby goats were too cute. If they would stay that small, I'd have to adopt one as a pet...
Ben was a little too comfortable behind bars in the play town jail...
The farm mostly consisted of the usual cows, horses, chickens, and goats. But there was one exciting addition I don't think I've ever seen before...
The free pony ride was a big hit with the boys...

But nothing beats a free kiddie cone, especially if it's blue bubblegum!...
As if that wasn't enough fun for one day, we decided to postpone naps and head over to a park to play with all the little cousins...
There was an irrigation ditch along the side that the kids L-O-V-E-D. Water beats a play ground any day of the week with my boys...
Ben thought he was so big keeping up with the older boys and "swimming" through the tunnels. Mo was content just to sit on the side, throw rocks, and soak up the sun...
You know they slept good on the way home after all that fun!

Utah Trip: Days 2-3

Day 2 of our trip was a little different. I headed off to Roy early that morning with my little brother to meet up with my parents and my older brother's family who were in town for my uncle's funeral. John was flying solo with the boys so I don't have any pictures. He took them swimming in the morning and then went down to visit his brother Mark after nap time. The boys had fun playing with cousins Sam, Hannah, and Emma (hopefully Mo didn't try to sit on her again) and that's where I met up with them later that evening for dinner.

Onto Day 3!
The boys had so much fun swimming in Kamas the day before, we decided to take them again. After they were good and tired, we went home and Granny & Opa came up for a visit. They were so kind to put the boys down for naps so John and I could go out for lunch and explore around town. Midway is definitely one of the most beautiful places we've ever been...
The weather was perfectly gorgeous, so when the boys woke up, we headed back out for more exploring. This time we drove up to Cascade Springs...The boys were in heaven. They both wanted to get a closer look at the spring water...

It was the perfect little hike to do with young kiddos...Lots of pretty places to stop and take a rest...Ben thought the long grass was perfect for tickling mommy with...Mo stuck with the traditional tickling tool (why must mommy always be the target?)...After our little hike (and the changing of a flat tire, I might add), we decided to go ahead and drive the rest of the "Alpine Loop" and enjoy the scenery...
Don't you wish you had a view like Robert Redford?

And We're Back!

Well, we survived our trip to Utah last week. Everything went much better than I anticipated... the plane trip, the sleeping situation, and so on. Ben was a perfect little gentleman on the airplane... shocker, I know! Mo was a champion sleeping in a big bed for the first time ever... who knew it would be so easy? And as far as the trip itself, I already knew that was going to be a blast.

The Utah outdoors + Family + Friends = Good Times.

As soon as we arrived, John had to teach Ben what grass is really supposed to feel like (opposed to our Texas weeds for a lawn)...
Then we did some exploring around the beautiful town of Midway (where John and I lived the first 6 months of our marriage before I converted him to a Texan!)...
If there's water around, Ben can't resist. Especially if it's crystal clear and cool mountain water...
Mo followed suit with daddy's help...
But, he found it a little too cold for his liking...I guess he prefers the more bath-like temperatures of Texas waters. He did enjoy feeding/chasing the ducks, something more familiar with home...After our wilderness adventures, we headed down to Highland for a Sunday evening BBQ at John's sister's house. The food was delish, and the company even better...
We got to meet 2 new cousins for the very first time! Little Lucy (above) who belongs to Christy, John's sister, and Miss Emma (below) who belongs to John's brother, Mark...
Poor Emma didn't know what she was in for, but she took it all in stride. What can I say... you can take the monkeys out of Texas, but they're still going to be monkeys! Speaking of monkeys, one of the funniest happenings of the night was when Ben got a hold of the hose after dinner and gave everyone a nice shower on the back porch! If only I had gotten a picture of that priceless moment, but we were all running for our lives... little stinker!

More pictures and stories to come!