Utah Trip

Yay! We finally made the trek to Utah! We love Utah and were so thankful that we had the opportunity to travel there and that we did so in safety.

We left our house at 8am on Wednesday and only made 3 stops along the way. The van was amazing and we felt so comfortable. Although Tanner drove the entire way, I did my part by keeping the kids quiet and entertained- no easy task!

We pulled into Carole's cul-de-sac, grabbed the cottage key, quickly changed clothes, and headed to Saratoga Springs for McKenna's wedding reception!

She looked so happy and beautiful and I was SO glad to be there and tell her congratulations in person. I saw Pam and Betty too! The venue was gorgeous and the sunset over the lake was so pretty. After the traditional dances were through, they DJ turned on the disco ball and turned up the music. Oh my gosh.. Rayleigh freaked out. She screamed for about 30 seconds straight. She was beaming and soooooo excited! She danced her little heart out! She is a lover of music and dancing for sure! Watching her dance was probably one of the best moments of my life. She is just adorable. And on the drive up to the Cottage she wouldn't stop "talking" about it. So cute!

We grabbed Cafe Rio for a late night dinner, stopped for a few groceries and then headed up to Sundance. The Cottage is a magical place. Rayleigh was enchanted with the round bed. It was so sweet to see her little face light up! She thought it was so cool! The kids took a few minutes to get settled and fall asleep which meant that we all slept in separate beds. I was in the yellow room with Jack, Parker was on the couch, Ray in the pack-n-play out in the open and Tanner in the round bed. It worked out quite nicely!

The next morning was gorgeous and we were so happy to be there!

Tanner made French Toast for breakfast and then we went on a little hike!

We walked to the stables and said hello to the horses. Then we wandered on up to the aspens. So breathtaking!

After our hike we stopped at the Sundance Lodge and grabbed some treats and walked around. It's just so pretty up there! We then went to Zupas for lunch, shopped a little at Deseret Book, got Ice Cream at BYU and picked up game-day shirts at the BYU bookstore, stopped by Adventure Time to see if we could say hi to Parker's old teacher, Ms. Alex, but she wasn't there. And we visited my old office and had a nice chat with Pam, saw Scott and Wendy and at the end of the day finally saw Jon! I miss him so much and it's nice to know he misses me too. We both agree that we had something special- a unique bond an understanding that made working together effortless and fun. I miss it there so much!!!!

The next day, Friday, we had appointments at the Montage in Deer Valley (Park City) with Liz! She gave me a facial and Tanner a massage. She really does have magic hands and we felt so pampered! While one of us was receiving our spa treatment, the other swam with the kids at the resort pool. Tanner took the kids to the inside pool and I hung out with them outside. It was an absolutely gorgeous, perfect day and we ALL enjoyed ourselves thoroughly! We ordered food by the pool side and the staff was very friendly and accommodating! We felt like royalty!

That afternoon we drove to the airport to pick up my mom. Plans had to suddenly change when Josi and the baby came down with a little sick bug. The original plan was for Josi and her little family to drive Mom to Salt Lake, for us to meet for lunch and see each other's babies, and for Josi to spend the night there. But instead, Matt's Dad was able to drive my mom from Elko and we picked her up a day early. We waited at the near by golf course for her to arrive and it was soooo windy!

We then took her to Tucano's for dinner where James and Carole met us. Carole took my mom to her house for a little "slumber party" and I'm so glad my mom was able to spend some fun time with her best friend. We played outside while the boys paid the bill...

After a few days of NO naps, late bed times, and early mornings, this girl was hammered!

The next morning (Saturday) we picked my mom up from Carole's and I was able to see Sari! I love her so much and it's always a treat when I get to chat with her for a few minutes. We went to Maglby's Fresh for brunch and could not resist  a slice of chocolate cake! Yum! We then dropped my mom off at the airport and she finally flew back home. My dad was sooooo happy!!! ;-)

After we dropped off my mom we went to Travis and Nicole's house! The whole family was there (except for Kaitlin and her family- she was sick!) for Grant's baby blessing. We chatted and took the kids to the park for some kite flying. Like I said, it was windy! Rayleigh kept getting her head stuck in the banister... what am I gonna do with her??!?!?

 That night we ate dinner at Los Hermanos and it was SOOOO good! Our waiter was so friendly. Everyone is so friendly here! I miss Utah! It is so green and beautiful this time of year, too! We walked down to check out the new "Tempernacle". James has been working so hard on the art work. I'm excited to attend the open house in February!

There was a festival happening in downtown Provo so there was tons of action going on!

We left bright and early the next morning (Sunday) to be packed up, loaded, ready, and on time for Grant's blessing in Salt Lake at 9am! We made it! Perfect timing! I'm so glad that we were able to be there for that special occasion!

We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel in St. George. We'd never been there before! Then we stopped in Vegas at Andrea's house on the way home. She blessed little baby Mae that day too! It was SO fun to see her! The girls giggled and danced, the boys played upstairs, and Andrea showed me all the beautiful projects she's been working on lately on her home. She really is talented when it comes to design. It was fun to see each of our 3 kids all paired up. We stayed for about 2 hours and then it was on the road again!

 These girls were both ready for bed and not really up for a photo shoot....

Aside from a crazy driver trying to kill us by slamming on his breaks in front of us, on purpose, then throwing a beer bottle at our car, the drive was uneventfully and we had no traffic. The babies slept the entire way home and Parker even fell asleep on my lap towards the end of our drive. It was a long day in the car but so worth getting home a day early.

The next day, Monday, was Labor Day and we desperately wanted to see my mom and catch up! We made it there by lunch time and my mom and I went out and got pedicures and massages! A day of pampering was just what the doctor ordered! Tanner prepared a super yummy dinner with grilled chicken, corn on the cob, chip and guac, fried mushrooms and squash, and I made ceviche! It was soooooo delish!

We had a great time in Utah and the weekend ended perfectly! It was amazing to run into so many old friends almost everywhere we went. They remember us fondly and of course, so do we! We are so blessed with such wonderful friends and family who make life worth living!!!!