In Sandy
Grandma Rhonda, Grandpa Jerry, and Jackson picked us up from the airport and we were able to spend the beginning of our trip with them in Sandy. We were so glad to be able to visit with Jackson and Heather at the beginning of our trip. They moved to Colorado just a few days after we arrived, but we were lucky enough to see them before moving day! Jackson will be starting a new job teaching in Denver and they will be having there first baby in October! We're so excited for you two!
24th of July
We headed to my sister, Rose's, house to celebrate the 24th with her family, Jeff, and Ryan & Merry's family. The cousins had fun hanging out with each other. It ended up being a great evening despite the scare we had thinking Gabe might have broken his arm - luckily he was ok! Thanks Chance, Ryan, Jeff, and Kade for a great firework show and the yummy ice cream Merry.
Hiking to Timpanogos Cave
I convinced Rose to hike to Timp Cave with me and the girls (it is never very hard to convince Rose to go hiking anywhere). Luckily Jeff decided to join us too. He was a huge help carrying Alyssa when she thought she could walk no farther. We had a few hours to spare before we could begin our hike so we checked out some trails near the cave trail and had some lunch. It has been a long time since I hiked to the cave and I didn't remember how hard it would be for Alyssa. It is only 1.5 miles but has over a 1,000 foot elevation gain. I wanted Alyssa to walk as much as possible. She walked at least half way up, but on the way down she was screaming that her feet hurt so bad, so we carried her pretty much the whole way down. When we got down and took off her shoes she had the hugest blister that was still healing by the time we got home. I felt horrible since I knew Alyssa's shoes were a little snug, but the night before she said they felt good so I didn't worry about it. But all in all we had a great time. All the kids loved the cave. Alyssa said she liked the cave but she never wanted to go back. Go figure.
Saturday
On Saturday my sister took me to her hour and a half strength training class - 30 minutes abs, 30 minutes lower body, and 30 minutes upper body. Although I have been doing a lot of cardio lately I haven't done any strength training. Needless to say, I got a thorough whipping. I hurt so bad for the next few days. Guess I should add some strength training to my workouts.
We hung out the rest of the day and had lunch with Ryan's family and then headed to the park behind Rose's house. It was nice to be able to spend a few days with my family.
Visiting with the Bernhardt's
My girls and I could barely wait until our trip to Logan to visit with best friends who just moved this past November. We stayed with them a night and enjoyed catching up and just hanging out. We didn't have to plan much for the girls to thoroughly enjoy themselves. They were just glad to be with their friends. The girls especially loved meeting Dash the guinea pig for the 1st time and trying out the Bernhardt's giant water slide and slip and slide. Thanks for a great few days Audrie -we sure miss you guys! We are ready for you guys to move back anytime. We feel lucky for the years we had with you in Texas and the many memories!
Visiting Relatives
Aunt Julie came to see us one evening. It has been so long since we've seen her. Wish we had more time to visit, but so glad you came Julie.
Girls' Night
Another highlight of my trip was getting together with 3 of my college roomies - Trista, Shiree, and Lindsey. We had a girls night at Paradise Cafe. It has been 14 years since we first met! Boy, those were the days! It was fun to reminisce on all the good memories and catch up on how life has been since. Wish you could have been with us Angela and Janelle. All of these girls have made such an impact on my life and have truly inspired me to be a better person. I am so glad our friendships have stayed intact despite the years it has been and our sporadic contact since. I only wish I had more time to spend with all of you - one night was hardly enough time. Thanks for a great evening girls!
Visiting the Burt's
Half way through our trip we made it to Saratoga Springs to visit the Burt's, another great family we met in Texas. Becca has 3 boys who are all 2 months younger then all of my girls. The plan is that we give them enough exposure to each other while they are growing up that they enjoy each other's company and then by the time they are in college they won't realize their marriages were arranged all along. When Becca got pregnant with twin girls a few years back she called and asked if I was pregnant yet. No twin boys yet, sorry Becca.
It didn't take the kids long to warm up to each other after not seeing each other for so long. We had a great time playing at the park and hanging out at the house. It took half an hour to pry these guys away from each other by the time we needed to go. We were so glad to be able to make it out to see their house for the first time and to meet the girls and Cameron for the first time. I can't believe how long it has been since Becca left. She was another best friend and truly amazing individual I was blessed to have met in Texas. Becca is not only a great friend, but one of the most talented people I know. I miss the days of hanging out together. Why is it that all my friends move away? Miss you Becca!
Visiting the Elggren's
After leaving Becca's we headed out to West Jordan to see the Elggren's. They were our first "best" friends here in Texas. We used to hang out all the time and have sleepovers when Samantha was little. We were so sad when they left years ago, but are so thankful we are able to visit them each time we go to Utah. Jayme has been such a great friend over the years at taught me so much. There isn't a friend of mine who wouldn't love Jayme as much as I do, she is one of a kind. It was fun to hang out and catch up while the kids played.
Our BYU Trip
Towards the end of our trip we headed down to Provo with Grandma Rhonda to visit good ole' BYU. We had a quick lunch with Uncle Jeff before he headed back to Arizona and then headed to campus. We showed the girls the art museum where Lincoln used to work then checked out the library, had a quick stroll through the bookstore, and then checked out the Wilkinson Center. There was an adult ballroom dance class going on that the girls got to see and then we took them to see the bowling alley and theatre. They thought that was the best. I kept pointing out the many cool things going on at BYU like the giant twister game later that weekend and the upcoming celebration during the opening ceremony of the olympics. We hope to keep impressing them with all the reasons they should be go to BYU when they are older. We had to rush our visit as one of the other reasons we headed to Provo was to meet up with Aunt Maranda to go see Kitt Kittredge. By this time it was only playing in a couple theatres in all of Utah. We decided to head back to BYU after the movie since we didn't have a chance to get the girls ice cream from the creamery. We were hoping to check out the new Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni Center, but by the time we got over there it was closed, but we got to peer through the windows for a little peek inside. It was a fun day and the girls were excited to ride back to Sandy in Auntie Maranda's car. We love BYU!
Swimming
The next day we went to the pool with Grandma Rhonda and Aunt Maranda. We had a great time going to the pool where Alyssa became a "deep sea diver" as she would tell you. It was her first true time to swim on her own! Way to go Alyssa! Courtney jumped from the low dive for the first time despite being anxious about not being able to wear goggles and Samantha jumped from the high dive for the first time. It was so much fun! I didn't want to bring my camera to the pool though so I have nothing good to show you. The kids loved showing their great swimming skills to Grandma and Maranda.
The Big Night
Later in the evening was the moment I have been waiting for forever - the release of Breaking Dawn. I was so bummed to be missing the big Breaking Dawn release party with all my friends in Texas so I convinced Rhonda and Maranda that we should go get the book at midnight. We kept ourselves busy trying to stay awake by getting some school shopping done. We decided to go low key and get the book from Smith's rather than the big party at Barnes and Noble. Believe it or not even Smith's had a line!
Here we are waiting.
The line at Smith's. Some poor guys with ice cream were waiting in this line with us not realizing the line was for a book.
The infamous black box - good thing they had enough!
Finally, the book we have all been waiting for.
Thanks Rhonda and Maranda for humoring me and for the fun night. I will remember this one always.
Spending Time With the Family
We had so much fun hanging out with Grandma, Grandpa, and Maranda. The kids played in the sprinklers, we ran errands, Grandma read Alyssa lots of books, but mostly we just enjoyed hanging out. Grandpa watched 3-D Hannah Montana with the girls and took them on the much anticipated corvette ride. No trip to Grandma and Grandpa's would be complete without a ride in the corvette.
The girls loved hanging out with Maranda and playing Family Feud with her. Alyssa was so excited to have Maranda paint her nails and cried uncontrollablly the day her nail polish started to come off. We were so glad Uncle Ryan was able to make it up for a quick visit (he had been busy working and spending time with his dad).
Missionary Homecoming
On Sunday we were able to head down to Payson for my cousin, Jacob's, missionary homecoming talk. Rose and Ryan and their families were there as well as almost all of the Palmer's and a few other aunt's, uncle's, and cousins from my mom's side. Rose and I spent the summer after my 7th grade year down at the Palmer's so we have a special love for their whole family. That was a summer I learned a lot about myself and who I wanted to become. It was so fun to hear Jacob and then visit with all of the Palmer's. Everyone but Jacob is married now and it was fun to see their families and catch up with them.
One Last Hurrah with Friends
Our last full day in Utah the Bernhardt's and Burt's came and saw us in Sandy. We spent most of the time outside playing in the water and sprinklers. I'm not sure who had more fun the kids or Becca, Audrie, and me. It was nice to be able to see these guys a second time. It was a great reunion before heading back home.
Can you believe we have this many kids?
Haylie, Samantha, and Austin - these guys had preschool together when they were 3.
The younger crew
Me with two of my best friends - Becca and Audrie.
Can you believe how many of them fit in this little pool!
Having Fun!
Thanks everyone for making this one of our best trips ever! We loved every minute of it!
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