We made it! Here's a breakdown of each day this week with pictures for each.
On Sunday we left at 4:00am on the dot. That sounds really amazing unless you know that 3:00am was our goal. But Google Maps said Fresno to Salt Lake (through the Reno route, because we wanted to see some new country) would take us 11 hrs and 25 minutes, and in the end we were only 45 minutes slower than that. We made three stops for gas and laps around the car, and that was it! And Westin watched 2 episodes of Beat Bugs but other than that the iPad wasn't out. The boys didn't sleep much, though -- just one hour each and not at the same time. So there were some extreme grumpy melt downs from Westin near the end of the trip, but we all survived.
Sunday:
Drive day, and arrived at Ali and Matthias' house in Murray by 5:30 for dinner with them and Logan's family. We played in the backyard, ate delicious tacos, and watched the first episode of Fraggle Rock.
Monday:
Becca! Our first stop was visiting my friend Becca in Salt Lake. I talk to her all.the.time but it has been two years without seeing each other. We were four doors apart through dental/medical school and then states apart for residency, but we still get each other through it all. I learn so much from her and I'm so SO grateful our paths crossed when they did. I can't imagine what residency would be like if I didn't have Becca.
After visiting her and playing with her boys, we drove to Lehi. We hit a crazy hail storm for 10 minutes of the drive and it was so intense and bizarre. Westin was so confused by it. Then we played outside in Lehi all day at my brother's house -- croquet, bikes, basketball, stilts (so hard), pogo sticks (impossible), picnics, naps. I lived with them during my first year working after college while I was engaged to Michael. Every Monday we ate pizza and had Family Home Evening with them, and being with them that day was so fun. Their kids were at the same age/stage as my two kids when I lived there, which blows my mind. That night we all drove to Murray to meet Ali after work and ate pizza in the backyard together. Ali and I went to a High class that night and I loved going with her and walking home after.
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| We met when she had Jaxson and now we have 5 boys between us. And she seriously helps me raise mine SO much! |
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| I loved keeping this day open for just playing in Lehi with this crew. We love being with them so much. |
Tuesday:
We drove to Provo to meet my old boss/friend at Imagine Learning and see how much it's grown since I worked there. I had to put a conscious effort into not imagining what might have been if we didn't leave Utah for dental school -- I loved that event planning job SO much, and that company is thriving. But honestly watching my two little boys run around the offices there was fun, and I just know that I'll find that type of fulfillment again at another stage. I'm really grateful to be home with my little boys right now.
From there we drove to BYU because the boys needed some baseball hats and I needed chocolate cinnamon bears. Honestly, Westin's tired state really caught up with him and campus was a rough experience. So rough, actually, that someone reported that we were kidnapping Westin because he was screaming so much and cops came and talked to us. Rolling my eyes again so hard as I relive this but also, it's already kind of funny. I'm not going into full details of it all here. But I tell Westin so often that he is only allowed to scream if he's being stolen, and now he knows that's so very true. He screamed, people (well, one annoying woman) thought he was being stolen, cops came. He was so wide-eyed and solemn about it. I'm just going to do a two-second rant about how that lady did too little or too much -- if you REALLY think someone is in danger, get involved and help or stick around and watch. If you aren't sure, pay attention longer. I just think parents need to help each other out more and assume the best in others, and then do even more when actual danger (or potential danger) occurs. Ok, end of rant. And maybe we made the police beat?
After that... experience... we met my brother's family for lunch at the creamery. We were super late because of our cop encounter and Jenny had already ordered my kids food and was just so nice. She's such a good example to me. She could have been annoyed that she had 5 kids there already almost done with lunch that she drove half an hour to and we were super late, but she was just kind and knew something was probably up. Family is the best. We walked around campus with them after and Westin was a different person once cousins were around to play with. We ran into my old boss (another event planning job) and Westin loved chatting it up with him. It was really fun to see him and to be back on BYU campus for a bit.
From there we drove to Woodland Hills and spent the afternoon with Michael's grandma. She is so fun with the kids and always has such delicious food for everyone who visits. She also gave them an early birthday present of a big semi that carries lots of little cars and they were in heaven. We caught cicadas, watched humming birds, visited horses by her house, played with balls on her pool table, ate snacks, and caught up with her. She's so great and she lives in such a beautiful place. She told us about having a cougar sleeping in her backyard just a little while ago.
After grandma's house we drove to Michael's old roommate's house in Lehi. Jason was his mission companion a couple times and then they lived together in Provo. Some other mission buddies came and it was a fun dinner catching up with friends. We ate burgers and ice cream for lunch and burgers and ice cream for dinner, so, #vacation.
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| Cosmo is the coolest. |
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| Campus with cousins, future Cougars?? |
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| I snapped a picture of this picture at Michael's grandma's house and I love it. I can totally see Michael in Westin. |
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| Michael put a cicada on Bennett's belly and he was SO funny about it. Just grunting and showing me, then Michael, then grandma over and over. Then it started crawling and he wanted it gone fast. He's so funny. |
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| Another picture I took a picture of that was on Michael's grandma's wall. I remembered this picture we had from a little while ago in Evansville and wanted to compare the two. I'm lucky to have all three of these guys in my life! |
Wednesday:
We took the boys to Temple Square Wednesday morning and explored both the Church History Museum and the Family History Center. They've really updated both and it was so fun. The Family History Center is really interactive and I wish Michael and I could have done a date night there. There was so much to explore and read about and they specify it all to your family search profile.
After Temple Square we walked around City Creek and met my friend Jamie for lunch at the food court. We miss her in Fresno! We overlapped there for a year before they moved back to Utah, and it was so fun to meet sweet new Ruby.
After lunch our whole family crashed at Ali's house for a 3-hour nap -- we were so exhausted. We meant to go to Wheeler Farms to meet Logan and Jenny's family, but they beat us there and told us not much was going on by then. So they came over for taco salad and we had another fun backyard summer night. That evening Ali, Matthias, Michael and I made food for my mom's family reunion that she was in charge of that weekend. Then we watched Studio C and ate Ali's seriously delicious homemade lemon curd with her homemade yogurt. #spoiled
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| Temple Square morning! Westin no longer says that Moroni plays the trombone and it kind of makes me sad. |
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| We told him he could come up to the conference pulpit and speak and he said, "Ok, everyone at conference -- you all get a treat. Then everybody at conference gets ONE toy." |
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| My grandma (my dad's mom) on the left, her brother Forrest, and her sister Irene. I can TOTALLY see some Bennett in my grandma, and some of my nephew Lewis in her sister. I showed him and he couldn't really get past the haircut and just did not see any resemblance haha. |
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| I had the best grandmas. I miss them both so much and I feel them so often. They were the best examples you could ask for. I know they're working hard right now and that I'll see them again. |
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| I want to do DNA testing someday to see my accurate make up but this analysis from family search based on your ancestors was interesting. |
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| Bennett was so tired after our Temple Square and City Creek lunch that he slept right through a diaper change and went right down for a 3-hour nap. |
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| "Ok, I'll be McQueen, you're Mater. Let's get away from Frank!" All day, every day. |
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| Uncle Matthias is such a good sport with these boys, and no one is more successful at feeding Bennett. Thank goodness for cool aunts and uncles. |
Thursday:
Ali and I went to another High Class first thing that morning. She is the most dedicated person I know when it comes to diet and exercise. I'm so proud of her and the goals she set this year and the streaks she's on. She's the best, in so many ways.
After that we got ready, packed up, and prepped for our camping trip. We drove down to Beaver County Fair Grounds and camped with my mom's whole family by Minersville Lake. The boys loved the tent and cousins and treats and playground -- just nonstop fun. I remember looking forward to this reunion all year as much as Christmas, and being SO sad when we'd drive home after while thinking about how long it would be to the next reunion. My mom is one of 10 and her family is just solidly wonderful people. I loved seeing Westin get to know them all more and catching up with my cousins. That night some locals came by to practice roping in the fairgrounds so we had our own private rodeo show. Bennett was all about visiting the cows nearby and mooing at them. My boys slept through the night, which was NOT our experience last time we camped, so I was grateful and so happy in the morning when we all bundled up together in our sleeping bags before breakfast.
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| Exploring the rodeo grounds. |
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| Exploring the pond nearby. |
Friday:
Reunion fun! Volleyball tournament, water balloon games, "human pinatas", oversized bubbles, croquet, so much food, catching up, card games, puzzles, naps, more catching up. My mom did a great job planning the reunion and I loved spending time with favorite people. Westin plays SO independently with cousins, it actually fascinates me. He'll play with cousins or by himself next to them for so long without needing Michael or me. Bennett took a 3-hour nap on Friday, and I played games during that while Michael also took a nap, and Westin never needed either of us. It hit me hard during that day that Westin is really growing up. I'm so glad the cops didn't take him away from us so we can witness it... rolling my eyes again. Gotta get over his tantrums and just love his sweet side :)
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| With everything we did Friday, I can't believe the only picture I have is of Bennett's nap. Too much to do and too many people to talk to! But when I checked on him in the tent I had to snap a picture of his cute little sleeping self. |
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| I loved growing up with Sarah. Cousins are so, so fun. |
Saturday:
The worst part of camping -- cleaning up! But we got it done fast and then helped put Logan and Jenny's stuff away since Jenny became sick in the middle of the night. I felt so bad for her. We cleaned up the fairgrounds, chatted with cousins up until we had to leave, and then hit the road. For 10 minutes. Michael's sister Pam was driving her family from Mesa to Aspen Grove for Gary's reunion, so we actually crossed paths in Beaver at the same time. We ate lunch with them at Beaver Taco and then went to the cheese factory for some ice cream. It was really fun to spend a quick hour with them during our crazy week. I don't know if we've ever seen more friends and family in a week than we did these past few days. The boys slept on our short drive to Cedar City and that night we played for a bit before putting them down super early for bed. They were exhausted! Then Michael and I went to a movie (the new Jurassic Park, which I didn't even know existed until right before we went, but I just wanted to go on a date with Michael) and then came home and slept nine hours. My boys slept from 6:45pm to almost 8am and it was so lovely.
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| Sisters. I'm so lucky. |
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| Westin and little Rachel are discussing soda vs. juice vs. water, and no verdict was reached. |
Sunday:
Michael ate breakfast with us and then packed up for a solo road trip back to Fresno. I'm sad he's gone, but it'll be nice to have some Cedar days and a break from Fresno summer heat before we head back. I always feel like it's so much work to get the boys out here and prep for a trip so a week never feels long enough. We're going to miss Michael this week! And we'll have a much more laid back schedule in Cedar before we head to my dad's family reunion this coming weekend. More friends! More family! Summer is so much fun.
