After our fun-filled week in Colorado, we still had our time in Utah to look forward too. We had such a good time and were able to do so many things. Of course, there are always more things to do and people to see than there is time...but I'm glad for all that we accomplished and experienced. Some of my favorites:
-Driving through Springville and Mapleton with the kids- showing them where Daddy and I first lived and where Mom first taught school and first met Grandma Patsy- such happy memories
-Getting to spend an additional week with Katy- it's no secret that she is one of my favorite people and Sutton is just an added bonus!
-Remodel adventures- Dad's house is in the middle of a major makeover so we were mostly forced to stay in the basement but everyone made the best of it- of course, we made friends with all the workers and loved to watch their progress- the girls are still talking about "Brent". I learned that you can make almost anything in the microwave (even scrambled eggs) and we loved eating on the deck.
-Going to the Bean museum, eating at the Cougareat and telling the girls all about college- loved my years at the Y, such a great time of life.
-The girls loved "helping" Grandma at her school. They also loved Hogi-Yogi ice cream- Ashton asks for it every time we visit Utah.
-Being able to shop at the Church Distribution- the girls thought it was such a treat to be able to pick out church pictures.
-Going to Helper- cleaning out Gram's pantry, waiting for the rain to stop so we could go swimming, hanging out with the Mascaro's- I love them so much for how they are taking care of Gram. It was hard to see Gram aging, but I am so glad we got to be with her.
-Getting the grandkids pictures taken at Target- what a project with 7 kids and 3 babies. I'm glad we did it though!
-Eating at Robintino's with Nick's family- I love that restaurant so much and his family is first class in every way.
-Van shopping all over Utah- by myself!! Finally finding the right van for us and knowing it was the right van when we ate Crown Burgers in it! Thanks again to my "cousin" Ernie for watching my girls ALL day long!
-Pioneer Day Parade in Dad and Pat's neighborhood and fabulous ward breakfast- I loved being able to celebrate pioneer day, especially in such a gorgeous setting.
-Going to Toy Story 3 with Grandpa Kirk
-Visiting the Bountiful 14th ward- truly one of the places on this earth where I feel the most at home, such incredible people. When I am there I feel close to my mom and to my roots. It was neat to be able to have the girls attend primary in the same room where I did so many years ago. Getting a flat tire after church wasn't so great, but having time to spend with the Becks was priceless. So thankful for their kindness.
-Girls trip to Dollar Store with Grandma- they each came home with many "treasures" including their glasses
-One of my favorite days of the trip was my day out with Pat. I love spending time with her. We ate at the California Pizza Kitchen and then birthday shopped at Down East Basics and Tai Pan Trading. Seriously, what could be better? The kids had a great time with Jenna, a girl from Pat's ward- she played right along with the kids and they loved it.
-Visiting Grandma Mary- that woman is timeless and elegant as ever. I wish we lived closer. She is still sewing and creating beautiful quilts every day.
-BYU Creamery- especially when surrounded by tons of hyper EFY teenagers!
-Gateway Mall and museum with Mel and girls- days like this make me want to laugh and cry. Laugh because we have so much fun together and it's almost perfect, cry because those days are so rare and precious because we are so far apart.
-Picking Tod up from the airport- even though it hadn't been very long, we were all so excited to see him
-Eating at Brick Oven (lots of memories there) and playing mini golf at Cascade- hands down the best landscapped mini golf course ever.
-Running errands alone with my dad- some things never change, I still love spending one-on-one time with him- such a rare event!
-Seven Peaks as a family on our last evening there- it was amazing to be playing at the waterpark and be surrounded by gorgeous mountains. My dad tended Cole and so it was a real treat to just go as the 5 of us. It was a blast.
We left Utah early on a Saturday morning. I had a really hard time saying good-bye to Dad and Pat and as we pulled away with the sun just peaking over the mountains, I was crying like a baby. I love Iowa and it is my family's home in every way, but Utah will always be my home. I'm so glad that we got the chance to visit and make memories and spend time with those that we really love so much.
This summer went by incredibly quick, and it's hard to believe that the girls are back in school. They had their first day last week and did really well. These pictures are especially for their daddy who is still travelling on business. We miss him a lot!
