Utah Trip- Week One

I guess it's time...we have been home for over 2 weeks now, so I need to finally post about our amazing summer trip.  I guess I've been putting it off because if I post about it, then it is really over...and summer is nearly over, too which seems so hard to believe.  And kind of sad....but, we did have such a great time and I need to record some of the memories before they are gone!
We left Iowa early on July 3 (2:30 AM).  Everyone was so excited.  Our trek was relatively uneventful which is always nice!  We arrived in Provo just in time to get in on the Fourth of July Festivities...such a blast from the past...no better place to be on the Fourth.
Parade Time:

Love to see cousins meeting for the first time- Luke (3 months) and Haven (7 Months):

Then it was time for water games, baseball and a barbecue in the "shadow of the mountains":

After dinner, the girl cousins put on an amazing play about Thomas Jefferson.  It was "directed" by Jaden and even featured period clothing and memorized lines.  Pretty neat!

That evening, we had a perfect view of the fireworks from up on the mountain.  What a fabulous way to celebrate our country!
The rest of the weekend was kind of "recovery" from our cross country travels.  This little guy was SO good, although he didn't want to get near his car seat!  And of course, we couldn't get enough of him!

It was so nice to just relax and enjoy being together- we took a trip to the BYU campus and bookstore, picnicked at the park, and loved spending time with Mel and her girls.  Gram Patsy took Ashton, Jordan and Maya on a date, and I got to go shopping with my Dad.  We snapped a few pictures before church on Sunday.  What a treat to go to church with grandparents and sit together as a family!

The next day it was Regan's turn for her Grandma date.  She was so excited and had such a good time all by herself.

While she was gone, we headed off to see our dear Grandma Mary.  How we love her!  It was wonderful to spend some time with her.  We also stopped by the cemetery.  It is so important to me that we always take some time to stop by this place.

 I don't have any pictures but that night Pat took us to the outdoor play  "The Sound of Music" at the Scera.  It was absolutely wonderful and the girls just loved it!
During our last several trips to Utah, we have wanted to go up to Logan but it just hasn't happened.  This time, we made sure to make it a priority!  So on Tuesday, we got up early for our trek up north.  It was such a great day...to show our children where we used to live, and to think about many happy memories.  We were so young then and just starting off.  We could never have imagined the adventures we would experience and the 5 children we would have!  I'm sure we will be saying that same thing in another 10 years (minus the 5 more children part)!  It was especially neat for Ashton to get to see for the first time where she was born and spent her first year of life.
Our first Logan apartment:

Here we are at one of the schools where I taught 3rd grade:

We loved spending time on the Utah State campus.  Tod loved his time there as a student and even though I never attended school there, I love Logan and Utah State.  We are hopeful that someone in our family will be an Aggie!

Aggie ice cream is a must!

I think Logan is one of the most beautiful places in the world.  We have always said we would move back there if we ever had the opportunity.  It seems unlikely, but you never know!  On the way back to Provo, we stopped in Bountiful at my favorite restaurant, Robintino's and we met 2 of our favorite families for dinner- the Castillions and the Lorenc family.  They both lived in Iowa for several years as students and we grew to love them like our own family.  We have missed them so much.  It was so great to see each other again.  Iowa just hasn't been the same since they left!

And that is a look back at week one of the Snarr Family Vacation 2013!