Trip to Utah

This is the first of many posts...

Well, now that we've been home for a couple of weeks I figure I better start blogging about our trip so I don't forget things. It was a fantastic trip, and as always it went way, way too quickly. It was a week shorter than last year's trip, but I swear we packed in way more things. I think it is the busiest trip home that I have ever had. There was little to no down time. I think the kids and I were exhausted when we got home and it took me quite a while to catch up on laundry, housework, and sleep. I think I'm still catching up... Poor Avery had a rough few days adjusting to life back in Texas with no grandparents and no cousins to play with. It is harder to be away now because she is old enough to understand that it will be a long time before we see everybody again. And she's old enough to ask when we will be going back and I don't have an answer for her. She got choked up off and on for a few days, which broke my heart. But she is doing better now. She still mentions Utah pretty much every day, but without tears now :)

These pictures were taken at Southtown Mall. We just went for an hour or two and let the kids ride the carousel and the train. They also played on that little dinosaur playground downstairs.

Sorry, this entry is going to be kind of long. It's mostly for journaling purposes, for when I can afford to print out my blog entries one day :) Feel free to skip this one...


Things that weren't documented by camera:

We went to two different family reunions, one for my dad's side and one for my mom's. My dad's was on Memorial Day up in Logan. It was a long trip, but I am glad we went. I hadn't seen my grandma for two years and she is getting older. She turns 90 next month. I also got to see all of my aunts and uncles on that side except for the two that are serving a mission in St. George. A few cousins were there too.

My mom's family reunion was in Orem, also kind of a drive, but I know my mom was glad that we went...since I was kind of on the fence about it. My mom's reunion is all of her aunts, uncles, and cousins. I don't know them very well, so the reunion can kind of be a long day. But we made it! It was at a really neat park, so Avery and James had a lot of fun playing outside.

Several shopping trips, including Park City, Gateway, and a new shopping center way out west. I was able to get some amazing deals for my kids. Shirts and shorts for $2.99-4.99. I bought half of their summer wardrobe for next year and was also able to get Avery some school uniform things that were on clearance. Yeah!! I love a good deal!

Al and I went to a session at the Jordan Temple. It was a very nice morning. I am so happy we were able to do that. It is hard to do here in Houston. I know that sounds ridiculous, but the temple is about 50 minutes away and it is very hard to find a 4 hour block that Al is available to go.

Al and I went on a date with Jon and Jessie to an Italian restaurant kind of in Sugarhouse. The place is called Lugano's and it was fantastic. Al said, maybe the best meal of his life :) It was fun to spend time with them. We didn't see very much of them on this trip because Jon was on two different business trips, so the date was a very good outing.

My older brother and his family surprised us by flying out the last few days of our trip. We hadn't seen them for almost a year and it was so much fun to be together. We had another date night with my brothers and their wives. This time Al wasn't there :( But I still had a lot of fun. One morning we took all of the grand kids to JCPenny studios to get their pictures taken. We've somehow managed to do this every year!

I was able to go to a wedding reception for a friend, who also happens to be one of my mom's co-workers.

My mom and I, with the kids, met my good friend Diana and one of her daughters for lunch in Sugarhouse. Diana was our great friend in Saint Louis that really took us under her wing and mothered us while we were there. It was so much fun to see her, it was if no time had passed and we were able to pick up where we left off. Hopefully we can reconnect in Utah again soon.

We had a BBQ with Al's good friends Trent, Eric, Craig, and Kevin. It was good to see them and see their kids and hear about where they are in life.

I got 10 inches cut off my hair!!

I also went and got a pedicure and had my first 'gel toes' experience.

I experienced Kneader's french toast for the first time...and second time :)

We loved seeing the mountains again. It is so flat here that when you go home you really notice the mountains and how much they add to the city. Another thing is, it was so nice to feel cold again! It was cold when we got there. We were freezing!! But we enjoyed it.

I am sure there are other things that I just can't think of right now. I'll have to add them later...