Summer in Utah

We spent a month in Utah this summer and that was pretty much the highlight!  The drive seemed much longer to the girls this year. We were all happy when we finally made it to aunt B’s house. Bless their hearts. We descended on their little townhome in all of our chaotic glory. We even had a kid throw up on the carpet. Chloe took the girls to the spa to get glitter tatoos and she took me on a surprise date to the spa for massages!

We went to waffle love at least 6 times and ate our weight in cafe rio. We laughed with old friends and visited family. We even took the kids to Lagoon. Sophie was pretty unsure after her first ride but Remi loved it! Weslie was tall enough to go on so many rides! Madi got a hilarious video of her face on the crazy mouse ride. Oliver found a little ride too. My favorite part was riding a water ride with Chloe in the kiddie park: I got to control how our fish moved and get her soaked! The girls said they wanted cotton candy more than anything so I caved and got them a bag to share. Remi decided she didn’t like it after a few bites saying, “It tastes like a blanket.”

The 2nd week of the trip we took the kids to Twin Lakes with the Harsh’s for the first time. They were so excited to stay in grandpa’s camper van and for their new camp chairs from Grammy. Weslie swam ALL DAY, everyday. She also knew boarded for the first time! Remi and Sophie liked tubing. Oliver fell asleep on the boat. I think more than anything they loved just playing with all the cousins.

The last leg of the trip was spent in St. George. Kevin’s Mom came down with his grandparents and we got to spend a few days with them. I also got to do their oral interviews which was so fun! They have some wonderful stories. I’m so glad my girls got to spend that precious time with them. I just love them all so much.

Part of  Grammy’s driveway was poured while we were there so the kids all did a footprint. That was perfect timing! The pool also got finished and they were happy to test it out. Side note: St. George has awesome splash pads! They were perfect for Oliver! Aunt Julie came and read a bedtime story to the girls most nights, which they loved. Oliver LOVED my cousin Lexie. Kevin and I finally went golfing for the first time together (what took him 8 years to ask me!?). That was actually really fun and reminded me how much we need a trip for just the 2 of us. Kevin also golfed at one of his dream courses. We spent lots of time lounging around Grammy’s house relaxing. We had hoped to take Weslie on a date to Tuacahn but the show got rained out and it was our last night of the trip! My cousins daughter was starring in the show so we were especially sad we didn’t get to see it.

Before we knew it four weeks had come and gone. We got a later start than we usually like to get making this drive but we grabbed a last plate from waffle love and were on the road by 8:30. We planned to drive longer the first day and stop in Amarillo, Texas. After a solid 14 hour day we made it to Amarillo and we were DONE with being in the car. Unfortunately, every single hotel was completely sold out. They didn’t even have  a room with a full size bed or anything. So we continued on and I called every hotel in the next towns as we drove. Every single one was sold out until we got to Decatur which is only 2 hours from our house. So we ended up driving 8 more hours than we anticipated and made it home straight through. I sat in the back the last few hours adjusting pillows and comforting the crying kids who kept waking up because they were so tired and couldn’t get comfy. We left St. George on Friday at 8:30 AM and we got home on Saturday morning around 6:00 AM. We are never doing that again. Everyone was excited to climb into their own beds and claim their dog the next day. When we picked up Ross he was huge!  Remi said “He’s a man now.”

It’s been good being back home and in a routine again. Until next time Utah.