I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The problem with having photogenic kids and a husband who is into photography is you always have a millions pictures you want to share-so many that it is too difficult to narrow it down! I mean, seriously, I try my best, but with this recent trip to Utah the options of gorgeous pictures of people and places are endless! So, in an effort to make a little less cumbersome [check that one off my underused C words list! Addy would be proud!] I will divide it up into days.
Day 1/Sunday
On Sunday, we made the air plane trip to Utah-our first as a family of four [we're usually road trip people!] The kids loved the experience! Isla particularly was enthralled with the air plane, from getting our boarding passes, all the way to landing. She kept saying 'flying!' and 'airplane!' throughout the flight with her hands in the air. So it ended up being a fairly easy flight and the girls were able share the iPhone and watch a show or two while Lester and I took turns helping them out. As soon as we got there, we made the trudge through the airport, picked up our rental car and headed straight over to Farmington to see our Benning family. In true Benning fashion, they hosted all the old gang and everyone was there, eating outside in that clean, crisp mountain air. It was so fun catching up with everyone, talking about what has changed and enjoying what hasn't. We even got to see Melody's new movie-it was super impressive! It was a good reminder that no matter where you go in life, you have friends and family to take with you everywhere. So we loved it-especially the kids who had full run outside and indoors. It was a great visit and were grateful to the Benning's for hosting it.
From here, we headed out with the Dobbin's and the Last's to check out their new apartment in Salt Lake and see the gorgeous SLC temple and reflection pool. It lit up the night sky as it always has, and the kids we're in awe of 'the castle' that belonged to the Lord. It was a fun start to a great week. From here, we called it a night, and headed over to our hotel where Lester tucked the kids in for the night and I got a swim all to myself. It was a great night!
Day 2/Monday
On Monday morning we started our day off early and went to our favourite French bakery, Gourmandise. Everything we've had there is good, but to this day my favourite is still the homemade yogurt and jelly, with fresh berries and slivered almonds, alongside a fresh, flaky chocolate croissant. Seriously, I live in the bay area and still sometimes dream about those treats. We all took our time enjoying our food and the mountain backdrop, and then headed over to Sandy to visit with an old college friend of mine. It was so fun to visit with her and her adorable boys, and so wonderful for all three of us ladies to get our hair cut [she opened a salon in her own home a while ago, and so it was the best of both worlds! A visit and a hair cut!] The kids had a blast, and as always, we did to. After a quick stop at Swig to try the sugar cookies and Mormon mixed drinks [seriously, its a thing!] we drove to Lehi's Thanksgiving Point to meet up with our friends the Tehero's and Rasbands. Unfortunately, along the way I got sick and ended up spending a chunk of our visit in the bathroom ralphing..they were all SO nice about it, even the kids, although I couldn't help but feel like I ruined the visit! Still, even for a bit it was good to see them. From here we headed over to Provo, where we stopped at Hillary's so I could sleep off the sickness. Its funny, you plan all these amazing fun things partially for you, but mainly for your kids, but then they end up having just as much fun hanging out at families apartment as they would at some amazing play place or museum! So they enjoyed that. From here, we headed over to Mariah and Ross's to drop off our stuff and visit until dinner time. They have a great complex full of good friends and neighbours-and there is even a little play ground outside so we enjoyed that for a while. Once everyone was home and ready, we headed over to Oregano's on main street for a delicious Italian dinner. It was fun having all of us married siblings and our kids together-we have so much fun together, which is something you can't see when your a kid fighting with each other haha. But I can honestly say I like being with my siblings and their families, and its nice to have them be our friends as well. From here we headed over to Provo's rec centre for some swimming. They had slides, play structures, a lazy river, a 'rock cliff' to jump off of [which was way higher and scarier then it looked might I add!] and it was absolutely awesome. After a temper fit or two upon leaving, we headed over for good old Cocoa Bean, which was as delicious as ever. After visiting with the Morco's, we finally called it a night and talked until we fell asleep. It was a fun, and extremely busy day.
Day 3/Tuesday
On Tuesday we woke up in Provo, got ready for the day and headed over to the newly dedicated and renovated Provo temple. Its hard to say what was the most beautiful about it-the mountain backdrop, the structure, the stained glass windows, the grounds-all of it was wonderful. Emil and Steph were awesome enough to meet up with us for some pictures and visiting, and between Emil, Mariah and Lester I think we got enough pictures for a lifetime haha. We are so lucky to be friends with them! From here, we met up with Hillary, Audrey and Hannah at the Provo library for story time. They have such amazing family resources there, and they did a puppet show, songs, talks and books all based on the letter of the week [which was Y by the way]. I can see why Hillary and her girls love it so much, I was a little jealous! So that was good, but by then we were all hungry so we headed over to Chick-fil-a. Throw in some good food, good company and a few epic temper fits, and you have that experience haha. Afterwards, my little family and I headed over to Pleasant Grove to meet up at a Kangaroo Zoo/Bounce House with the Tehero's again. Braden and Addy loved jumping around together again, Isla loved playing with Daddy and being a big bad toddler, and I loved getting to catch up with Becky. It was a nice, slower paced activity for me anyway. After wards, we headed back to Provo for some quick shopping, snack at cocoa bean, and a delicious dinner Hillary made. Then we went right over to meet up with several friends at Fat Cats. After a bit of a wait [who knew bowling was still so popular?!?] we did some bowling and catching up with everyone. Again, it was so good, but also a little bittersweet to see everyone. It almost makes me want to move back to Utah so we can hang out more haha! But after stopping at Rita's on the way back to Mariah's we hung out with Michelle for a good long while and then fell asleep as soon as we hit the pillows. Addy however, spent the night at a cousin sleepover with Audrey and family. I think this was her favourite part of the trip! In the end, we saw a lot of friends and the amazing thing was-with all of them it was like no time had passed, and we could pick up right where we left off and hang out daily. I'm so grateful for so many good friends and family.
Day 4/Wednesday
Wednesday was the day we planned on giving the girls their first real taste of snow. So our first stop was breakfast at the Foundry Grill in Sundance. I think we were able to see some of the highlights of this side of Utah this trip, but to me this might have been the prettiest. The food was fabulous, but the views-with the trees, and snow and bridges were just too much. I can see why its such a destination. After a not long enough visit here, we made our way to Park City. After checking out the outlets and the surrounding shopping and hotels, we checked into our hotel for the night. After settling everything in, we headed over to Gorgoza Park, which is meant for sledding and geared towards family and kids. Mariah and Ross were awesome enough to meet up with us their and it was SO cold and SO fun. Isla, just like her sister last time did not love it haha-but I wouldn't trade the cuddles and love from this Momma's girl for anything. She is so sweet and endearing and genuine. But Addy was in heaven-as we made our way up the lift, then sled down the hill she was laughing, smiling and yelling that she wanted to go again! That girl is fearless and so fun. After some snowball throwing, snowman building and rides on the 'inter tube carousel' they had for the littles, we took our freezing selves and headed over to Main Street to check out the local scene. All I can say is gorgeous! Its the perfect mix of quaint and homey, but still bustling with art and food and life! After looking through a few shops and walking around for a while, we ended up at the Riverhorse for some fine dining. I was still feeling a bit under the weather which made it a little less perfect, but over all it was great to spend some one on one time with the Lasts and enjoy a beautiful place and great food too. After they headed out, we went picked up some meds and went back and relaxed till we fell asleep at our hotel. It was another busy, fun filled day.
Day 5/Thursday
Thursday was our last day in Utah. After taking a little longer then we originally anticipated to get going [the sleep was worth it though!] we got our act together, packed everything up and headed over to Salt Lake. After another quick stop at Gourmandise we met up with the Dobbin's family at This Is The Place Heritage Park-its one of those step back in history things, where everything is time appropriate from the buildings to the clothing, etc. I am so so glad we did this with them! It was one of my favourite places we stopped at in Utah growing up, and I loved being able to watch our daughters run around together loving life and learning about this part of their heritage. The whole thing was fun and educational, but I think some of the highlights were the train ride, panning for gold and cashing it in at the old times bank, learning how to do pioneer chores [like laundry, cow milking, beating a rug, etc], getting a shave, making arrow head necklaces, playing with the baby animals [the pigs and ponies were our favourites!]. And of course, doing it all with family and being in the great outdoors. For me this was another one of the high lights of the trip. After climbing on some statues, we said our goodbyes to the Dobbins and went over to Temple Square, where we got the enjoy the beautiful grounds and Spirit that resides there and at the Church History Museum. Again, fun to be there with my now family when it used to be my old college stomping grounds. After explaining what it all was there for and what it means for us, we met up at the Conference Center with my old roommate and childhood friend Lauren. It was so good being able to catch up for even a little bit and hear all about whats going on in her life. We love her so much, so that was a treat. Finally, after a quick walk about City Creek mall and Deseret Book we said our goodbyes to the mountains and Utah, and went back to the airport for our final ride home. As with before, the girls we're excited, although Addy was a bit confused and sad about leaving [I think bc of her cousins and Ross in particular-why do they love him so much though, really?!?! haha!] but after a fun, tiring ride home, my father in law picked us home and we called it a night.
Over all, I think we probably could have done with one more day to spread things out a bit more [especially bc traveling w kids can really take it out of you!! who knew?! I'm only kinda kidding..], but all in all it was a GREAT trip and we've made GREAT memories to last us until the next one someday in the far future. Thanks to everyone who came out to hang out, meet up or opened their doors and hearts to us...you guys are all stars! Hope all is well with everyone else on their spring breaks. Peace!
Day 1/Sunday
On Sunday, we made the air plane trip to Utah-our first as a family of four [we're usually road trip people!] The kids loved the experience! Isla particularly was enthralled with the air plane, from getting our boarding passes, all the way to landing. She kept saying 'flying!' and 'airplane!' throughout the flight with her hands in the air. So it ended up being a fairly easy flight and the girls were able share the iPhone and watch a show or two while Lester and I took turns helping them out. As soon as we got there, we made the trudge through the airport, picked up our rental car and headed straight over to Farmington to see our Benning family. In true Benning fashion, they hosted all the old gang and everyone was there, eating outside in that clean, crisp mountain air. It was so fun catching up with everyone, talking about what has changed and enjoying what hasn't. We even got to see Melody's new movie-it was super impressive! It was a good reminder that no matter where you go in life, you have friends and family to take with you everywhere. So we loved it-especially the kids who had full run outside and indoors. It was a great visit and were grateful to the Benning's for hosting it.
From here, we headed out with the Dobbin's and the Last's to check out their new apartment in Salt Lake and see the gorgeous SLC temple and reflection pool. It lit up the night sky as it always has, and the kids we're in awe of 'the castle' that belonged to the Lord. It was a fun start to a great week. From here, we called it a night, and headed over to our hotel where Lester tucked the kids in for the night and I got a swim all to myself. It was a great night!
On Monday morning we started our day off early and went to our favourite French bakery, Gourmandise. Everything we've had there is good, but to this day my favourite is still the homemade yogurt and jelly, with fresh berries and slivered almonds, alongside a fresh, flaky chocolate croissant. Seriously, I live in the bay area and still sometimes dream about those treats. We all took our time enjoying our food and the mountain backdrop, and then headed over to Sandy to visit with an old college friend of mine. It was so fun to visit with her and her adorable boys, and so wonderful for all three of us ladies to get our hair cut [she opened a salon in her own home a while ago, and so it was the best of both worlds! A visit and a hair cut!] The kids had a blast, and as always, we did to. After a quick stop at Swig to try the sugar cookies and Mormon mixed drinks [seriously, its a thing!] we drove to Lehi's Thanksgiving Point to meet up with our friends the Tehero's and Rasbands. Unfortunately, along the way I got sick and ended up spending a chunk of our visit in the bathroom ralphing..they were all SO nice about it, even the kids, although I couldn't help but feel like I ruined the visit! Still, even for a bit it was good to see them. From here we headed over to Provo, where we stopped at Hillary's so I could sleep off the sickness. Its funny, you plan all these amazing fun things partially for you, but mainly for your kids, but then they end up having just as much fun hanging out at families apartment as they would at some amazing play place or museum! So they enjoyed that. From here, we headed over to Mariah and Ross's to drop off our stuff and visit until dinner time. They have a great complex full of good friends and neighbours-and there is even a little play ground outside so we enjoyed that for a while. Once everyone was home and ready, we headed over to Oregano's on main street for a delicious Italian dinner. It was fun having all of us married siblings and our kids together-we have so much fun together, which is something you can't see when your a kid fighting with each other haha. But I can honestly say I like being with my siblings and their families, and its nice to have them be our friends as well. From here we headed over to Provo's rec centre for some swimming. They had slides, play structures, a lazy river, a 'rock cliff' to jump off of [which was way higher and scarier then it looked might I add!] and it was absolutely awesome. After a temper fit or two upon leaving, we headed over for good old Cocoa Bean, which was as delicious as ever. After visiting with the Morco's, we finally called it a night and talked until we fell asleep. It was a fun, and extremely busy day.
Day 3/Tuesday
On Tuesday we woke up in Provo, got ready for the day and headed over to the newly dedicated and renovated Provo temple. Its hard to say what was the most beautiful about it-the mountain backdrop, the structure, the stained glass windows, the grounds-all of it was wonderful. Emil and Steph were awesome enough to meet up with us for some pictures and visiting, and between Emil, Mariah and Lester I think we got enough pictures for a lifetime haha. We are so lucky to be friends with them! From here, we met up with Hillary, Audrey and Hannah at the Provo library for story time. They have such amazing family resources there, and they did a puppet show, songs, talks and books all based on the letter of the week [which was Y by the way]. I can see why Hillary and her girls love it so much, I was a little jealous! So that was good, but by then we were all hungry so we headed over to Chick-fil-a. Throw in some good food, good company and a few epic temper fits, and you have that experience haha. Afterwards, my little family and I headed over to Pleasant Grove to meet up at a Kangaroo Zoo/Bounce House with the Tehero's again. Braden and Addy loved jumping around together again, Isla loved playing with Daddy and being a big bad toddler, and I loved getting to catch up with Becky. It was a nice, slower paced activity for me anyway. After wards, we headed back to Provo for some quick shopping, snack at cocoa bean, and a delicious dinner Hillary made. Then we went right over to meet up with several friends at Fat Cats. After a bit of a wait [who knew bowling was still so popular?!?] we did some bowling and catching up with everyone. Again, it was so good, but also a little bittersweet to see everyone. It almost makes me want to move back to Utah so we can hang out more haha! But after stopping at Rita's on the way back to Mariah's we hung out with Michelle for a good long while and then fell asleep as soon as we hit the pillows. Addy however, spent the night at a cousin sleepover with Audrey and family. I think this was her favourite part of the trip! In the end, we saw a lot of friends and the amazing thing was-with all of them it was like no time had passed, and we could pick up right where we left off and hang out daily. I'm so grateful for so many good friends and family.
Day 4/Wednesday
Wednesday was the day we planned on giving the girls their first real taste of snow. So our first stop was breakfast at the Foundry Grill in Sundance. I think we were able to see some of the highlights of this side of Utah this trip, but to me this might have been the prettiest. The food was fabulous, but the views-with the trees, and snow and bridges were just too much. I can see why its such a destination. After a not long enough visit here, we made our way to Park City. After checking out the outlets and the surrounding shopping and hotels, we checked into our hotel for the night. After settling everything in, we headed over to Gorgoza Park, which is meant for sledding and geared towards family and kids. Mariah and Ross were awesome enough to meet up with us their and it was SO cold and SO fun. Isla, just like her sister last time did not love it haha-but I wouldn't trade the cuddles and love from this Momma's girl for anything. She is so sweet and endearing and genuine. But Addy was in heaven-as we made our way up the lift, then sled down the hill she was laughing, smiling and yelling that she wanted to go again! That girl is fearless and so fun. After some snowball throwing, snowman building and rides on the 'inter tube carousel' they had for the littles, we took our freezing selves and headed over to Main Street to check out the local scene. All I can say is gorgeous! Its the perfect mix of quaint and homey, but still bustling with art and food and life! After looking through a few shops and walking around for a while, we ended up at the Riverhorse for some fine dining. I was still feeling a bit under the weather which made it a little less perfect, but over all it was great to spend some one on one time with the Lasts and enjoy a beautiful place and great food too. After they headed out, we went picked up some meds and went back and relaxed till we fell asleep at our hotel. It was another busy, fun filled day.
Thursday was our last day in Utah. After taking a little longer then we originally anticipated to get going [the sleep was worth it though!] we got our act together, packed everything up and headed over to Salt Lake. After another quick stop at Gourmandise we met up with the Dobbin's family at This Is The Place Heritage Park-its one of those step back in history things, where everything is time appropriate from the buildings to the clothing, etc. I am so so glad we did this with them! It was one of my favourite places we stopped at in Utah growing up, and I loved being able to watch our daughters run around together loving life and learning about this part of their heritage. The whole thing was fun and educational, but I think some of the highlights were the train ride, panning for gold and cashing it in at the old times bank, learning how to do pioneer chores [like laundry, cow milking, beating a rug, etc], getting a shave, making arrow head necklaces, playing with the baby animals [the pigs and ponies were our favourites!]. And of course, doing it all with family and being in the great outdoors. For me this was another one of the high lights of the trip. After climbing on some statues, we said our goodbyes to the Dobbins and went over to Temple Square, where we got the enjoy the beautiful grounds and Spirit that resides there and at the Church History Museum. Again, fun to be there with my now family when it used to be my old college stomping grounds. After explaining what it all was there for and what it means for us, we met up at the Conference Center with my old roommate and childhood friend Lauren. It was so good being able to catch up for even a little bit and hear all about whats going on in her life. We love her so much, so that was a treat. Finally, after a quick walk about City Creek mall and Deseret Book we said our goodbyes to the mountains and Utah, and went back to the airport for our final ride home. As with before, the girls we're excited, although Addy was a bit confused and sad about leaving [I think bc of her cousins and Ross in particular-why do they love him so much though, really?!?! haha!] but after a fun, tiring ride home, my father in law picked us home and we called it a night.
