We have been in Utah for a week now and have been having the best time! It has been nonstop since we got here, but that is what makes it the best.
Our drive here was uneventful and that is always a good thing when talking about a 20 hour drive.
We got on the road right at 5:30 a.m. like we were hoping, so this girl was out for a good nap in the afternoon. She was so happy to have that Elmo backpack with her and didn't let it go for several hours into the trip!
When she woke up she had to check out the scenery around her-
She kept calling those binoculars her camera and it was adorable.
We made a stop at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and were super disappointed when we found out how long the wait was! Both of their main elevators were broken and they were servicing more than double the amount of people they usually do so it was a 3 hours of waiting just to get up the elevator. We weren't prepared to hike with the littles, so we decided to scrap it and try to stop on our way home...we'll let you know how it goes!
We decided to go for a hike nearby instead-
A really tough one! 500 feet is pretty killer.
The kids decided they wanted to race dad to the top...
And if you think you can keep Eve from getting a head start...
You better think again!
I love my little racers and had a grand time bringing up the rear and taking some pictures of my favorite people.
Eve may not have been the first to the top, but she looked good until the very end!
Pretty good view for a 500 foot hike!
And when we got to the bottom, they raced to the top and back again, just for good measure. And dad was sweet enough to make sure Eve didn't take last place. I love those two!
We made it to Albuquerque three hours earlier than planned so we decided to head to the movie theaters and see Despicable Me 3. It was a cute movie, but maybe not my favorite thing to do after a day of sitting in the car. Ya live and ya learn!
We were hoping to get on the road at 5:30 a.m. again on Sunday morning but slept through our 5 a.m. alarm AND through Thad trying to wake us up! Luckily our kids are awesome and were on the road by 5:48 a.m. We totally rocked the second day and made it to WJ by 3:30 p.m.
We've got this road trippin' thing down!
We were able to unpack our stuff and Grandma and Grandpa Wilson's and then head to Grandma and Grandpa Whitehouse's for the annual Sato-Peterson-Whitehouse/Monsen BBQ. It was so good to see family and friends that we hadn't seen for a whole year!
It's hard to believe Aunt Kayci and Uncle Derek have been married for a whole year! And it was so exciting to meet sweet baby Scarlett who was born in May!
Here is the whole crew-
We had everyone there except Todd and Kelsie, which was a total bummer, but we sure LOVE this crew so much! It is so much fun to get to know them better and better every year, I hope we do this forever. Such a fun night!
The next day turned out to be a MONDAY type of day and Wes ended up in the ER to get five stitches in his head.
While Brian and I were at the store, Wes headed down to the park on his scooter with Thad and Henry and thought he could handle the steep hill that gets close to the tennis courts. Well, he lost control and ran in to the chain link fence and got a pretty good cut on his head (along with those other scrapes). The boys rushed home (Wes wailing the whole way) and my mom got him settled down before we got home. He wasn't excited about having to head to the ER for stitches, but was a trooper once we got there.
Of course all the doctors and nurses fell in love with him during the short hour we were there because he is just the chattiest, cutest 5-year-old there ever was!
We got his hand x-rayed because his thumb was hurting extra bad, but luckily it just got jammed pretty bad.
He was so inquisitive about the x-ray process and had this x-ray tech smiling a lot.
No broken bones!
He was not happy when the anesthetic shot had to be administered, but once that passed, he was a champ and we were out of there with five stitches in a jiffy.
Moral of the story: WEAR A HELMET
I was ashamed that wearing a helmet didn't even cross my mind until it was the first question the doctor asked us. Duh. Of course he should have a helmet on. The boys have a helmet on 100% of the time on their bikes, but I have not been as diligent about their scooters and didn't even bring their helmets to Utah. Well, you better believe they will be wearing helmets on scooters from here on out!
Luckily Wes was feeling well enough in the evening for us to head to the Hill's for a BBQ with some of our favorites!
I sure love these girls and all of our off spring! I can't believe we've all been friends for 15+ years (minus Heidi who is 10+ years)!! And every time we get together we pick up right where we left off.
Dan took our picture and thinks he is so funny when he had my phone...
well, I guess he is!
And here are all our men-
And their minivans-
Yep, we have arrived.
All four families have a sweet minivan for our sweet families.
Livin' the life!
And I still just love Thad and Sadie so much. It took them a bit to warm up, but they were best buds by the end of the night.
Thanks for the awesome night, Hills, Madsens and Fauxes!
The Fourth of July was the next day, but that will be a separate post all on it's own...coming soon!
After the Fourth we spent some more time catching up with friends and family.
My mom and I had a great morning at the temple. I meant to go more while I was there, but it only happened this once. I'm glad I got to do it with her!
We all waited to see Cars 3 and had fun seeing it together!
Cousins are for sure the absolute best.
Wes had a nap on Grandma's couch after the movie to catch up from all the lack of sleep on the 4th.
I'm so glad I was able to set up this BBQ that night with our Connecticut friends, the Dunns and the Curtis'. They both live in Utah now, so hopefully we get to see them every time we go!
The Dunns have a great home on a dreamy property in Cottonwood Heights and the kids had a blast running around all night.
Baby Asher was only 8 weeks old and an absolute doll!
Eve
Abby.Oliver.Lucy.Wes.Charlie.Deacon
Thad
I sure love these ladies and am so grateful for their friendships that I know will last forever.
The next day I headed down to Angie's house to catch up with her and Rachel. Angie has the most gorgeous home that her and Vess remodeled last year and the kids did not run out of things to do!
Eve loved having girls to play with!
I have known this girls for a long time and love them so much! The only hard thing is that I never get enough time with them.
And while I was at Angie's all day Thad headed on a hike with cousins because none of the kids are his age and he ended up having a blast. I'm so glad my sisters let him tag along!
And he was lucky enough to get some Bahama Bucks afterwards...yum!
Brian was able to go on a couple good runs to prepare for his marathon in Utah on the 24th before he flew back to Texas for couple of weeks and had some great scenery to enjoy!
We also got to spend some time at Grandma Teresa's enjoying the hammock and looking through scrap books. Sometimes those are the best days in Utah!
Oh wait, all of our kids look like their daddy.
Good thing I like him and think he's pretty handsome.
My first week in Utah actually ended on a really sad note. Our neighbors, Abby and John, who had their baby right before left for our trip lost him after complications of a ruptured bowel. She posted this heartbreaking post on Monday, July 3-
I was praying and praying that all would turn out well, but God has a different plan for that perfect boy and he passed away on Wednesday, July 5.
Abby is one of my best friends and I couldn't go the month without seeing her, so I flew back to Austin late on Friday, July 7 for the memorial on July 8. Brian was already back in Texas (he flew back July 6) so we were able to attend together along with most of our neighbors. It was one of the most heartbreaking things I have witnessed to date. Thankfully Abby and John are faith filled people and know he is safe and well with God. Abby and I have had a few gospel discussions since and I hope she continues to find the hope and comfort she needs. I am so grateful I was able to attend and support their family in their time of sorrow.
I flew back to Utah Sunday afternoon and headed to Aunt Haley's house to get my kids. She is amazing and kept them all weekend. I am so grateful to have such awesome family, I know my kids loved every minute at her house!
And she was even awesome enough to get my kiddos ready to send off with Aunt Kayci and Uncle Derek to Toole for the Whitehouse Fourth of July celebration.
One day I will have her hair doing skills!
Eve didn't let me take that braid out for a couple days!
The kids had a blast in Toole and we are again so grateful for awesome family to help us out!
I'm so sad I didn't get to see the Whitehouse crew, but am so glad my kids got to make some memories there!
Even after that long weekend the Doyles were kind enough to host us and Grandma and Grandpa for Sunday dinner and we loved it!
Thank you a million times, Doyle family!
When we got home Dr. Wilson came to the rescue and took Wes' stitches out. It went off without a hitch!
Thumbs up, dude!
But don't you worry, that was not the last of Wes' injuries for the trip. More on that coming soon.
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