It wouldn't be summer unless we made our way to Utah, so make our way we did! However, we did split up to get there--after our drive to Florida with the little girls, we couldn't hack the idea of doing that x2! So I flew with the little girls and Brian drove out with the big kids and it worked out pretty dang good. I know it's easier for me to say that because I made it there in about 10 hours, but flying with two little ones is not for the faint of heart.
And we made it even though the gate agent on our layover checked our stroller through with baggage instead of gate checking it. Luckily there was a wheelchair at our gate in Salt Lake and we made it to baggage claim unharmed.
We also had the cutest cousins and aunt waiting to pick us up when we got there and that melted away any frustrations we had.
We went to their house for some dinner and to see their meanest cat, Kevin...haha! JK, we just wanted to hang with them and it was the perfect thing to do after our long day.
After dinner we made our way to the Egan's to stay for a couple of nights-
So fun having all these girls together!
And so fun to have a really cool uncle that lets you jam with him!
After we got nice and rested at the Egan's we spent the morning at the Henrie's getting my hair done, seeing their cutest new kitten, Gibbs, and hanging out cousins and Grandma Cindy.
That evening we made our way up to Wasatch State Park where Grandma and Grandpa Whitehouse were camping to hang with cousins and meet up with Brian and the big kids who drove straight there!
This is the only picture I found from their whole road trip and I think Eve's face sums up how they were all feeling towards the end pretty dang good!
Such a gorgeous night even though Liv scuffed up her nose pretty bad!
And Mae pouting for who know what...?
Thad and Wes climbed up the mountain next to the camp site in their crocs and no path to the top!
We couldn't believe they actually did it and I was SO PROUD of them for taking pictures when they got to the top! Learning from their mama!
How cute are these cousins??? I can hardly stand it and just the rest of them were there!
Thanks for a fun night, House and Grandpa Russ!
Another fabulous sunrise thanks to our dedicated runner.
Even when he barely sleeps in a hammock because of kids and cool mountain nights. He is the best.
I was so lucky to be in town for Anna's bridal shower! Tyson is marrying the CUTEST girl! We are so excited for them and for this sweetest addition to the family.
We're not very good at funny faces....except for Eve! Haha!
We finished the weekend having fun hanging with grandmas, going to church, and attending the Sato-Peterson party.
At the Sato-Peterson party we figured figured out Thad is now taller than Aunt Kelli and Aunt Kayci!
Love these people and how big this group is getting!
I wasn't feeling too hot on Monday, but still made my way up to Snowbird with my big kids to hang with the Henries. We had so much fun swimming, playing games, eating dinner with grandma, watching a movie, sleeping over, and getting up early for a gorgeous hike.
We had a bit of a scare when the girls climbed up the side of the waterfall and we weren't sure how they were going to get down. Jayci slid a few feet and we got muddy helping them down. We should have just let them go to the top with Thad and Wes because they figured out you could just loop down and around back to the waterfall from the top. The girls were fine and we learned a good lesson!
The little girls stayed home with dad and played with cousins while we were up at Snowbird-
Cutest water babies!
When I got home from Snowbird I took a COVID test because I still wasn't feeling great and my voice sounded horrible. Well, sure enough, it was positive! I was surprised because my symptoms weren't "typical," but I hadn't felt good for a few days and it made sense. We hunkered down for the night and tried to keep me separate, but it didn't last too long. We had to cancel some things and go with plan B, but everyone was so understanding and we still had a good time.
Aunt Kelli is the best and hosted us at Merit's family cabin for the day so we could all still hang out together but be outside and have fun at the same time!
Kelli really saved our day and we had such a fun time being out in nature! Liv luckily got a nap at the cabin because she was also having COVID symptoms and needed rest to help her get better ASAP.
We kept most of our life outdoors the next day, too, and dad took the big kids on another hike to Bear Canyon and it was gorgeous!
I'm so happy these kids love being in the mountains and climbing on everything! Eve is a trooper and finished the hike strong even though she tested positive later that day for covid. You go, girl!
That night we had an outdoor dinner date with the Curtises and were so happy we got to see them! Those Connecticut ties run deep.
To start off the holiday weekend we had a movie night at House's house and it was supposed to be a big party, but only the Egans were brave enough to join us...haha! We enjoyed outside fun and ended the night watching Sandlot on the inflatable screen and had such a good time!
On Saturday we had plans to go to a lake and paddle board and enjoy the holiday weekend, but Riley and Jen didn't end up coming because of covid and we were nervous we'd have a bunch of sickies, so Grandma Cindy helped us with plan B and we spent the whole day at the Margett's pool and it was SO MUCH FUN!!!
It was so much fun that this is the only photo that was taken all day! I don't have proof, but I even got my hair wet and Laney and Brian taught me how to dive! I have always wanted to do it and it provided great entertainment to all as I figured it out.
Eve said it was her favorite day of the trip and that she loved that all the adults were playing and swimming. I need to take note of that and do it more often!
That night we made our way to Grandma Cindy's and Grandpa Kent's to have a DIY firework show and it was also a blast! Sometimes plan Bs are better than (or at least just as good as) plan As.
Sunday was Caden's birthday so we all met up to celebrate him for dinner and it was so fun--Love that kid!
Monday we had another big day and took the big kids to Lagoon! We had decided pretty early in the summer we wanted to do this and I was half dreading it, half excited. I'm so glad I let the excited part take over because it was so much fun!
Here are the cutie big kids ready to go and those big girl cousins always loving on my babes and it makes me so happy.
We got there just in time for opening and hardly had to wait in line for the whole day.
Kelli and Wells joined us, too, and it was seriously the best!
Don't worry, that was Wes's drink ;-)
Sky Coaster partners!
Ferris Wheel Fools
I'm so glad these two had each other! They hung around with us adults while the big kids roamed on their own for a couple hours and it was so fun to have them together.
Dad won Eve a stuffed animal after hanging for almost 1.5 minutes!
I think we've decided we're going to do Lagoon every year!
Brian is the best and got a ride home with Kelli to stay with the little girls while me and the big kids drove straight to Logan from Lagoon. It's not quite a trip if we don't see the Millers, so we made it happen.
Eve, Emmy, & Cosy
What a darling trio! Even when they put on a full face of makeup...haha!
We spent the morning hanging out and then made our way down to Willard Bay to this inflatable obstacle course the Millers knew about and we had such fun afternoon on the water!
These kids are going to be forced to be friends for life whether they like it or not!
And these little girls were not one bit upset about having to spend the day with their daddy-
Luckily we got to see the Piepers before the went back to California-
Mae & Daphnie
To round out our fun and last few days out west...
Brian went on a gorgeous early morning run with Mike Hawker-
No filters
And no picture of them together, but I guess I'll let it slide this time because of those views!
Spent one last day at the Egan's-
Rufus is a good but also bad dog and is just so cute and matches Liv's hair.
Sleepovers with the Henrie cousins and kids staying up WAY too late-
A trip to the temple with our Doyle cousins-
And seeing some friends and fam that we didn't get pictures of.
As you can tell, covid didn't slow us down too much and we still had an absolute blast and apologize to the many people we passed our sickness on to (Grandma Cindy, Grandpa Kent, House, Grandpa Russ, Aunt Haley, Laney...and I'm sure there is more on this list we do not know of). Thank you all for being the very best!
Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head home-
These kids were out as soon as they got on the road and were troopers for the long haul back east.
And I hopped on a plane with ONLY Liv and leaving our Mae behind was a lot tougher than I thought it would be.
It wasn't so tough when we had this three hour layover in Phoenix turned into four hours, and luckily Liv found this best friend of a dog, and the skywalk, and we made it through and only landed about 30 minutes later than our original eta.
And this is Mae with a popsicle to get her to not be sad about mom being gone. We decided to have her stay when we found out Tyson was getting married a few weeks after our trip and it has been tough and amazing, but she has been a trooper, along with her caregivers, and we can't wait to get her back!
We love you Mae Monsen!
