So Far...

We have been in Utah for a week now and it has been busy, just how we like it!

We arrived Friday, June 6th which was a couple days earlier than we had originally planned, but we wanted to make sure we could catch up with the Jensen family.
We haven't seen any of our Connecticutters that still live in CT for over a year and there was no way we were going to let this opportunity pass us by.  

They were busy busy with family reunion stuff, but they were so sweet (and Dave's family too) to let us join them up Heber Canyon at a beautiful cabin where they were staying.

We were lucky enough to make it just in time for pony rides!

  We felt bad barging in on their fun, but we really could not have joined a nicer family's reunion. Everyone made us feel so welcome and did not mind one bit that our boys joined in.

Wes was a little too nervous for the ponies at first, but after a nice swing with Dave pushing them, he was actually excited to sit on that pony's back.

I was so excited to meet these baby girls that were born last July--

 I'm holding Clara and Lizzy has Jane -- it was so fun to hold and see these identical twins in person. I cannot even imagine having two babies, and Lizzy seems to do it effortlessly. I could really go on and on about Lizzy and how much I admire her, she is a gem. What a blessing it was to spend those three years in CT and make and keep amazing friends like her and her darling family.

This is the best group shot we could get, and hey, we'll take it!

It makes my heart happy that Utah is the crossroads for so many of our amazing friends.

Can't wait to see you again!

I can't believe I didn't get one picture of us celebrating Aunt Missy's graduation from Pharmacy school with a BBQ that Saturday night -- total fail. What an awesome accomplishment for an awesome lady and what a fun night it was to spend together as the Whitehouse-Monsen family.

Sunday evening was spent celebrating Tyson's 13th birthday on June 5th.

Haley made a Grasshopper cake that was to die fore, and then we just played and enjoyed the beautiful Utah summer night.

How cute are those reunited cousins?! And isn't 13 year old Tyson so handsome??

(Don't mind Wes' shorts...Avery lent them to him after a little accident--good thing my 2 year old can share with his 7 year old cousin!)

And of course everyone got a good laugh out of Wes being  the darling, silly kid he is!

Monday we got to see four of our favorite ladies -- The Madsen women!

 Heidi woke this little gal from her beauty sleep so that I could meet her for the first time.

I mean, if this little one doesn't make me excited about having my own baby girl, I don't know what could!?

She is a dream, and I really just love that Lucy babe! It makes me sad I didn't meet her until she was 7 months old, but sometimes that's just how life goes and I will just smother her for the few weeks I am here!

What a perfect group of kids! I love when the Madsen-Monsen kids are able to spend time together. I could just kiss them all 1,000 times!

And the two hours that we spent there of course were not long enough for Heidi and I to catch up. We could literally talk for hours and never run out of things to talk about. I love spending time with her in her house with her amazing family.

Later that afternoon we had another Connecticut reunion with the Castros who were flying back east the next day. 

After a few minutes of catching up with beautiful Sara and meeting her handsome baby Liam that was born in September, she told me Emily Russ and her kids were coming to Temple Square from Provo to meet us too. I was so excited! I knew I would see the Russ family, but it was a little bonus to meet up with them unexpectedly.

After me, Thad was probably the most excited about that revelation...

It took about ten minutes for these boys to pick up right where they left off, and they had a blast hanging together for the rest of the afternoon.

Joel was true to form and helped the kids have fun! He is a big kid at heart and it has always been so fun to see him with kids, even before he had his own.

 Zack.Alex.Thad.Wes.Abby.George.Lila.Liam

And here are the gals and their babes!

It was so amazing to meet two babies (George and Liam) for the first time. It makes me sad sometimes that we moved from CT and are missing out on these kids, but makes me grateful once again that most roads lead to Utah and we get some short time with these people we love so much.

My heart was definitely yearning for some Book and Cook Club nights after a few hours spent with these beauties, but a quick afternoon spent at Temple Square will have to suffice for now.

And to top off our Monday fun:

Uncle Todd's soccer game-

A quick game of Duck, Duck, Goose at dusk-

And a story on the couch with Grandma Teresa-

I think that was a Monday well spent!

Wednesday we had the wonderful opportunity to attend the temple with Stacie as she received her endowment at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. We arrived almost 2 hours early to make sure we got a seat in the session, and although the worker at the front door thought we were crazy, it was wonderful to spend some quiet time in the temple. That is not a luxury we get to enjoy very often.

What a beautiful couple they make! They are going to be so happy together! 

We were sad Todd wasn't able to attend the session as he arrived to the temple and his recommend had expired 11 days prior. The silver lining was that he was able to make up to Kaysville that night to receive a new one for the wedding on Saturday! Kaylee and Dayne were there, but had to hurry out after before we took pictures.

What a blessing it is to be a part of these wonderful life events with our family. We are so excited for Jared and Stacie to get married tomorrow and are so happy we got to spend an evening at the temple with them. 

The rest of this week has been pretty low key. Brian golfed with Mike Hawker, we watched an NBA finals game with Haley and Dan, had lunch with Kim and Christian before their big move to Ohio and have just been soaking up time spent with family.

So far, so good!

Our First Texatah Drive

After twenty long hours of driving through the deserts of Texas and nothingness of New Mexico, we arrived to our favorite vacation spot: Utah. The drive went exceptionally well. We woke up on Thursday at 5:00 a.m. to finish packing up the van, woke the boys at 5:30 (and no, they did not even notice the 1.5 hours of sleep they missed out on), ate breakfast and were on the road at 6:15. We mapped out our drive, and were able to stick pretty close to it. The boys and I (with swollen ankles and a baby pushing on my bladder) were able to make it for about 3 hour stretches. After a quick gas station stop for our first stop, we had an extended stay at McDonald's because we were way ahead of schedule.

There was no Play Place to keep the boys entertained, but they had plenty of fun with the Happy Meal toys and climbing over the seats.

We made it to Albuquerque by 6:00 p.m. and stayed with our awesome friends, the Grovers. They were so kind to feed us dinner and provide lodging for the night. The boys loved playing with their little girls and we were able to get a lot of energy out after a day in the car.

On Friday Brian and I woke to use the bathroom at 3:45 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep, so we were on the road by 4:45. We thought the boys might sleep a little, but who am I kidding? These boys weren't wired for lots of sleep, just like their daddy. Wes had a minor melt down mid morning, but ended up sleeping for about 40 minutes. 

It wasn't long, but a cat nap was all he needed and he was back to his old self.

This cute boy was a gem and loved the iPad for the majority of the trip.

He didn't see much of the country, but hey, we all kept our sanity. We have lots of years of doing this for him to see the country.

We made a fun pit stop at Wilson Arch right before lunching in Moab.

And after Moab, we were pumped to get to WJ! We thought we could make one stop in Price for bathroom breaks and to fill up with gas, but we did have to make an extra stop in Spanish Fork for this momma.

After that, it was smooth sailing and we were in WJ by 3:50 p.m.

We did have to wake this Thad up when we arrived to Grandma and Grandpa Whitehouse's-

It was so funny that he literally did not sleep the entire ride except for falling asleep at Lehi and getting in a short little 20 minute nap before partying it up with family!

It was so fun to have all of Russ' girls waiting for us when we arrived. Their main objective may have been to see Aunt Kaylee and her sweet Casen who had arrived from Alaska earlier that day, but hey, we loved the welcoming committee nonetheless!

It was so fun for all of us to meet Casen for the first time and for family to see my belly growing big with this baby gal. Thad spent the evening at Caden's soccer game and I don't think he could have imagined a better way to spend his first night in Utah!

T-ball Ends

Mr. Thad had an awesome first season of t-ball. It was pretty humorous in the beginning to watch the boys playing, and although there was still some fighting for the ball here and there, they really improved and got along great as a team.

A few weeks ago, they did team pictures and passed out trophies.

I’m not one to pay $50 for pictures, so I just snuck one with my phone, Instagrammed it, and voila!!
Cutest Red Wing team ever!

This is also a knock off from the individual shots, but I think it will do. So handsome!

Thad’s head is over there peaking above the kids shoulder on the left, but there they all are with the shiny trophies.
Thad’s coach was so awesome this year and if we ever do basketball or t-ball at the YMCA again, I really want him to be the coach.
Thad is such a fun kid, and he and the coach just got along really good and he was always high fiving Thad and just being cute with him.

Tonight after their last game, he was giving most of the kids high fives, but gave Thad a hug because they both just got along so good. I love when somebody gets Thad and appreciates the goodness that radiates from him.

Tonight ended up being their last game. It was supposed to be last Tuesday, but it rained for three days straight and the fields were a mess, so they had to reschedule.
I thought it was going to be miserable and hot, but it ended up ok and it was a nice change to have a game in the evening.

Thad and dad always warm things up with a round of catch.

But then things get serious and it’s all about that game!

And of course he has his number one fan hanging out on the sidelines…

Ok, maybe he’s not his #1 fan, as he pays attention to only a fraction of the game, but he is for sure the cutest one!

Thad didn’t get much action in the outfield, but he sure did try! We love him so much and are so proud of the effort and heart he puts into everything he does.

Happy first season of t-ball, Thad!

You are by far our favorite t-ball player out there!