Trip to Utah

Day 1: Trip to the Children’s Museum (hours of fun, and that’s just the ball machine at the entry) with the Cornelius family. As a bonus, we saw our friend Laura Buchanan there with her 3 super cute kids. Then we attempted the Olympic fountain at the Gateway, but Owen was a bit too intimidated by it, so we didn’t go in. Then we rode Trax up to the Stadium, where Nana Jill picked us up and took us home. That night we did Sealings as a family at the Salt Lake Temple (we did some of Rosa’s names), and then had pizza from The Pie for dinner. I have no pictures to document any of this, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Day 2: Due to the time difference between Atlanta and Salt Lake, we’ve been getting up early and going on walks. I can’t tell you how much I love the climate here, especially in the summer. We found some very fun neighborhood parks along our way. We spent the morning at Wheeler Farm, with Nate’s sister, Becky, and her hubby and kids. I think I’ll put this on my to-do list every time we visit Utah. The kids just loved it, and it made for a really fun outing. We enjoyed some afternoon naps (why can’t real life be more like vacation life?) Then we packed up our bags for the family cabin. We drove up Weber Canyon to Pine Mountain, where Nate’s family has a cabin and enjoyed good food, good games and (as always) good company. Nate’s brother Jordan and his family, as well as his sisters Becky (and her kids) and Emily made the trek as well.

Day 3: We spent most of the day at the cabin. We had the Anderson favorite, breakfast cake and egg breakfast. Jill, Gavin, Jordan and Nate were working on a few projects, and Sammy and I took the kids for a hike. It was fun, we wore the kids out (always nice) and got some fresh air. It was a beautiful day. We headed back in the late afternoon, down Provo Canyon so we could make our pilgrimage to our alma matter BYU. We purchased a few BYU goods and then made a mad dash to Spanish Fork, to a wedding dinner for Nate’s cousin Ben Anderson, who is marrying a very charming Brazilian girl. Yes, I spoke with her in Portuguese, and while it was a bit embarrassing, she was really sweet and appreciated my effort.

Day 4: We played tennis in the morning with Barry and Alicia. We totally schooled them (not really, but we had fun). Later that day we took in our favorite, CafÈ Rio Salads for lunch with the whole Anderson clan, and then joined Nana Jill, Jordan, Sammy, Ella, Barry and Alicia in a game of bowling. Owen really digs bowling. His score and mine were neck and neck most of the time. We found him a 6 pound ball and he was able to lift it, carry it and put it on the little ramp by himself. He even tried a few without the ramp, and it was funny to watch is roll VERY SLOWLY down the lane. We wrapped up the day with a trip to Nielsen’s for some frozen custard. What is more Utah than frozen custard?

Day 5 was Sunday, and we had the pleasure of meeting Josh Fullmer! He is even cuter in person, if you can imagine, and just adored by his cute parents, Sarah and Andrew. Owen loved going to Sarah and Andrew’s house because they have such an awesome back yard. We had a great time visiting with them!
Later that night, Nate’s Aunt Cherie stopped by with her family. Owen got to play with a few of his second cousins (Brittany’s kids) and we got to visit with Cherie, Natalie, Brittany and James. There are many great things about going to Utah, but seeing our family is the very best. We just wish we could have spent time visiting everyone!
We miss you!

Day 6: Walked to Laird Park in the morning with Nana Jill, to play for a bit and then on the way home, Owen wanted to run. He ran a whole MILE back home! That afternoon, we headed to Temple Square to take in the perfect weather and the perfect scenery. Nate took some really great pictures.
The funniest of the day was at dinner. We went to a restaurant, and before our food arrived, Owen’s head was bobbing. He couldn’t stay awake! That hasn’t happened since he was little. We wore our little guy out.

Day 7: We had a nice leisurely morning, and then left for the airport after lunch. I’d like to say we had a nice, leisurely flight beck home, but that wouldn’t make any sense. Our kids did great, but flying across the country with 2 kids in tow is just a bit of a drag. Neither of them fell asleep for more than 1 hour, until we were driving home from the airport! We made it home safely, and our kids even slept in until 9:30 the next morning.
We sure had a great trip, and enjoyed doing some of our favorite things.