Utah

Here's the thing: when you have been spoiled for two years with European vacations, it is a little hard to get excited over vacationing in the US. For example, going to Utah. We decided to make this our big summer 2 week trip and I was so not excited about it. I was looking forward to seeing family, but the sites? Not so much.

Well, I would like to publicly state that I was WRONG. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Utah was AWESOME and we had the best time there. Despite my husband's Eastern upbringing, he fancies himself something of an outdoorsman. If he could, he would settle in the mountains in a heartbeat. I really don't blame him. Utah is such a diverse state and we were able to do and see so much. Plus, we were reminded once again just how awesome our families are.

We started the trip in Southern Utah at Zion National Park. We were so lucky to be able to stay at a friends cabin and enjoy a few days at this truly amazing place. Everywhere you turn you are faced with jaw dropping views.

  

  

  

  

With 4 little kids it would be impossible to do The Narrows, but we did about 500 yards of it- along with the elderly and other families with young kids. Someday it will happen!

 

After Zion, we headed over to Bryce Canyon to take in the views, hike around a bit, and have a picnic lunch.

   

After our Southern Utah Adventures, we headed up north to meet up with my parents, my brother Dan, his wife Kristin and baby Landon. First up was a picnic and hike up at Silver Lake. 

   

Dan and Kristin are HUGE Salt Lake Real fans, and they were kind enough to deck us out and take us to a game.

   

Andrew and I took the boys to SLC for Music and the Spoken word on Sunday morning. It was a first for me as well and so cool! We also attended the "Days of 47" parade. Parade with our prophet in it? Check!

   

Another excursion (minus Afton and Clara) was a hike up to Timp Caves and then a trek through the caves themselves. So cool!!

  

   

Heritage Park- Another first for us with lots to do. It was a super hot day, but the kids loved it!!

  

We bought  passes to Snowbird which gave us all day access to their chairlifts, mountain roller coasters and fliers, alpine slide, ropes course, trampolines...is was so much fun! The best part? The place was practically empty so no long lines!

   

     

The tail end of the trip was spent up in Park City for the Willis Family Reunion. Again, have I mentioned how great our families are? I love being on the East, but I wish we could see these great people more often! We spent one afternoon at Olympic Park doing the ropes courses. The highlight was when Afton stopped mid course and refused to move, causing a huge backup. It was pretty high up and we could not convince her that she would NOT fall to the ground if she slipped. Poor thing. With the coaxing of a staff member she eventually moved on. I'm sure their were some annoyed people, but admissions did say 5 and up!

And lastly, Andrew and Pete with a couple of their cousins. Great memories of a great trip!!

Ashley and Nora's Trip East

Yea for visits from Aunt Ashley and Cousin Nora!!! We made the most of our time by getting out and about- blueberry picking, swimming, Harper's Ferry, Cape May Point, 4th of July fireworks, the beach and Wildwood boardwalk!

Summer Begins!!

Since we have membership to our neighborhood pool, I decided we would spend the first day of summer break there. I got our bags ready, the kids in their swim gear, myself suited up, and lathered us all with sun block. I even packed a picnic lunch. Not an easy fete! Right as we were walking out the door, Afton turned to me and said, "I think I am going to throw up!". She then proceeded to barf everywhere.

Our summer was off to a bang. 

So we went with plan B. I dug out the sprinkler and water toys, and the kids who weren't throwing up had a party in the back yard. Not a bad start after all.

So far this has been a pretty relaxed summer. I have loved not having a structured routine! We are a lot slower in the mornings, and often aren't out of the house before 10 or 11- right when the pool opens. There has been lots of pool time, library trips, reading snuggled up on the couch, backyard fun, and some downtown trips to places like the National Cathedral and National Zoo. Hooray for summer!