Utah Trip July 2014

At the end of July, we went to Utah. We left Saturday the 19th and started driving! 

A friend's niece needed a ride to Utah, so we took her along. She's a cutie. I wish she lived here and was in our Young Women's! 

We stopped in Tremonton (?) for dinner and ice cream and this kid LOVED his ice cream cone. The stop lasted about another 15 minutes so he could finish his cone without Mommy freaking out in the car with ice cream. :)

We dropped Courtney off a little later and headed to Sandy.

We stayed at my uncle's house for the night and then kept driving the next morning.

We drove down to St George where J's Grandpa G lives.

This is the Grandpa who C is named after. Gma G passed away soon after C was born 2 years ago and now Gpa lives in an assisted living center. It is a REALLY nice place.

Gpa let C ride on his wheelchair-he actually got really fast, too! He loved it. 

Gpa is a very sweet, kind man. I fell in love with this family when J and I were dating. Gma and Gpa were especially sweet and caring. They are very loving and friendly. I loved watching Gpa with C. He was so proud to tell people that he was named after himself. :)

By the cafeteria (really impressively good food, too!), there is a very pretty fish tank which C went to stand at with every opportunity he had.

Every day, their bulletin board by the cafeteria/commons area had an inspirational quote. 

I loved this one.

Speaking of Jogging! I went running at the condo we stayed at on Monday! 16 weeks pregnant, St George in July, and on vacation and I still ran! It was only 30 minutes and indoors on a treadmill, but treadmills present their own challenges. I'm quite proud of myself!

The view from our balcony. It was quite pretty!

After being in a car for several hours on end, C loved his freedom. Especially since the condo had new things to see and new furniture. He liked vacation, I think. :)

We took our little family to a fascinating museum. There are over a hundred animals on display and labeled. We walked through and C kept saying "wowwww!" It was really quite amazing.

After nap time, we went back to Gpa's place to eat dinner, play games, and visit. While we played 500, C made friends at the pool table.

The  next morning was a refreshing morning. We wanted to swim in the condo pool, but it was really cold, so we didn't enjoy it tons. 

But my boy is adorable.

I love taking these pictures. :)

That afternoon, we had Gpa and J's uncle babysit C for a few hours so we could go to the temple.

(We love them, but it didn't work out too well, so we'll probably skip that next time… ;) )

The temple was beautiful. In such a HOT red city, it was so amazing to see something so cool, refreshing, and white with green things growing so nicely!

I am thankful for the temple and the blessings I can receive from living worthy to go to the temple.

I am also very thankful for my handsome husband and the joy he brings to my life.

That night, we went to Golden Corral with Gpa, J's uncle, and aunt and uncle. (Make sense? lol)

C wasn't too interested in food for that meal… dang. But I got yummy food and delicious ice cream! ;)

Next day, we were packing up to head to Provo.

We spent the evening including dinner with our friends from college. It was a great evening and we really loved it! The picture we got together is in her custody, though… Dang! ;)

The next day, my little brother was also in Utah, so we got together to go visit our Gma T.

We got to her assisted living center and were told she wasn't there right then. 

So we went to the temple! It was Pioneer Day, so the temple was closed, so we just walked around the grounds.

Mount Timpanogos Temple. I remember when it was dedicated. I was about 8 then. :)

C trying to figure out how to smell the flowers like mommy said to.

Sam, me, and C

He refused to wear shoes, so his feet got a teensy bit dirty…

When we were packing up into the car, a lady pulled up-around my age and asked to talk to the missionaries or someone like at a visitors center. We told her we weren't from here either and the only visitor's center we knew of was in Salt Lake City (about 1.5 hours away). She looked like she really needed help, so we said we'd do what we could. There was a mom and daughter who were visiting in their car a few stalls away who got out to help us as well. 

The lady said she just was very frustrated and stressed and at the end of her rope and knew that Mormons gave blessings, so she was looking for someone to give her a blessing.

I then got my husband and brother and offered their help for this sweet woman with a tiny, budding testimony. They took her to a bench on the grounds with the mom and daughter (while I was in the car with C) and gave her a blessing. She had moved here for a job and to be close to her family and neither had been working out. She was frustrated and sad. While they were giving the blessing, C asked for Daddy. I told him that Daddy was helping Heavenly Father bless this lady who needed help. He smiled knowingly and waited patiently. It was a precious moment for me and I wasn't even there for the blessing!

We then went back to Gma's place to visit and have some lunch.

Here's C making himself comfortable on Sam's lap. :)

My Gma with my boy. I've always loved how she is around babies. It was a lovely time and I was very happy. I had heard some not-very-positive things about Gma's health, so I was pleasantly surprised to see her so happy and looking so well. (She isn't doing very well right now, so prayers are appreciated.)

I LOVE this little toe-counting rhyme that my Grandma does. When she did it on C, I had to get a video.

Gma, me and Sam

We drove back to Provo for nap time and then went to a pool party at my uncle's house. I love those get-togethers. They are so fun and relaxed. I'm always so thankful when they do that!

Cousin Adam and his family and Cousin Claire in the front. :)

Aunt Emolyn and Uncle Gordon

Cousin Michael 

Cousin Tiffany and her family and I think Michael again

Not sure where the picture of Cousin Travis and his family went, but they were here from Qatar. We loved seeing them.

The next day, we went on an adventure to Salt Lake City. We took a train!

Once in Salt Lake, we went to lunch with some more college friends and then rushed back to the train to get back in time for nap time. It was a fun adventure!

Uncle Todd let C pick some daisies to give to his mommy. :)

Uncle Todd and Aunt Kristine before we left to go to Bountiful. We stayed at their house for the days we were in Provo. They're always so willing and loving!

Then it was up to Bountiful! We had J's Dad's family reunion on Saturday. 

Friday night, there were games at his cousin's house. We had a blast with those. C was exhausted with late bed time and all of the toys and kids and things going on! :)

The next day was the family auction, breakfast at Gma and Gpa's house, a picnic in the park, nap time/rented bounce house, bbq chicken, and a video about Gma and Gpa.

It was a great, simple family reunion. I loved that we stayed close so that Gma and Gpa could come!

J and I were lucky enough to stay just down the street at J's cousin's parents' house. It was a cold, quiet basement. Oh, man, I was so thankful!

This is J, Kristin, John, and Mason about to race to the top of this hill to see what was at the top. This was at the picnic lunch.

Nap time, J went to play with his cousins while I snoozed with C in the nice, refrigerator basement. It was lovely.

At dinner, C had his dad, aunt, and gma all doing anything he did. He LOVED it.

The video they did about Gma and Gpa was actually really fascinating. At the beginning, Gma said she didn't understand why they did the video since we all probably knew it all, but most everyone was hearing some of it for the first time. It was cool.

We are blessed with great families. I love the adopted family I have been able to know. they are all so caring and wonderful.