Vacation to Utah

This may be the biggest blog post ever but I thought I would put our vacation into one huge post rather than a million smaller ones. Prepare for picture overload!

Audrey and her sensitive eyes! She insisted on watching curious George with sunglasses on even though it was dark outside!

We left for Utah on July 12. We left Vegas after Kirk got off work and arrived at Camille's house in Santaquin late that evening. 
We were so excited to be away from Vegas (mostly the insane heat!) and to be on vacation as a family! The girls were thrilled to (finally) be with their cousins! 

Friday we drove to Orem and went to a water park with the Coopers and Amanda. It was so much fun! The girls loved swimming and going down the water slides! We were rained out in the afternoon and headed back to the Coopers house. Just as Kirk and I were getting ready to leave for a friends surprise birthday party(that we were lucky enough to be in town for) when Audrey threw up (oh the joys of being a parent!). We were super sad to miss the party but not all was lost. I was after all at my sisters house! Kirk, Camille, Amanda, and I enjoyed Dairy Queen and stayed up until 2 am chatting. It turned out to be such a fun night!

Saturday we left Santaquin and drove up to Kirk's parents cabin in Wolf Creek. Kirk's parents, brother Derik and family, and Taryn and Stetson came up to enjoy the day with us. We went fishing, rode in paddle boats, roasted hot dogs, rode in Grandpa's razor, and spent lots of time visiting. The girls were in heaven there! They were so excited to catch their first fish...until it came out of the water. At which point they both ran away screaming! I shouldn't be surprised, I'm still a like squeamish around fish. It was a super fun and wonderful day spent with family!

Sunday we went to church with Karen, Bella, and Paulette. That evening we had dinner at the Howcrofts and it was so delicious! Derik made ribs that were to die for. The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins. They were outside playing in the tree house the entire time we were there.

Monday we went hiking with Karen and Ben to moonshine arch. I was exhausted and grumpy before our hike but there is something about being outside hiking that puts me in a good mood! The hike was hot but super fun. Moonshine arch was super pretty and the girls loved playing in the sand and on the rocks! Afterwards we went to the Country Grub. It's totally Vernal's hole in the wall greasy burger place. It was yummy and Ben got some fake mustaches that everyone had fun trying on. That evening Kirk and I went to Ben's spaghetti dinner for his baseball team that won state. We loved that we were in town to support him!

Karen and Audrey under the arch

Tuesday we went to Dinosaur National Monument and Josie's cabin with Karen, Liz, Ben, Brixton, Hawk, Bella, and Aden. The girls were super excited to see the dinosaurs and were slightly disappointed to see the bones still stuck in the rock, ha ha. We had a fun picnic at Josie's cabin, played in the stream and went  on a small hike. Afterwards we went to Liz's house and laid in the grass while the girls loved the kitty, a lot! It was a fun day!

Wednesday was my 28the birthday! And I was absolutely spoiled rotten! Kirk woke up early and brought me home fresh flowers, isn't he so cute! My sister Camille came the night before so she could be there to celebrate with me. Then my brother Garrett, his wife Emily and their cute daughter Bekah surprised me and also came out to celebrate. When I woke up I saw Bekah standing in the hallway and I was shocked! Best present ever! Kirk headed up making my favorite breakfast and with the help of my mom and sisters it turned out delicious! After breakfast we played some fun group games (that made us all look like fools) and had a treasure hunt for the kids. Kirk made my favorite lunch (which was super delicious) and my family spoiled me with gifts (sunglasses and a lamp shade from Camille, a cute owl and wallet from Kristy, nativity stars, a willow tree, and a bath set from my mom, headphones and flip flops from Kirk, earrings and lipstick from Chelsey) everyone was so generous. It sure is fun to be spoiled sometimes! We took the girls over to Karen's house that evening so Kirk and I could go out. They were so excited to spend the evening with Nana. On our way over there they girls excitedly talked about my birthday being over and now it was Audrey's birthday and they could have blue cupcakes...love my girls! That evening Kirk, Garrett, Emily, and Camille went to the temple. My mom is a temple worker there now and we were able to do initiatories with her as the temple worker. It was so neat!  Afterwards we all met Brett and Jess at Wingers for dinner. Dinner was sooo much fun! We had a fabulous time laughing and laughing and laughing. Oh man I really love my family. It was such a fun and special day. Thanks to everyone who wished me happy birthday and made me feel so loved!

Thursday Camping day, finally!!!! I have been anxious to go camping for months and the day had finally come. We loaded our car up, made some final stop around town and drove up to GreensLake by Flaming Gorge. We got camp set up, took a walk to the lake, had a delicious dinner, and spent the evening hiding from huge "killer" bugs! The kids had a fabulous time getting as dirty as humanly possible!

Greenslake

Her face was SO dirty

The girls spent hours "cooking" over their fire. They sure had fun and got plenty dirty!

Friday We woke up early had a quick poptart breakfast then head down to flaming gorge. We rented 3 boats for 29 of us. Our family was on a boat with Garrett, Emily, Bekah, Cody, Chelsey, and a random grand kid. We spent the day out on the lake and it was heaven. Our boat was the coolest, we had a flag, music, and lots of dancing. We made a stop at a cove where everyone went cliff jumping...so much fun! There were only four of us adults who didn't do it. The pregnant ladies and a couple other sister in laws that I won't point out online. :) We had lunch in the middle of the lake...which included Brett and Jess frantically trying to make lunch for everyone on a rocking boat with the wind blowing...it was and adventure for sure! We stopped at another place where Cody, Brayden, Kirk, and my Dad jumped off a 50 ft cliff. It was super fun to watch them. Poor Bekah got really sick though. As we headed back to shore Audrey threw an all out fit over not having another root beer. An hour later I found the last one that had been stowed away. She couldn't believe how perfect her life suddenly was and sat quietly on a chair sipping her drink for at least 30 minutes, oh what a girl! It was a perfect day on the lake with the people I love the very most. Poor Riley unknowingly lost his keys somehwere in the lake though. They ended up having to tow their SUV to Rock Springs to have an new key made...oh sweet memories! That evening we had a delicious dinner and played UNO sweet 16 style. Kirk took second! Who knew he was an Uno champion! Late nights around the campfires with my fun siblings is always the best part of camping!

Oh the attitude this girl has!

Love that handsome man!

Our awesome boat crew!

Decided to try out the water...didn't love it :)

Cute Bekah!

Audrey and her favorite Cody!

Love these 3!

My 59 1/2 year old Dad diving off a 50 ft cliff!

Possibly happiest moment of her life to have a can of rootbeer to herself

In the water again (she liked it only cause she then got to sit on Kristy's lab on the other boat with candy)

Saturday We had a seriously delicious breakfast and relaxing morning together. My mom had a few fun relay games and airplanes for the kids to decorate/play with. The grandkids were in heaven! After lunch us women got to sit around together getting our toddlers to sleep on our laps talking about all the wonderful things in our life. I love these women and am so glad I get to call them family! That afternoon Brett, Garrett, Kirk and Cody put together a pirate adventure for the kids (with help and preparation from my mom). The kids had to do different activities to make it to different "treasures" were they received things like pirate hats, swords, compasses, and eye patches. Everyone had SO much fun. That evening after dinner we celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday (which is in December)! My mom put together a book of each of his kids (and siblings) with 60 memories or things they admired about my dad. It was so fun to read and he really loved it. We played a puzzle game (6 different groups raced to put together a 100 piece puzzle) because my Dad is the puzzle king! We did a trivia game about my dad and had lemon cupcakes (his favorite) dessert! It was a fun evening filled with laughs and fun.

My little pirate

Sunday We woke up early and enjoyed a few minutes of all four(five) of us in a queen size air mattress. I really love having the girls join us during the night. We quickly took down our tent and packed everything up. After breakfast we said our goodbyes and drove down to Vernal. After baths and getting laundry going I took Kirk to the airport. He flew to Minnesota for work. We always miss him while he is gone, but it was nice to be able to stay with family while he was away this time. I came home and cleaned up everyone's camping stuff. After a delicious dinner we played games and enjoyed spending the evening together.

Audrey thinking she was big playing games

Monday Was the day we stayed home and did nothing. Chelsey and Camille were still at my mom's house and we had a nice relaxing "do nothing" kind of day. We took care of kids, played card games, visited a lot, cleaned up the necessities, folded laundry, had lunch from Wimpy's, took naps, and had popcorn and fudge for dinner! My girls love my parents house! They have been begging (and begging and begging) to go back and play. My parents have an amazing backyard that is perfect for grandkids! We stayed with my parents while we were there and here are a few pictures we took. One cute story about Monday is there was a beautiful huge rainbow that night. Kirsten LOVED it. She went outside and sang (at the top of her lungs) "I LOVE IT!! I LOVE IT!!! I LOVE RAINBOWS!!!" over and over and over. She called it her rainbow song and thinks that if she sings her rainbow song a fabulous rainbow will appear in the sky.

Reading bedtime books with Grandpa

Popsicle on Grandma's back porch

Playing trains with Grandpa!

Doing somersaults in the front yard!

Tuesday Was the 24th of July. I woke up and packed all of our stuff into the car so we could head to Logan that afternoon. We met Kristy and her kids, my cousin Heidi, her kids, and Colleen at the parade. It was such a cute fun parade! The girls especially loved getting candy, the horses and tractors! After the parade we all drove up to Whiterocks for a picnic. Unfortunately the campground was closed. We opted for driving to Uintah canyon rather than eating cold hot dogs. We had so much fun on our picnic. The weather was perfect, the company fun, and with a near by river the kids were in heaven! The kids started catching fish with their bare hands...and enjoyed every second of proudly showing them off then taking care of them (in the smaller rock pond they built). Kirsten found a little caterpillar and was sooo excited! She loved that little caterpillar far more than anyone ever has. I wish we could have camped there for a couple days, but hopefully we can return someday soon! We then drove to Salt Lake and had dinner at Jess's parents house. I seriously had a blast driving out to SLC with the girls. They are so funny and we had so much fun talking and laughing about all the silly things in life. When we arrived at her parents house the girls weren't so sure about it all. Until Jane (Jess's youngest sister) asked the girls if they liked polly pockets...they were gonners at that point. Her parents also have the most incredible play house for little kids, a trampoline, a cat, and the polly pockets made it a place my girls dream about. Jane took complete care of the girls...even feeding them dinner of cookies and fruit snacks! It was so fun. We finally pulled ourselves away and drove to Logan. We got there just before 10:00 and in time for fireworks! It was a fun and fabulous 24th! We got the girls to bed that night and stayed up talking until late. We stayed at Chelsey's and I sure love that baby sister of mine!

Two seconds after this picture they were fighting like crazy...four seconds later they were both sitting cozily in the same chair. Oh sisters!

"You two are cute!" I say. "Take a picture" they say.

Wednesday At the stroke of midnight the night before I was brushing my teeth...and then got sick ALL over Chelsey's bathroom. Apparently I don't know how to aim for the toilet. It was a disaster and so gross. Chelsey came in while I was cleaning up and asked "how did you even do that?!" because it was even behind the bathroom door. I was sick all night (poor Chelsey was up until 2 cleaning the bathroom). Kirsten woke up sick the next  morning...but Chelsey's futon, bathroom, and living room carpet are now really clean! I pulled the air mattress into the living room and spent the morning sleeping while Chelsey took care of my girls...it was so kind of her. She dropped Audrey off at Garrett's house to go swimming while Kirsten and I slept. After we woke up we joined Audrey at Garrett and Emily's. We visited and I then slept on and off on their couch all afternoon. Emily was good to keep my girls entertained and well taken care of. I have the best sisters! Kirsten felt and acted better and by dinner I felt better...but it was a long no good sick kind of day! After the girls fell asleep Chelsey, Cody and I watched Friends until I fell asleep!
Thursday We woke up and got ready to go to the Logan zoo. It was so cute and so much fun! The girls were in heaven. It was early and the animals were super active and it was just so much fun. After we saw the elk Kirsten decided she wanted to bring an animal home. "Please can we bring it home, pretty please?! I LOVE it!" It was so cute and when she realized she wouldn't be talking me into it she asked me to take pictures of her next to her favorites, ha ha she is so fun! Poor Chelsey and Garrett were sick while we were there though so the last half of the trip was rushed for them to get home. After lunch the girls took naps (and so did I). Then I was lucky enough to have my friend Camille come over for a little bit. Her poor kids got hand, foot, and mouth disease so we weren't able to hang out together like we had hoped. It was fun to visit and she was so kind to give me some cute sleepers for my little man, she is the best!
After naps the girls and I met Emily at the park. It was hot but we had fun anyway!  The girls loved playing pirates with some little boys they found there. We stayed at the park for a couple hours and it was so fun! Little Bekah was so much fun and such a cute smart little gal! We had crepes at Chelsey's that night then headed to Chili's for dessert. We fell asleep watching Friends...just like we were meant to!

Friday Poor Cody was so sick all Friday night...sick enough that I figured Chelsey was too because it would be impossible for one person to be so sick. But nope poor Cody! The girls and I packed up and got ready to head to Salt Lake. Chelsey dyed and cut my hair that morning. I LOVE how it turned out. Since Kirsten was born my gray hairs have been out of control. And Chelsey insisted we correct the problem. As she was dying my hair she said "it's much worse than we thought" ha ha. I love that sister of mine for a reason! The girls kept commenting on it all day, how cute it looked and how Chelsey did a good job! Kirsten is begging me to cut her hair now. 
We drove down to Salt Lake and went straight to Brett and Jess's new place. It's super super cute! We met Amanda there and enjoyed relaxing and visiting. We decided to go to Costa Vida for dinner (yummy! pork tacos!). Brett and Jess then took the girls for the night (so nice of them!) to her parents house (the girls favorite play place on earth). I was waiting for Kirk to fly into Salt Lake so Amanda and I hit up target (like I would honestly go anywhere else) were I found a cute lamp for the baby's room (that Amanda bought me for my birthday) and a few other fun things. Bad news Kirk didn't make his connecting flight because of weather. Not the airlines problem, apparently. So I had an hour to kill while I waited to hear if he could make a later flight. I decided to call my cousin Julie and go see her brand new baby (so tiny! so sweet! so cute!). It was fun to visit with her, we haven't seen each other for nearly 5 years! Bad news got worse, Kirk couldn't get on the next flight...meaning we didn't get our night away in Park City like we had hoped. SO SAD! I was devastated (and mildly dramatic about it). It was the 3rd get away for us that hadn't turned out...so frustrating! Brett and Jess were gracious enough to put me up for the night. Brett and I had fun staying up until late visiting, love that little brother of mine.

Saturday the girls and I slept in and then were scrambling to hurry and drive down to Utah county for Alison's baby shower. Brett and Jess were so good to host us for the night and it was hard to say good bye. The girls and I drove from SLC down to Santaquin. My sister Camille was gracious enough to watch my girls during the shower since Kirk wasn't around to help out (and after a week without him it was nice to enjoy some time without the kiddos). I then ran to walmart for some last minute shower items. Instead of being early to help out I was 20 minutes late for the shower, ugh! I used to never be late for anything and being late really irritates me. I literally had to stop and take a deep breath and tell myself being late isn't the worst thing. But I got to the shower and oh my word it was exactly what I needed and hoped for. It was wonderful to see my good friends. We have been friends forever and it's really awesome that we are still so close. I'm really lucky to have such wonderful women so close to me! We visited, ate delicious food, and I got to see all of their really cute kids. It was so fun to catch up and not miss a beat. We played a few shower games and just had fun laughing with each other. Alison is so stinking cute pregnant and I'm so excited for her to have her baby girl! She will be such a fabulous mom and I can't wait to meet little Gretchen. Our due dates are only 7 weeks apart, so it's fun to be pregnant together. We showered her with lots of frilly girly gifts. Then my sweet friends also gave me gifts for my little boy. It was so unexpected and kind of them! They all gave me super cute (manly) outfits (I guess they new I wasn't afraid to dress our man in his sisters clothes) plus gave me sweet gifts like a homemade frame, subway gift card, and little boy toys (trucks, dinosaurs, spiderman ball, and boy books). I seriously have the very best friends!
After the shower we drove over to Brenna's new house. She and her husband literally just finished building a brand new beautiful home in Payson. It was gorgeous and I'm so stinking exctited for her! (seriously her cabnits were to die for, if they come up missing Brenna check my houseu first :)) I was dreaming of her house all night. I didn't make it back to Camille's house until 4:30 and knew it was too late to drive home...especially with the mood Audrey was in. So Camille and I got some Papa John's and had a "mom date." It was fabulous to have one last night with her. My girls are in heaven at their house and I literally didn't see them unless they were hungry or tired, nothing beats cousins! Camille let me sleep in her bed (in my undies) since I refused to unpack bags from my car one.more.time! We always feel very welcomed at the Cooper house and love them dearly!

Chalice and her Whitney

Alison, Brenna (Julia), and me

Sunday The girls slept til 9 (miracle!) then we drove home. We didn't make it home in time for church (unfortunately) but we did make it home safely (Audrey only cried for 2 hours of the drive, sigh). Kirk was very excited to have us home and had flowers, a movie, a new outfit for the baby, and candy waiting for me (isn't he sweet!). It is so good to be home. I miss my family terribly already but it's so nice to be home and in my own bed!