Trek to Utah

I had some time off work a while back and we decided to take the time to travel up to Utah to see some family and friends. As Jen is pregnant, we need to take frequent stops and so we planned the trip into stages. We were able then to see many of the people that we hoped to see and it lessened the time in the car as the stops were at people's homes and we had a day or two break.

Our first stop was in Las Vegas at Dan and Casi's home. We went by the M&M store. The kids loved selecting their own M&M's.

We spent a lot of time swimming there. Kate is a fish and very comfortable in the water. Tyler is gaining a healthy fear of the water and is a little more cautious. He would jump in without making sure it was ok before so I like he isn't terrified of the water but it is scary that he had no fear.

We went to Hoover Dam. I went as a kid and remember the water much higher. Kate was exhausted after a few minutes and had to be carried.

The next day we went to Provo on the way stopping and seeing Joan and stayed with my Grandpa Campbell and Grandma Nancy. It was so much fun being able to talk to my Grandpa and hear his stories. I wrote down as many as I could remember and hope to start collecting them all. I have begun to get the Family History bug and have started doing a little work. I feel that most of the finding has been done but I want to get to know more about the people and get their stories as best I can. I think that it rained every afternoon we were there. We again were able to swim and see a few friends as well. Jen met with Summer and her children at a park. We saw Wes who was a councilor at EFY and ate Gelato atCostco in Orem with him. Ya, they have 3 very large scoops for $1.50. Good thing that wasn't there when we lived there. Toured BYU campus and saw some familiar sights. We stopped by the temple and the "Y".

It seemed extra green while we were there. They said that there was extra snowpack this year giving a lot more water for the mountains. Here is Timp.

So hard to say goodbye. I have no idea when I will be able to take this much time off and see the family. We had so much fun in Provo seeing old sights, friends, and family.

We then went up to Salt Lake and Sandy to stay with Jen's Aunt Teresa and to see her Grandma Barnes. One of the days we went up to Logan for a few hours. We stopped by the hospital Ty was born in. You can see in this first picture that they are watching Mary Poppins. Kate and Jen saw the musical right before the trip and kids watched the movie maybe a dozen time on the trip. This is Tyler looking at the hospital.

We went and saw our old neighbors, the Millers. Lyndie and her sons Casen, Treg, and Teague. We went to the Zoo and fed the ducks. The boys had a new sister that was born while we were away, Cambrie. They are active boys and play rough together but they are the softest, kind boys when it came to their sister. I was impressed.

Kate discovered Teresa's trampoline and Jen sprayed a hose on it to make it more fun. The kids loved it. Kate had fun showing us jumping and landing in a sitting position and bouncing back up to her feet.

We spent time right before we left with Grandma Barnes and we were able to get a few good pictures.

We stopped down in Cedar City and stay with the Goldthorpes. Nathan is Kevin little boy and he was a happy one.

We stopped at Circus Circus and played some games with Jen's parents had stopped by to see Dan and Casi for the weekend.

Um ya, I won.

We ate and the Steak n Shake at South Pointe before heading back home.

We really did have an amazing time. I could not have hoped for a better vacation. We were exhausted by the end and happy to sleep in our own beds instead of a new one every other night but we were overwhelmed by the kindness and hospitality we were shown. Thank you to everyone that opened up their homes and for making time to see us as we made our trek through Utah.