Trip Update 3 (don't worry--it's the last one)

Idaho then back to Utah.


After our hike last Tuesday, we headed up to Idaho. My sister in law owns a gym, so Wednesday evening she took us after hours to jump and play on the gym equipment. The kids had a great time!


Thursday morning we loaded up for Targhee and Jackson. Once at Targhee, we got the lift/lunch ticket and rode up the mountain. WOW! What a view! We ate our picnic with an incredible view of the Tetons before us. We were so happy that we made this stop!


Susanna had been BEGGING to ride horses on the trip. Everywhere she saw horses she asked if she could ride. SO, at Targhee, the kids rode horses. Targhee had better prices and times than over in Park City.


Susanna with her cousin Blake--one of only two boys out of my parents 16 grandchildren.





Of course we stopped in Jackson since we were so close. The mountains are so beautiful we could hardly get enough. The kids rode the alpine slide there and we walked around the town a little. Greg loves Jackson, but one of the reasons he wanted to go there so badly was because they have a CloudVeil store there and he wanted a new jacket! (which he got)

On Friday we attended the Idaho Falls temple with my sisters, brother and sister in law, and parents. It was great to be together! That evening we were back in Salt Lake.


Playing in the hotel.


Over the weekend, we shopped, swam, and saw many of the sights on Temple Square. Here are the cousins in front of the Beehive House.


My girls loved the visitors centers. Greg and I took a moment to sit while they went around with their cousins pressing all the buttons.

One of the highlights of our trip was going to Music and the Spoken Word on Sunday Morning. I practically get tears in my eyes the MOMENT the MoTab starts to sing. They are truly amazing and it sounded incredible! But as wonderful as the choir is, that is not the only reason this was a highlight. We got there a bit early and got really good seats pretty far up front in the conference center. A few minutes before the broadcast people started standing up--yes, it was President Monson. It was a special treat for the girls to get to see him in person. The Osmonds were performing with the choir that morning and President Monson came to present them a special recognition. We had no idea he would be there but were delighted to see him!


The girls enjoyed the beautiful gardens on Temple Square!


We truly enjoyed our time on Temple Square! The girls enjoyed seeing the sights with their cousins!


We ended our trip with a very enjoyable visit to Greg's long time friends Dave and Karen. They treated us to a wonderful meal and great company on Sunday evening!

We are home now. Apparently it has been over 100 degrees for 11 of the past 12 days. So glad we missed that, however, the heat is still in the forecast. We have to give a big thanks to Mama Leslie and Grandpappy for letting us travel with them! They are always so kind to us and VERY patient with our family. We also want to thank our siblings for letting us stay with them, and/or letting us use their cars during our visit! Thanks so much family--we love you!!

Trip Update 2

A day in Park City and a hike to Timpanogos Caves!


Last Monday we spent the day in beautiful Park City! Susanna and Samantha are hanging with their cousin Ashlyn. We rode the Alpine slide, Alpine coaster, Legacy Launcher, and some of the kids did a little rock climbing. We had a terrific time!!


I am not sure how Paige and I got a chair to ourselves, but hey, we'll take it!! (Paige is my sister in law)


The cousins had their own chair up to the alpine slide.


My kids LOVED the legacy launcher!! They flipped and double flipped like I've never seen! This is Samantha doing her thing!


Here's Susanna. I wasn't sure if she could get her long legs around on the flips, but she flipped and dipped just fine!


Natalie is our most natural monkey. She climbs and flips like it is second nature!


On Tuesday, we hiked to Timpanogos Caves with Maria's family. Here are the girls taking a break before we enter the caves. Of course Susanna had to use the restroom right when we were in the caves. You may have guessed that there is no restroom inside the caves. I had to hurry out of there with her before the end of the tour!


Our hiking gang! The girls did so well on the hike!


Me and my sister Maria.

Trip Update 1

Vail Pass Summitt



It is a loooooooong haul from Texas to Utah!! We stopped over in Denver. Greg was born in Aspen and has a special affection for Colorado. We stopped at Vail Pass summitt. It was a gorgeous day and felt great to see the beautiful mountains and breathe the fresh air! We let the girls run around and took a few pictures.


After many hours in the car, we made it to Utah. We were so happy to be able to make it for Anna's baptism! The cousins were so happy to see each other! We enjoyed some great company and food after the baptism at Maria's house (my sister is not really named Maria--it is just what I have called her for years!)


Later that afternoon, we went up Provo Canyon for a dinner picnic with Greg's sisters and their families, and some long time friends of Greg's. The girls absolutely loved playing near the river and being with more cousins! It was a busy evening--of course my camera battery died so I was not able to get any more pictures. I went to a wedding reception held there in the canyon while the kids were still playing, then we met up with Maria's family again to do the moonlight chair lift ride at Sundance. The girls were pooped and fell asleep in the car afterwards.

Together again

We have had only 2 girls for three weeks of the summer, but now we are together again! It is interesting to only have 2 vs. 3 at home. It really doesn't matter which one is not here--when you take one out of the equation, things really are different. All 3 girls have had a turn now staying with Mama Leslie and Grandpappy and things are pretty much back to the normal level of bugging and fighting--especially over who's turn it is to sit in the back seat of the car.

What a week!

It was time for our 6th annual Kiddie Kamp with the cousins at the lake cabin. However, all of our cousins live faaaaar away at the moment, so it was just us with Mom and Dad this week. Oh, and baby Sophie. But according to my girls, she doesn't qualify as a "real" cousin yet since she is only 6 months old! I will do a post with some of our kiddie kamps past next week, so stay tuned! We still had a great time and the girls enjoyed the activities and lake time. We were glad to have Mama Leslie and Grandpappy there for "support." It was a very full and fun week! Here are some highlights:



The girls swam and played in the sand every day. I read lots of magazines and books. Swimming time is great for me now that all the girls are good swimmers!


The girls worked on digging dinosaur bones out of a block of plaster that I got at Hobby Lobby. Yes, I copied the idea from a friend's blog. She is a friend so I don't think she will mind. They got several bones out after a LOT of work, and still have more to get out. I think we will still be working on this next week.


They did plenty of swinging on the rope swing.


They ate ice cream, and of course enjoyed a few campfires with hot dogs and marshallows. We went for walks, watched lots of movies and did lots of puzzles too.


On Wednesday night my dad helped the girls with sparklers and some Roman candles.


The girls loved lighting their own sparklers! Maybe a little too much--



We headed back to Mama Leslie's and Grandpappy's. Greg met us there for the long holiday weekend. The girls really loved playing with baby Sophie and trying to get her to laugh out and smile at them. Sophie is a very pleasant baby and was so sweet!
Susanna especially loves to help with babies and helped Mama Leslie quite a bit this week. She is going to be a great babysitter in a few years!


On 4th of July we had a big "blowout" as my dad puts it! That means that we had A LOT of really good food and great company! We enjoyed BBQ ribs (Sally, my mother-in-law's recipe-they were so good!), along with baked beans (Mama Leslie's recipe--AMAZING!), potato salad, watermelon, and Texas sheet cake (Angie's recipe--well, I'm not sure exactly where that recipe came from but I'll take credit for it!), AND Blue Bell ice cream straight from the little creamery in Brenham WITH home made chocolate sauce (Sally's recipe again.) It was a terrific meal!!!
Later, we rode the 4 wheeler. Greg took all three girls at once on a ride. Apparently, they tried to cross a muddy ditch that was just a little too deep. Got stuck. No cell phone. Walked to the nearest house to ask to use the phone. Called Grandpappy. Grandpappy came to the rescue and pulled them out. Came home very muddy and learned some great problem solving skills! Thanks for the life lessons Greg!


Later, Grandpappy took the girls swimming. Greg and I went on a ride on the 4 wheeler--he spared me the mud and getting stuck!




Later that evening, Grandpappy, Greg and one of Granpappy's friends helped the kids with a TERRIFIC fireworks display! They had sparklers, roman candles, Texas Loud, Texas Proud, an airplane, a panda, dancing butterflies, jumping jacks, bird cage, some kind of HUGE rocket things, the teacup, bottle rockets, loud firecrackers, and many others that I can't remember the name of! The kids and the big kids (Grandpappy, Lynn, and Greg) were at it for 2 hours. It was a great time!!!!

Samantha's visit to the "farm"

Samantha just finished her turn at "the farm", and boy did she have a great time! She did many of the same things Sus did and enjoyed every minute of being by herself with Mama Leslie and Grandpappy. Sam wanted to have lots of pictures of her adventures, and Mama Leslie and Grandpappy obliged. She was very excited to have her dad and me view the cd my parents made with all her pictures! Such a special time for her to spend with her grandparents!



Digging for shells at the lake.


This is one of Big Al's baby alligators--his jaw is broken so he can't bite--thank goodness!


She got to go swimming, one of her very favorite activities of all time!


She went to Dale's farm and pet Humphrey the snake.


Sam the cowgirl--she saddled up and got to ride a horse at Dale's farm.


Posing with a replica of Big Al the alligator.