Utah Trip - Part 1

We took a trip this summer to Utah for back-to-back family reunions.   We saw my family from July 30-Aug 3, and AJ's family from Aug 4-Aug 8.  It was quite exhausting!

We pulled out of Colorado at the crack of dawn on July 30.  I remember as we pulled out the driveway, telling AJ that I felt really good and that we hadn't forgotten anything at all!  Since we left so early, we didn't even get the kids dressed, we literally took them from their beds to their carseats.  A couple of hours into the trip, we stopped to eat some breakfast and change into clothes for the day.  It wasn't too long after that, that we realized we had forgotten an entire box at home!  Luckily it wasn't anything that we couldn't replace easily on the trip, but it was annoying just the same! We stopped every few hours for potty and food breaks - the drive went as well as could be expected for having four kids in the car.

My pulled up to my Grandparent's cabin in Mantua, UT about 11 hours after we had left home (a kid-less vehicle could do it in 8).  The reunion with my family was pretty low-key.  We just visited and enjoyed the company.  The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins and playing in the creek.  The big event was on Saturday, when we celebrated my Grandpa's 87th birthday.  Quite a few more aunts, uncles, and cousins showed up for that.

I realized that I forgot to take any pictures until the last day, so there aren't really that many.  But we did take one of our family on the stairs down to the creek.  Look!  It's us!  We were there!

After the reunion, we stayed for a few days at my sister's house.  I got a chance to do one of my favorite things and go to D.I.  D.I. is like the mother of all thrift stores.  It was so hard to walk through there knowing that I couldn't get too much or anything too big - because we had to fit it in the van on the way home!  My sister also introduced me to the Honeyville Outlet where I again, had a hard time holding back on all the many fun things they have.  I confess I did find room for 50# of steel cut oats in our van - among other things.

I also got a chance to have a playdate with my old boss and her kids.  That probably sounds weird to the average person - but you don't work at a job like CPS without forming some life long bonds.  AJ also got a chance to visit a friend of his.  They spent the day together doing whatever it is that guys do!

Rating:  1 #10 can of dried Mango