Westward Trek, Second Half

Grandma B came up to St. George for a couple of days.  We were able to go to the temple, which was really special. We also went to Tuacahn to see Mary Poppins.  Such a fun show!

It was good to have her there for a couple of days.  The rest of the time hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa D's was pretty laid back.  Grandpa made his usual waffles, cheesy potatoes, and meatloaf (not all at once.)  Grandma made her usual bran muffins(but we forgot to make donuts.)  We had more Creamies and Ice Cream Sandwiches than anyone should eat in one week's time.  We had lots of cousin time with E and S.  So fun.  Especially the silly cousin sleepover in Grandma's living room.  

We took some family pictures, went to church a few times, did some shopping, and just hung out.  We managed to buy school clothes and shoes, backpacks and some supplies (but the real trick was fitting them in the suitcases on the way home...especially when you consider that when I came earlier with the one checked bag, there were FOURTEEN pairs of shoes in my suitcase(mostly not mine.)  It took some seriously good packing skills to get it all home, with only one checked suitcase weighing under 50 pounds, and five carry-on bags.  IF they gave degrees for this sort of thing, I am pretty sure I would have a Masters by now, I tell you.) ;)

We were also able to see Starlight Express at Tuacahn.  It was a fun show, but I think the girls preferred Mary Poppins.  Their boy cousins thought the "train show" was more fun, though.  I loved it all.  I also loved the time just hanging out and playing games and talking with family.  The girls did, too--that was their favorite part of vacation.  We had a great time, as always.  It was hard to come back to "real life", but we were ready for some routine and to sleep in our own beds once again.  

We miss everyone so much already!

The Westward Trek, First Half

Okay, what kind of lame mom goes on vacation and doesn't take her camera?  This one.  Yep.  Ugh.  So lame.  But, the girls took their iPods, and King had his phone, so we did manage to capture some of the fun we had in Utah.  Plus, my family was kind enough to share a couple of pictures (or, rather, I stole them off of facebook.)  :)

I headed out a couple of days earlier than the family because the girls were at Girls Camp, and King had work to do.  It was fun to see my parents and spend some time with Emily and her boys before all the craziness began.  Friday we headed up to SLC and Grandpa D picked the exhausted family up from the airport.  (Poor girls---they came straight from Camp, and then got stuck in the Denver airport for four hours.  They were so tired!)

Saturday, Emily and Patrick were sealed in the Draper Temple.  So happy for them!  It was a special day!

That evening we had my Dad's family reunion.  It was so fun to see so many of my aunts, uncles and cousins.  I wish we had more time to visit and get to know each other better.  But mostly, I wish we lived closer to all of these wonderful people!

The next morning, we got up early and went to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the Music and the Spoken Word.  Awesome!!  It was so neat.  Then we walked around Temple Square and enjoyed the beauty and the stories Grandpa told us about an interesting meeting he got to go to in the Salt Lake Temple.

Monday morning the girls were off to Especially for Youth at BYU for a week!  The theme this year was Helaman 3:35:

 "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God."

The girls definitely grew firmer in their faith, and loved every second of the camp. It was a great time for them to share and learn, and grow their testimonies of Jesus Christ and His Gospel.  They met some great youth, and were able to spend time with our friend, Z, from Texas, too.

Meanwhile, King and I enjoyed seeing some friends and family and just having a little bit of down time.  We honestly didn't do a lot.  King worked, I rested, and we enjoyed a great 24th of July with my brother Nathan and his daughter, and my brother R.Jay, his wife Megan, and their son.  Relaxing and fun.

When we picked up the exhausted girls from EFY, we headed straight down to St. George.  The girls were ready for some down time.  We kept trying to get them to do more things, but they just wanted time to chill.  They had been going and going for weeks straight, and were glad for some "vacation" time.  We had fun playing games, watching movies, and just hanging out.  But, we also managed to be somewhat productive and got some school shopping done, as well as some temple work and lots of eating of good food. :)