Utah Trip July 2011 - Part One

This year we went to Utah for the Fourth of July and had a blast.  It was so nice to get out of the Phoenix sun and to enjoy time with my family.  We did so many fun things while we were there.  My only regret is not being able to spend even more time with friends and family we love.

We rented a car this time to drive up.  There were two reasons for this.  One, our car has a history of breaking down on road trips and we really didn't want to get stuck in the desert.  Two, my mom graciously offered to let us take her van back to Phoenix so we could haul a twin mattress down here for Tommy.  It was so fun to drive a nice little car and to know that we didn't have to clean it at the end of the day:)  The drive went well.  Tommy was a real trooper and even went potty in the public restrooms on the way.  We played lots of games and kept Tommy happy by having one of us sit in the back with him most of the way.

We had a really fun Fourth this year.  It started at about 6:00 am when Ben and I drove down to Provo so I could run a 10 K at BYU.  We were a little bit late and ended up walking up 900 East just as the race started.  We could see all the runners coming from Kiwanis Park onto 900 East running away from us.  I started to cry because we had driven all that way and then I missed the start.  We kept walking up the road, though, and Ben encouraged me to go ahead and run the race anyway.  I started about 10 minutes after the official start and I couldn't see any other runners ahead of me.  I was kind of embarrassed to be so far back and to be running slow anyway because I was 14 weeks pregnant, but I went ahead and finished the race.  I ran completely by myself for about two miles before I started passing some of the slower joggers and walkers.  It was fun once I started, though, and the race volunteers were so nice they even stopped traffic just for little old me.  It felt great to be able to run outside with the backdrop of the mountains to the east.  It was beautiful and I loved every minute of it.

Later that evening we went to my brother, Wes', house for dinner and to watch fireworks.  They live right by Thanksgiving Point, so there is always a good firework show to see.  This year aerial fireworks were legal in Utah.  It was quite the party.  Many families were having parties in Wes' neighborhood and so the sky was lit up from every direction.  The kids (and adults) loved it.  Tommy was kind of shell shocked and talked about the loud fireworks and the pops the entire drive back to my mom's house.  We had a great time and were grateful to get to spend the evening with my entire family.  Below is a video of the grandkids throwing Pops with Grammy and one of the kids playing football together.

The next morning we went shopping at the mall with my mom.  She bought Tommy some new pajamas with cars on them, took him for a train ride, and bought him a cookie.  He was a happy camper.

The next day we went to Wheeler Farm with Jamie and the kids.  I really wish we had something like that here in Phoenix.  It's free to walk around and look at the animals.  The kids loved it.  We got to see cows, chickens, horses, goats, rabbits, and ducks.  Tommy's favorite thing was sitting on the tractors.  He could have done that all day long.  Maybe I need to buy an old tractor for the backyard that he can sit on and pretend to drive:)

Tommy driving a tractor.

The kids looking at cows.

Feeding the ducks with Grammy.

Our next activity was going to the mountains to eat doughnuts and play.  I remember as a kid that we used to go to a picnic area and eat those cheap Hostess powdered sugar doughnuts and drink chocolate milk.  That's just what we did in the mountains and I wanted to do it with Tommy.  We all packed down several doughnuts and then we went exploring.  Salt Lake has had a really wet winter and spring so the river was higher and faster than I have ever seen it before.  There were sand bags all along the path.  In the video below of Ricky and Tommy throwing sticks in the river you can see some trees on the left that aren't usually in the middle of the river.  It was crazy and a little scary to watch the kids right along the rushing river, but we had a great time.  We found a cave that Ricky and Sadie explored, we climbed on rocks, and we threw sticks into the river.  Thanks to Ricky and Sadie for gathering sticks and branches for the kids:)  They could have stayed there all day long!

 

Miraculously we got a picture of all three kids smiling at the same time.  The secret?  Just say "poop" and they all start laughing.

Jamie, Makayla, Ricky, Sadie, Tommy, Me, and Jarom.
 
My mom with her three favorite people:  Makayla, Tommy, and Jarom.

I love in this next video how Tommy is trying to eat his doughnut while running. Never mind the piece he drops on the ground and then eats:) I'm so glad the cousins love playing together.