The Last Week....

We left Darla and Brian's house around noon on Saturday. We met Katelyn at my aunt Laurie's house in Highland so we could swim with a few cousins that I haven't seen in years. My cousins kids happened to be visiting and they are my kids ages. They had a great time paddling around in the water. And drinking all the pop they could. And indulging in various types of Popsicles. Laurie told me that the perks of being a grandma is that you never say "no". Hmmm. I imagine sometimes that isn't too great of a "perk".

We left Laurie's bringing Katelyn with us. Headed to downtown Salt Lake City. Home of stuff I wanted my kids to experience. And the place I'd arranged to meet some girlfriends for dinner. I threw Kate into a lion's den. A hotel room with my 5 tired, hungry kids and a bag full of McDonalds. (I owe her BIG TIME). I headed off on foot to Gateway Mall. Alone. And excited to see some girls that helped me through some tough years. They were all sitting at a table in front waiting for me. We gabbed about everything for 30 minutes before we realized we hadn't even looked at a menu. That's how easy it is to be with these girls. We all came from various states and cities to visit family and arranged to meet. None of us had our husbands with us on our "vacations". Medical school does that. We ate, shopped,and talked until the stores closed. And we had to return to our kids. I had my camera in my purse this entire vacation. Except for that night. You'll just have to picture us lined up in front of Ben and Jerry's window posing while one of the employees took our picture and another employee leaped behind us trying to get in the shot. (Because none of these girls have emailed the photos they took. Not like I could figure out how to get it off my email and onto this post even if they had). A great night.

The next morning I had grand plans of touring Temple Square with my kids and maybe even letting them play in the fountains at Gateway. Only. They were wiped out. Still. Lack of sleep had seriously caught up to them. After breakfast all they wanted to do was watch TV in the hotel room. Bo-ring. But I relented. We had plans that night and I figured why fight this battle.

After some laying around, we headed to Provo. We checked into another hotel with my parents, Ben & Jena, Katelyn, Lyndsey & Brian and her two kids. Then headed up to Provo Canyon for my Grannies 80th birthday party celebration. All of her kids, her grand-kids, and even her great-grand kids were in attendance. Minus only 2. Pretty cool celebration for one cool Granny. The kids played in copious amounts of dirt

with cousins they didn't even know existed but loved anyway.

I was able to get one group shot of just my immediate family. My kids were thrilled.
After I gave my kids the 10 minute warning for our departure, we heard sirens. A wreck in the canyon. Traffic backed up locking us in for 3 hours. We decided to enjoy our time and take a little hike to the falls. At the top the kids had a seat. My five + Lyndsey's two. Quite the cute little group.

Then just the girls. Lyndsey, Me, Kate, and Jena. (and my 9 year old that was so over being in the canyon. I was so over being his mother at this point too.)A late night back to the hotel to rest up for the next big day coming our way. Seven Peaks Water Park. Promising fun for all ages, and to gouge your pocketbook. We had a GREAT time. Thanks to all the aunts and uncles willing to tote my young ones up and down slide after slide. It made the day really fun. For all. But no food in the park. So my brother Ben and I snuck out to buy pizza and pop for us to eat on the front lawn. Outside the gates. Like law abiding citizens. Can you tell by my pictures which of my children weren't relentlessly dragging around relatives slide to slide?



The next day we were leaving town. Only us girls had big plans. The little girls started the morning by chasing each other down the halls of the hotel. Lily and Presley are just over a month apart in age. It was fun to watch them interact with each other.

Then we headed over to Grannies. Because at the celebration I wasn't able to see her, I thought I'd take my brood over to say goodbye.

The standard 4 generation shot. We are all the oldest child in our families.

We said our good-byes. And then parted ways. Even with the boys. Us girls were headed to Park City for a day of shopping. My Dad was willing to drive my boys home with him. Lovely. My girls came with me. Of course. I only took one picture. Right when we arrived and got a pretzel to hold us until dinner time. (My mom was also with us. She was just refilling her Diet Coke at the time.) No time for pictures when there are sales involved. I made out like a bandit. And only cried one tear when I found the pants I was actually wearing were significantly cheaper at the Gap Outlet than they were at the Gap purchased only the day before.

After our fun day we all headed back to Idaho to spend the rest of the week. We just enjoyed hanging out together. Presley experienced some new foods.

And the babes became better friends.

It was good to see people we hadn't seen in awhile. For some it's been years. Parents. Thanks for letting us crash your pad for a few weeks. And taking such good care of us. It made the looooong drive worth it.