Salt Lake City

Our next outing is of course a visit to downtown Salt Lake City, Temple Square, shopping, and Deseret Book.  

We decided to take the train into the city.  The boys thought that was sooooo cool.

We met Alicia's family at City Creek Center Mall.  This mall was gorgeous.  It was like an outdoor mall, similar to one Tim and I visited in California near Stanford.  If the weather is not ideal, like snow or rain, the roof actually closes to make it an "indoor" mall.  Such a cool invention.The neatest part about it was that it had a river running through the middle of it with real fish.  You see Gavin, Ethan, and Avery getting a close up look at these fish.

Reid was just itching to get out and run around, but I kept him buckled and close to me at all times.

We stopped by the fountain.  It also had lots of water spouts that the kids enjoyed running around.

3 of my sissy's!  Love them to pieces.

And look at that beautiful temple behind me.  It's always such a pretty sight to see.  I'm always grateful to have been married inside it's sacred walls and to know my family is sealed for time and all eternity.  I love going back to Temple Square and remembering that special day when Tim and I said "I do" forever and always.  I'm a lucky gal.

Have we changed in almost 13 years?  I think so.  We have grown in love and grown in life together. Yes we have had quite the ride together and we are still 100% in love and dedicated to making our marriage and family stronger and stronger.

My gems!  My life!  My work! How sweet it is!

These two big guys melt my heart.  They have taught me so much about what it means to be a good mom and what it means to sacrifice for another.  Being a mom is the most humbling experience, but it is truly a wonderful journey.

Love to see these boys interact and hang out together.

We took a guided tour of the Conference Center and we were able to see some of the artwork we are so familiar with from the Book of Mormon right in front of us.  The amount of time, talent, dedication, and inspiration these pictures took was astounding.

My favorite part was being on the top of the conference center and overlooking the entire city. Sometimes being up high and seeing so much around me helps me to gain perspective and reflect on what's important in life.  In that moment I paused for a second to take in all the wonderful moments I was able to share with my family.  It made me miss Utah and being close to my family.  It also helped me to remember how blessed I've been since I left Utah and found my own life and had my own family.  Life is full of decisions and I can say I'm happy with the BIG ones I made.  They led me to great things and great blessings.

After our tour we made a stop at Deseret Book and then headed home.

The Aquarium

Our summer vacation would not be complete without a trip to an aquarium.  We've been to many- Monterrey Bay in California, Shedd's Aquarium in Chicago, Camden aquarium in Pennsylvania, and now we can add the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Utah to our list.  It DID NOT disappoint.  The boys thoroughly enjoyed every inch of aquatic and animal life held within these walls.

Xavier is of course wearing his shark necklace.  It will be a wonderful journey to see what these two amazing boys do when they are grown ups.  

Reid is still the newest fan of sharks, but definitely not the least enthusiastic about animals.  

Reid could have sat there all day just watching the animals swim.  

Gavin is another animal and shark lover.  He was so excited to watch the sharks in the big tank.

Tropical animals are so beautiful.  Their bright colors just scream HAPPY to me.

The twins are back together after three long years apart.  Man I sure wish we lived closer to each other.  

The boys LOVE poison dart frogs and were so ecstatic to see some in real life.   I think they were able to identify all of them by memory. 

Walking the bridge.  I opted for the picture-taker role.  

Xavier and Gavin behind him.

Even Reid did it without getting nervous.  

This is made out of all recycled material.  Pretty neat.  Art comes in so many forms.  I respect such creative minds that can make something beautiful for others to enjoy.  What an awesome talent to have.

Reid enjoyed petting the sea stars so much he fell in this pool.  It was a little scary!  But he turned out to be okay.

The tunnel of awesomeness!

The visit is complete and we had such a great time with everyone that came along.

The three stooges!  Another day complete and more shark memories to store in those curious minds.

Secret Lake

My entire family (minus Kendra and her family) was able to meet to go up the canyon and hike the trail around Secret Lake.  It was a perfect morning.  Not too hot, not too cold, baby blue skies, and the mountain air in our lungs.  There is nothing like nature to soothe a soul.  Being outdoors renews my spirit and refocuses my mind on what matters most.  On this outdoor trek I was surrounded by the PEOPLE I love most.

They wouldn't be boys if they didn't find the biggest rock to climb within seconds of getting out of the car.

More than any other visit to Utah I noticed how much harder it was to breathe for me.  I guess I've lived away from Utah long enough now that my body feels the change more than ever when I come back.

But it won't prevent me from experiencing this view!

The long line of kids, moms, and dads.

Now that's the best way to hike....on daddy's back.

Reid was trying every tactic to break out of his stroller.  Tim snapped a pic before I finally gave in and released him.

This is probably one of my all time favorite family photos.  I love the clouds and the mountains in the background and my awesome family all smiles. Reid loved watching the ducks swim by.  At one point he was on his stomach reaching out as far as he could that he almost went swimming with the ducks.

I remember these two little love birds snuggling like this when they first met.  The flame is still alive.

The kids found this cool climbing spot.  No fear in these kids, only ready to experience the adventure that lies ahead.

Our three sons......sometimes I look at all three and think holy cow, those three are mine.  Whoa!

Who would have thought a simple Utah girl would meet an amazing Michigan boy, fall in love, get married, have three handsome boys, and still be together after 13 years.  Well, it's a better fairytale than I could have written for myself when I was young and free.  I surely will be loving this man forever and always.

After our hike we sat down and ate a picnic lunch.

Reid crashed.

After some of us were done eating, we did some fishing with Naysa and Lance.  No such luck in catching anything, but it was worth trying.

After our hike and lunch, Eric thought it would be a great idea to take us on a scenic drive through the mountains.  I thought this was fantastic.  When I come back to visit Utah I can't get enough of the breathtaking beauty the mountains offer.  So of course we were all game to follow this plan.  That is until we got to a point in our drive where we were on a one lane road for both directions of traffic and basically a cliff with a drop off of I don't even know how many feet on the right side of me.  I literally had a panic attack.  I DO NOT like being that close to an edge of any height.  I remember my heart about to jump out of my chest and having to close my eyes.  Forget the beautiful view I was ready to have Tim let me out so I could walk down the rest of the mountain.  Gavin happened to be behind me and had the same exact reaction.   I remember hearing him grab the door and say "Mom! Dad!" in the most terrified voice I've ever heard.  He and I closed our eyes until we reached a point where the road widened and we were done zig zagging and spiraling down the skinny mountain road.  We made it down the mountain!!! Hallelujiah!  Thankfully Tim is a great driver and he had a handle on the wheel and his wits.  We would have been goners if I were driving.

Oh flat ground with no cliffs how I love you!  My sense of adventure is not what it used to be.

When we got home we hung out on the porch chatting.  All of a sudden the sprinklers came on.  It's summer, why not run through the sprinklers in regular clothes? This was probably one of my favorite memories of our trip.  All the kids were laughing and playing happily.  It was pure spontaneous joy oozing out of these kids bodies.  

Gavin sure let himself go and just have fun.  Summer is the best!

Reid is never shy about jumping into the middle of the mischief.

Now that face is intense.

Do we have to go back to Pennsylvania?  Can't we just stay here forever?  I wish!

Uncle Derek made a visit to see us too.  After growing up with 5 sisters this poor guy finally gets some buddies to chill with on the couch.  He is no longer outnumbered.  It's about time he had some recruits on his side.

The next day was our day trip to COWABUNGA BAY!  

Now I'm not usually a fan of water parks because every slide you go on is snuggie central and I'm not a fan of lots of people I don't know surrounding me in a pool.  Not to mention I'm not a great swimmer.  

BUT I will have to say that this place had me converted.  We had blast.  All of us went on ALL of the water slides. The best part about the water slides is that they didn't dump you into a big pool of water.  The slide just ended at the bottom and you climbed out.  I didn't have to worry about my boys limited swimming expertise because they didn't have to do it at the end of the slide.  The wait for each slide wasn't too bad either.  We just went on one slide after another after another.  Reid usually rode on my lap or Tim's.  At almost 2 years old I thought he was a brave little guy.

This place reminded me of the board game Mouse trap.  It was very colorful and bright.  

 The warm pool was a nice stop to just hang after all our sliding fun.   

This has been probably our most fun trip to Utah.  We definitely made the most of each moment we had with our family.