Utah Trip 2015--Part 1

We really enjoyed our end of summer trip to Utah this year.  I spent the day on Thursday, Aug. 6 packing and getting things organized so we could head to Jamie's in Dallas that evening.  Thanks to some help with the kids (thanks Ashley!), I was able to get everything packed up and the house mostly cleaned before Dan got home.  He helped me load up the car and we hit the road around 5:30.  We got to Jamie's around 9:30 and headed to bed around 10 pm (we didn't even see Jamie!  they were at a play til late).  We hit the road early, around 6 am and made good time.  We arrived in Parker, CO to spend the evening with one of Dan's childhood friends and his family.  They were such gracious hosts--they fed us dinner, the kids all played together, and they put us up for the night.

Peter and Dan on Aug. 7...

We slept pretty good and got on our way early again, near 6:30.  We arrived in Bountiful just after 3 pm and were so excited to be done in the car!
That day was my birthday (31! woot woot) and after a nice dinner, most of Dan's siblings and their families came over to say hi and eat cake and ice cream. 

We went to Heather's ward on Sunday and I really enjoyed both the break from nursery and the chance to be with Dan for Sunday School.  Dan's parents were at a farewell for his cousin for most of the day, so we spent the afternoon with Heather and she even fed us dinner after picking up her husband Randy from the airport (he was getting back after a business trip).  We headed back to Dan's parents' house after dinner and enjoyed the evening playing games and talking together.

On Monday we spent the day in Provo and had a great time reminiscing about our BYU days and taking the kids by our old hangouts.  Before heading down to Provo, Dan broke out his old trumpet and played for the kids.  He was a little rusty, but was able to remember a few songs.  The kids loved it.  Jack just laughed and laughed anytime Dan played.  Each kid took a turn blowing in it.  Candy got a good sound on her first try!

Grandma also was winning the hearts of the grandkids by sharing her iPad with them.  There was some cupcake making game that my girls LOVED.  It totally captivated them.

Once we got to Provo, we started at the Provo temple.  I don't always think of Provo as the prettiest temple, but the flowers when we were there were just breathtaking and I couldn't take enough pictures.  It was beautiful!

Brooke is getting better at taking pics!

There were MTC missionaries all over the place and we kept our eyes peeled just in case my brother Tyler made an appearance!  We found out later that he was in class during the time we were looking for him.  It was crazy to be so close to him and not get to see him!

Here are Dan and the kids outside the MTC...

We stopped by our old Wymount quad (possibly the last time we'll see it--I think it will be torn down soon!).  I loved seeing that while a lot had changed, the kids' toys in the playground area were still familiar :).

The 3rd floor balcony was ours!  389 Wymount 6D

We grabbed lunch at J Dawgs near campus (which Dan and I loved and our kids HATED--they were not fans of the "special sauce").  After lunch, we headed to the Hinckley building to catch our guided golf cart tour of campus.  There was a 10 minute movie about the history of BYU and then we set off on the golf cart with our guide.  We loved seeing campus and our kids were happy campers hanging in the cart.  It took just under an hour.

Then we headed to the BYU bookstore, picked some treats and a t-shirt to send over to Tyler (BYU pack and ship delivers same-day to the MTC for $2!), and had some creamery ice cream at the CougarEat.  On a whim, we decided to take the kids bowling in the basement of the WILK and it was a blast!  They loved it.  And with a little help from the bumpers, I bowled the best game of my life!  143 baby.  I beat Dan by 9 points.  Brooke and Candy used a ramp thing to roll their balls, but Megan was determined to throw hers by hand and by the end she was getting better!

After dinner we headed to Nate and Steph's house!  We just love them and their family and had so much fun.  We chatted; I got to tour their beautiful home; our kids all ran wild; we ate a delicious dinner; we even got in some Pinochle.  And didn't take a single picture.  But that's ok, we had a blast.  Our kids were still up when we headed back to Bountiful just after 10 pm!  So late for them!  But it was worth it!