Our Adventure out West! Week 1
Saturday we had a nice brunch at my brother-in-law's house and it was great to see him and his wife after 5 years. We met our niece and nephew and my kids were so sweet with them and quickly became their favorites. Then we went to see Space Jam 2 and then we went to Golden to explore and have dinner. Lots of people were floating on the creek, which looked so fun, so we got some tubes too. Sunday we went to church and it was a wonderful experience. The ward was so friendly and welcoming and it lifted my soul to worship with them. I have felt very lonely in my testimony the last few months and it was such a strength to be among a group of people I didn't know but who have the same convictions and beliefs as I do. We sang The Spirit of God, which I had also chosen for our ward to sing that day, and I felt so unified with them and grateful for a world-wide church--it was really beautiful. We had brunch at my mother-in-law's house and then went to Boulder to float down the creek there. The problem was that it was much faster and rockier than the one in Golden. We kept hitting our bums on the rocks and once Brandon flew out of my tube and once we got stuck in a waterfall. It was a bit stressful and the water was super cold which didn't bother me but Brandon and Emma were shivering pretty quickly. Still it was beautiful and I'm glad we did it but it wasn't quite the floating experience we had anticipated and the little kids didn't last long. We'll always remember Boulder though! There was also a festival going on that day and man, pot is everywhere so we didn't hang around once we got out of the creek. We went back to Zac's for a cookout and it was nice.
Monday morning we rented a car and continued our journey westward. We took I-70 for the scenery and it took a long time to get through some construction but the canyons we drove through were beautiful. The first half of the drive really was so pretty and I kept telling the kids to look out the window. Then we hit Grand Junction (nothing too grand about it if you ask me) and then it was eastern Utah desert for awhile (pretty ugly and so hot). Then we cut up through Price canyon and it got prettier again. Once we hit civilization and got on I-15 things were good again and it was so great to be back in a place that has so many wonderful memories for me. We got to Cindy's house and had dinner and Debbie had flown in from Michigan so it was great family time.
Tuesday we spent all day in Provo. We walked all around campus and told the kids all sorts of stories and saw the new buildings and even explored the new MAGICC lab where Josh had worked but is now all redone. I think we did a good job of opening up their eyes to all the possibilities for learning as we talked about each building and walked through them. Lily and Josh even went and asked questions about design majors at the dean's office. We had lunch at Brick Oven pizza with my nephews and then went back to the student center to shop at the BYU store and get mint brownies. It was a great day. I really loved my time at BYU and feel so inspired whenever I'm there.
Wednesday we spent the day in downtown Salt Lake. We toured the conference center and the tabernacle and the assembly hall. Temple Square is pretty torn up but it was still great to be there and see what is going on and it definitely made an impact on my kids. We went to Deseret Book and looked around and got a Crumbl cookie and BYU chocolate milk and it was delicious. Later that afternoon we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon for a picnic. Of course that was the only time in months it had rained in Utah so it messed us up a bit but we ended up taking shelter under a ski lift and had our picnic there. Then we walked around Silver Lake while it was drizzling and it was really pretty. I really enjoyed the time with my sisters and the kids had some good cousin time. Cindy's kids are pretty quiet so it took awhile for our kids to click but it did finally end up happening and that made me happy.
Thursday we went up to Ogden and spend the day with our friends, the Myers and the Watsons. Josh and the bigger kids met the guys at the airplane museum at Hill and the girls and I with the little kids hung out at Shelly's house and talked all day long. It was so fun. We had a big lunch together and then the kids did a water slide thing outside while the six adults sat under a tree and just talked all afternoon. Then we ate some more and talked some more and it was just so wonderful. The kids all played well together, except it was awkward for Lily, but Emma and Rosie were best friends by the end of the day and Curtis had really enjoyed his time with Riley, Kale, Charlie and Pete. It was great to reconnect and I love them both so much. We had such a great talk and Rob even said how normal it felt to all be together even though it has been six years since they moved. I think they are our people for life. We left around 8 pm and drove up to Cindy's cabin in Ogden canyon.
Friday we spent all day at the beach on the reservoir right by Cindy's cabin. It was chilly but not freezing water and had pretty views. We used our tubes to float around and we also rented jet skis for the day so that kept us busy. We all just rotated turns and it was fun. I was a pretty slow driver the first time when Brandon was with me but then I went by myself and felt more comfortable going faster. I took Emma out later and still didn't go as fast as the guys were going but we had fun. Curtis hopped on the back of a jet ski whenever it was empty and Emma and Lily ended up going with Uncle Greg and they both loved it after that. He left them drive and went super fast and was really fun with them. Brandon loved it too (he had fun rides with his cousins) and my kids have been asking when we'll get to do it again. Lily also did some paddle boarding and got pretty good. Timothy and Mitchell were there and Debbie and so besides our favorite missionary, Ethan, all three of our families were together that day. 3/5 sisters and families is pretty good. It was a super fun day. Cindy's cabin is so nice and the room we had made us feel like we were in a resort. It was great!
So fun!!! I can’t wait to take my kids out west one day and show them around BYU too!
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