Utah

Last week we drove up to Utah for a little vacation. N's nephew was being baptized and his sister got tickets for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House.

We spent Wednesday in the car. We had a small pit stop in Vegas because we were playing fed ex for my mom and delivered a birthday present to Adam. It was fun to see Allison, Adam and Grace and the kids enjoyed playing and breaking up the trip a little bit. I'll tell you, Adam has some great restraint. When we handed over his present he just put in on the counter and ran off to play. My kids would have ripped it open right then and there. Heck, I would have ripped it open right then and there.

The kids all traveled really well. K had two nosebleeds on the way up though. The first was self induced and the second was probably the first one aggravated by the elevation change. We arrived in Utah after dinner time (the drive took us 14 hours including an hour stop in Vegas and the hour time change). The kids played for a little bit and then we sent them to bed.

The kids in front of the Assembly Hall on Temple Square

Thursday N went to KSL for a tour and to "talk shop" with the head of the production department. He thinks he left a good impression. Luckily they aren't hiring right now or I think he'd have accepted any job they offered him! Not that it would be a bad thing; I'm just not ready to leave Arizona yet. While N was at KSL, the kids and I walked around Temple Square. We went through both Visitors' Centers and I took them to the top of the Church Office Building. They weren't impressed. H counted 6 brides while we were walking around all the gardens and fountains. The kids lasted about 2 hours and then they had had enough. Good thing N was done right around that time!

H and K playing Guitar Hero

N playing guitar heroM playing Guitar Hero

The kids and I spent the rest of the day outside playing on the swingset and the trampoline and N spent it inside playing guitar hero (he is now 100% converted). The weather was so beautiful. It was even a bit chilly. And, since the sun doesn't go down until 9pm during the summer we got lots of outside time.

Our family in front of the temple. You'll notice that we are not in Sunday clothes. That is because when we went to the Open House, we forgot to take pictures so we stopped by on another day.The Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Friday morning we went to the temple. It was amazingly beautiful (not that I expected different). H and K loved the font the most. M loved the Celestial Room. He started singing in there. I think he was just feeling the Spirit. Before going in we were shown a movie and given a little brochure explaining about the rooms in the temple. H liked to find each of the rooms in her brochure as we walked through. We all really enjoyed it. It makes me really excited to see the Phoenix Temple be built.

The kids on the trampoline.

The afternoon was spent outside again (and inside playing guitar hero by some). By this time, the kids and I were a lovely shade of pink from all of our outside endeavors. You'd think coming from AZ I'd know about sunscreen--sheesh.

The kids at the park after the baptism.

Saturday was the baptism. H was really excited to see her cousin get baptized. She later told me it was her favorite part of the trip. After the baptism everyone went to a park for lunch and to play. So much fun for the kids. It was windy and cold, but they still had a great time and didn't want to leave. At one point H told me that eating potato chips and running made her warm (I was wondering why she kept going back for more).

After the baptism, N and his nephews played more guitar hero and his mom, sister-in-law, niece and I went to Tai Pan Trading Co. I was the only one who didn't buy anything--and not because I didn't want to, either! Anyway, after dinner it was more outside time. This time I was able to convince N to come outside and play with us. The kids loved having him on the trampoline.

H and Regan

After dinner on Sunday we went to N's Aunt and Uncle's house. We visited with all his cousins and their kids. It was a lot of fun. H met Regan again (they met on our visit 3 years ago when they were almost 3). She is N's cousin's daughter. She and H were inseparable that night. Regan's mom got our address so Regan could write H a letter and H can't wait for it to come. As we were leaving that night, H started singing a song about how she would miss Regan and how they were BFFs.

M on the drive home.

Monday was our drive home. It was a L-O-N-G drive home. M cried virtually the whole way home. I think he wasn't feeling all that great and the elevation changes weren't helping. Luckily the other kids did fine.

After a day of laundry and unpacking, I think we are back to normal. We had such a great time and are looking forward to our next trip up there. Maybe in a couple of years.