A Lovely Trip to Utah

Ben and I are learning to smile through tears and tantrums

It is never easy to travel with children.  Ever.  However, thanks to Ben's mom and sister the process was much more enjoyable.  The kids were definitely off schedule and out of their routine, but we still managed to have a wonderful trip and make some fun memories.  

The plane ride out there felt like it would never end but looking back it really wasn't that bad.  We pulled Jax through the airports in his car seat (shown below).  Not the best of pictures and I'm not sure what Sadie is up to - but, you get the idea.

We didn't arrive until very late on Tuesday.  By the time the kids were both asleep it was 3:30 AM, which is 5:30 AM Florida time.

On Wednesday I went with Christy and the family to the temple while Ben stayed in Heber with the kids.  That evening we had a Johnson get together.

Sadie and cousin Logan playing together in the afternoon

Sadie and cousin Jadyn enjoying a little photo shoot.

Thursday we met Kurt and Des at an Indian restaurant in Provo.  We arrived a little early so we had a mini photo shoot....

Sadie reminds me so much of Ben's mom, Cliffie.

He is growing up so quickly!

Love, love, love his smile

That evening we went to Matt's house for a get together.  He has a fun loft in his house and we had a blast throwing frisbee-type-hats around all evening.

On Friday (day of reception) we didn't need to be in Provo until the afternoon/evening so we went to Zermatt, a resort type place in Heber, for gelato and a carousel ride.

Sadie shown above drooling over the gelato.

Sadie wasn't quite sure what to think of the carousel ride.

She was trying to put on a brave face in the picture above.

Ben switched her to a horse, but she wasn't so fond of that either.

We had planned to ride the carousel a few times but Sadie felt like one ride was plenty.  So instead we went and admired the large bear statue in the parking lot.  She loved that!

On Saturday we needed to be in Provo for the brunch and sealing.  Cliffie and Natalie were kind enough to watch the kids for us all day - thank you, thank you, thank you!

That evening we had a great time eating delicious tacos and decorating Easter eggs back in Heber.  Side note - Ben's grandma, mom, and aunt/uncle all have homes next door to each other.  So, my parents stayed in the basement of Grandma Doris, Kimmy and us stayed in Cliffie's basement, and Mike and Sarah stayed in Auntie Nancy and Uncle Richard's basement.  It was great fun to all be together! 

We didn't start decorating eggs until probably 10PM.

Sadie had a great time - of course!

Easter morning Sadie did a quick check to see if the Easter Bunny had come - he had! (Or is it she had?).  Then we headed off to church.

Ben, Mike, Sarah, and Ethan flew our that day.  I cried like a baby when Ben left.  We may be slightly overly attached to each other.  But, I still had lots of family to keep me company and help with the kids.

Troy and Becky came over that evening and we had a little Easter egg hunt with Jadyn and Sadie.

I'm so in love with this baby!

Monday was nice and layed back.  Cliffie and Natalie had to work, and Kimmy and my parents went to Provo during the day.  

We enjoyed FHE at Nancy and Richards where we all gorged ourselves on Auntie Nancy's amazing cooking and then everyone shared their conversion stories.  It was a wonderful evening!

Tuesday morning we woke up to 6 inches of snow.  We were sad to part with family but I was ready to return home and see Ben.  We had a very turbulent flight; but, despite what I thought at the time, we did in fact end up surviving.

Special thanks to Natalie and Cliffie for their hospitality and loving us through our chaos!  We can't wait until the next time we'll get to see you!!