Utah 2011

This July we drove to SLC to visit family.  I just couldn't bring myself to spend over $1500 on plane tickets and then have to rent a car.  So, who can say "roadtrip!"?  We left on a Thursday night after Ben got off work and drove to Decator, TX (about 5.5 hrs).  Friday we drove to Farmington, NM which was about 13.5 hrs in the car.  Saturday we made it to my parents house by 5 pm.  The trip confirmed what I already knew, that my kids don't sleep in cars.  Even Liam would only take two 45 min naps.  Noah and Owen not even a drowsy nod and Winston would give us about one 30 min. nap.  Despite a trip to the dollar store and half price books movies were the only thing that kept Liam from crying for hours-literally.  But we survived the trip there and mostly survived the trip home.  Although emotional scars for me and Ben are still fresh.

We mostly played with cousins and went on fun outings.  Ben flew back 36 hrs after we got there so I was a single mama on vacation for 2 weeks.  Here are some fun photos.

Notice 6 smiling faces??  This is on the way there.

It took an hour to dig the car out.  Then we had to vacuum it which took a while.

4th of July in Huntsville at my sisters house.

BBgun safety via Papa.

Cousins at the zoo.

Clowns in a dino egg.

We took the tram to the top of Snowbird-loads of snow, 11,000ft elevation and 60 degrees=heaven

They boys loved their new UofU shirts, especially when I told them President Monson went to the U and
showed them a video of him singing the Utah fight song.

Little martians

Temple square

Hike with Grandpa up Bell Canyon-we thought about sending him alone with all 9 grandkids but...

Jet skiing at Pineview.  Winston was an animal and would say "let's go speedy speedy grandpa."  My hesitant child lost all fear on a jet ski.

Dinner up Millcreek canyon with everybody-this is uncle Joel, Tait, Owen and Kate.  All born the same year.

Doing a beetle dance.

Wake surfing with Uncle Joel.  He was able to get the 4 neices and nephews up with him.  My two loved it at least.

Getting ready for the big Triathlon at Scofield, UT

Good finish but terrible swim due to COLD water, 8000ft and bad asthma attack.  But he finished an Olympic length tri one year post ACL replacement.

Kids staging area.  Ben and I swam with the boys. The water really was cold and they wouldn't have made it being warm flatlanders.  We couldn't touch the bottom for 80% of the swim.  They said they would do it again however.

Owen's finish.

Noah's finish

This somehow got out of order but like father like daughter.  My sister took Noah out in the canoe on Pineview and capsized them while trying to reach something floating in the water.  Everytime I went sailing with my dad growing up he always dumped me in the lake.  Noah was a good sport and thougth it was fun.  Uncle Mark had to swim out to resuce them.