This trip to Utah was so BIG I had to split into a two-parter (Blogger couldn't handle over 100 pictures in a single post).
Emily signed up to participate in a mud run with her siblings. We originally talked about flying her down for the weekend and having some good quality time with her family. The more we looked at it, we realized one of her travel days would be on our anniversary. So then we thought about everyone driving down mid week or something. Then thought, hey, why don't we just go down for the 4th and stay the week and a half? So, that's what we did. We also roped Meemaw into agreeing to watch our kids for a couple of days so Emily and I could have some alone time to celebrate our anniversary.
FRIDAY - 3 JULY
We left the morning of July 3rd. We weren't really in any hurry as we were stopping in Meridian, ID for the night. The kids travel pretty well, which makes it pretty easy-going. It helps that where Cambri sits in the car, she can see the screen that shows how much time is left, so she doesn't have to ask me every 14 minutes.
We stopped in Pendleton, OR for some McDonald's.
Bristol was so happy to not be strapped into her car seat for a bit.
We arrived in the afternoon. Emily had a goal of visiting a temple every day during our trip, so our first stop was the Meridian Temple.
It has some pretty cool landscaping around it, including a nice pond out to the side.
Not too far away was a Taco Bell, so we headed there for dinner. This was probably the worst Taco Bell I've ever been to. It was really hot inside, the fountain drinks were warm, the food took forever, and the portion sizes were insulting.
It's always cute to see Crewe take care of Bristol, though.
We then checked in to the hotel and just relaxed for the rest of the evening.
* * *
SATURDAY - 4 JULY
We made sure to get the kids good 4th of July outfits to celebrate the 250th birthday of our great nation.
'Murica.
We drove the few hours it took us to Brigham City, where we would be spending our day. We met up with Meemaw at yet another McDonald's (which had no AC in the play area). The kids were just loading up on the World Cup Squishmallows.
Crewe boy again taking care of Bristol.
The Brigham City temple wasn't too far away, so we drove over for a quick visit.
The grounds were closed since it was a holiday, but we still got a good little walk in, before Crewe tried to get too close to the street.
It was fun to drive around Brigham and point out all the different places Emily spent time as a teenager. We also drove by her old house and probably creeped out the current owners who were sitting outside.
We then made our way over the splash pad, which is where Emily's siblings and their kids would soon meet up with us for a picnic dinner.
These kids love a good splash pad. We were all still getting used to the heat.
The kids were going back and forth between the splash pad and the playground. Crewe found something enjoyable about covering his feet with the wood chips.
Gradually, everyone arrived and we all enjoyed some sandwiches.
And chips.
And shared some fruit.
We then headed over to Pioneer Park for the fireworks.
Crewe found the stash of licorice that Damon and Sarah brought along.
The kids also tapped into the cotton candy as well.
As it was starting to get darker, the sparklers came out. Aunt Shannon and Sarah were nice enough to help the kids out with those.
"Freedom!"
"Liberty!"
"Start your engines!"
"USA! USA!"
"Play ball!"
I tried to capture Harlow writing her name or doing something, but I wasn't fast enough.
It got dark enough and the show could begin.
They were all captivated by the fireworks. It was honestly one of the best firework shows I think I've ever seen. It was pretty good.
Afterwards, we loaded everyone up in the car and drove up to Logan to spend the night at Damon and Sarah's house.
* * *
SUNDAY - 5 JULY
We woke up and were treated to a nice breakfast put on by Damon and Sarah. The kids were then ready and eager to go out and play in the dirt.
As we were walking out to the shaded area under the tree, I saw Hadley hitting some plastic balls off a tee. So, I teed one up and cranked a line drive that drilled Emily in the back of her shoulder. She isn't going to let me forget this. I freakin' crushed it, though. She was like 50 feet away.
Anyway, all those toys, and the kids just wanted to move some dirt.
We then got the kids changed into their swimsuits and puttered around the pool for a bit. Shooting each other with squirt guns and pelting each other with silicone water balloons.
Meanwhile, Damon had set out to local shop to pick up some sandwiches for lunch. They also made mac n cheese for the kids.
This all wore the kids out pretty well.
In the afternoon, we headed down to Bountiful and the AirBnb we would stay in for the week. On our way, we stopped by the Layton temple and took a picture with everyone awake and/or willing to get out for one.
* * *
MONDAY - 6 JULY
On Monday morning, we drove down to Sandy to spend a couple of hours at Aunt Sherry's.
The kids were treated to a number of popsicles and ice cream bars.
Larry and TJ also went and grabbed some Little Caesar's.
It was great to see them and have a good visit.
We then made our way over the Aunt Shannon's house.
Meemaw brought over her inflatable water park thing, which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. With this heat, you can't have enough water activities.
Meanwhile, Aunt Shannon was slaving away in the kitchen making dinner for everyone. She served red beans and rice, as well as shrimp sauce piquant. The dinner was awesome. I'm a sucker for some good red beans and rice.
After that settled, it was time to bust out the root beer floats.
On the way back to the Airbnb, we drove by the Bountiful Temple. The kids were being a bit annoying, so Emily and I jumped out for a picture real quick.
* * *
TUESDAY - 7 JULY
The next day, we loaded up and headed down to Thanksgiving Point. The kids spend quite a while at the jungle-themed area.
It became increasingly difficult to keep track of all the kids, but I at least had Bristol, who wasn't going to get far.
They had different areas with puzzles and illusion-type stuff. Cambri seemed to enjoy that one a lot.
They also spent a good chunk of time at the professions-themed area. They even had little lab coats to dress up like a veterinarian and treat the stuffed dogs.
Crewe was drawn to the car garage.
We then finished off at the water and wind area.
This was also a favorite.
Crewe and Bristol especially enjoyed the water table.
Hey, a Hadley sighting! She was moving around so much it was hard to get any pictures of her.
Crewe and Bri sucking up some of that water. Could it be worse than bath water?
We all headed over Chick-Fil-A for lunch, then it was on down to Provo for us.
Any chance we get, we like to go on campus and walk around. It the was so hot this day, that the walking around was pretty much limited to going from the car to the bookstore, then to the creamery, and then back to the car.
The bookstore now includes a pretty cool slide down Y Mountain.
It was nice, because it allowed us to rest, and kept the kids occupied for a good ten minutes.
We then headed over to the newly built Creamery on Ninth. Even for a Tuesday afternoon, it was stupid busy. So instead of ice cream, we treated the kids to some chocolate milk.
Cookies and Cream was the unanimous favorite.
We then drove around and pointed out all the different places we lived and spent our time. We then swung by the Provo City Center Temple. I think the kids were all asleep at this point or just flat our refused to leave the cool AC in the car.
We then drove up to Orem to pay Gma and Gpa Christensen a quick visit.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing at the Airbnb. The kids got a kick out of the robot lawn mower. It was actually pretty sweet.
To be continued...
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