Out West - Utah

(This post and the previous two are journaling from our trip out west in July. We had such a great time seeing family and friends in Idaho, Wyoming and Utah! Three weeks was a bit long for me, but better than not coming at all.)

When we arrived in Utah we went straight to Stephanie's house where we planned on staying for 5 days.

Here we are having a BBQ in Alpine with my parents and the Nielsen's. Bryant and the girls had a competitive water fight, and Kate tried to figure out the crawling thing.

As soon as we got over the stomach bug, Aubree came down with a really bad cold and croup and then shared it with Ellie and me. So, our plans to stay with Steph and Bryant were foiled. My parents graciously invited us to stay in their hotel room with them for the next few nights - and they took care of us. My parents have got to be some of the most giving people I know! They fed us, entertained us, took care of us, and so much more! 

One afternoon we met the Garretts (who were also visiting family in UT) and some of our Boston sister missionaries who have returned home and live in the Provo area. Sister Avery (by Ellie), Sister Ford (above Reese), and Sister Prezsler (by me). We LOVE our sister missionaries!

We spent a lot of time at Seven Peaks - I think we went four times. 

Ellie and Sophie

 Emma, Kali, and Carly (with photo bomber Scotty)

 Kissy face! (My Dad doesn't believe in kissy face and Kate forgot because she was zoning out.)

My parents took the girls to an art museum at BYU where they got to dress up in old fashioned outfits.

 For our last night in UT we spent the night at a hotel near the airport. As we were on the freeway to go to the hotel I passed a sign for the Temple Square exit and realized we hadn't stopped by while we were in UT. So, I quickly changed lanes and we took a very last minute trip to Temple Square - one of our favorite family spots! I so hope my girls have fond memories of all the time we've spent here and the spirit of this place.

Out West - Wyoming

We drove through Yellowstone to get to my parent's old stomping grounds in Wyoming. Aaron and I both grew up going to Yellowstone, but with somewhat different experiences. Aaron's family went there to go fishing, take pictures for his Dad's artwork, and just enjoy Yellowstone. For my family Yellowstone was never a destination, it was just the best way to get to Burlington, WY. So, we usually only stopped when needed, and my memories of Yellowstone will always include my mom's very annoyed remarks toward the people who stopped to look at the wildlife (specifically those who stop in the road to look at the wildlife). Either way, we both have fond memories of this great place and enjoy talking about our childhood memories while driving through. 

 At Yellowstone Lake
(As a little side note - Aubree did end up having Lyme Disease. Luckily we caught it early enough that one round of antibiotics did the trick and hopefully we won't be dealing with any long term side effects.)

I am so completely grateful for the beauty of this earth and to have all my senses to enjoy it with and to have this family of mine to share it with.

 At the Old Faithful Hotel

 One memory I have of driving through Yellowstone with my family is the story of the lost spectacles. We made a quick stop for my dad to use the bathroom at one of those outhouse type things. When my dad came out of the bathroom his glasses weren't on him. He told us that his glasses had dropped down the hole and that he would need Ryan to get them. He told Ryan that he would hold him by the ankles and lower him down into the hole. Of course Ryan was not excited about this idea and quickly suggested that he hold either Stephanie or me by the ankles because we were smaller and would fit better. After some begging and arguing over who would do it, my Dad laughed and pulled his glasses out of his shirt pocket. (Nice one Dad! I wish we would have thought to ask him HOW they dropped down the hole...)

 We made it to Cody, WY where we met my Dad's brother and his family and my Grandpa and his wife at a rental cabin. (Unfortunately Aubree, Ellie and I got the stomach bug while here, which held on through some of our time in Utah.)

Aaron and some of the guys went fishing

 Grandpa and many of his great-grandkids

 Grandpa and many of his grandkids (all of his biological grandkids)

 Dad, Grandpa and Uncle Larry

Grandpa, his sister, and Grandma Midge (grandpa's wife)

 Me, Aubree, Ryan and Stuart

It was so good to see all of my siblings (even if it was for only one night). Also that night my Dad and Larry stayed up and told some of us a bunch of stories from their youth - so wonderful and funny!

 Potluck lunch at the church's pavilion in Burlington. It was nice to see cousins and Aunts and Uncles on my Mom's side and of course my Grandma Henderson. She is such a sweet and hard working lady. (On Sunday morning before church she had a homemade strawberry pie ready as a breakfast dessert.) I LOVE Burlington! So many wonderful childhood memories. And the people in Burlington are such amazing, down-to-earth, hardworking people. I'm proud to have roots here and share heritage with many of the people here.

 Dad, Alan and Larry

 Paddle boating in a little reservoir near Burlington

And last but not least, we finally got to meet our newest cousin, Kate! What a cutie!

Sledding in Arlington, Mass. This is the park we play at when we go to the Temple. There is a beautiful view of Boston from this hill. 

 Carly got glasses in January. She was so amazed at the details she can now see.

 Aubree and I take playing house pretty seriously. I had a baby this day. I've never had such an easy (and short) pregnancy and delivery. Aubree is such a proud big sister.

Aubree is famous now. She was in the newspaper a few weeks ago. (Story time at the library)

Ellie was baptized by Aaron on March 1st. It was a beautiful service. There were several people from our little branch there and several friends and neighbors who aren't LDS. We were especially grateful that Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Leon, and Nanny Nette and Grandpa could be there.

This is the only picture I have of Leon and Kathy here with us. So sad! Aaron and Kathy are doing family history and Leon is reading scriptures (pretty typical).

 Also while the grandparents were here we went to Newport, RI to the National Museum of American Illustrators. We love Newport! My parents stayed in a hotel while Aaron's parents were here, so the girls got to spend a couple nights at the hotel and go swimming. After Aaron's parents left my parents moved in with us for the next week and a half. They cooked, cleaned, fixed up, did laundry, entertained and spent quality time with the girls.

We also went to Haverhill, Mass to see the statue of Hannah Dustin (my 11th great grandma on my Dad's side). I wrote a post about her here. We also got a little pamphlet that told us her story and also included a letter she wrote to her church when she was much older. It was so cool because she included some of her favorite scriptures in it, and specifically which scripture she had in her mind during her captivity - Psalm 43 and Psalm 118:7. She said, "… I am Thankful for my Captivity, twas the Comfortablest time that ever I had; In my Affliction God made his Word Comfortable to me…" We had a family home evening lesson a couple days after visiting her statue about how trials can bring us closer to Heavenly Father and he can comfort us during hard times.

One morning Grandpa saw Aubree sitting on this bench and she explained to him that she was in timeout. So Grandpa held her on his lap and told her about a time when he was a little boy and tried to carve something and ended up cutting his hand. He also told her about how life was sometimes hard for him too when he was a little boy and how he liked to have his Mom hold him close and she would bounce him on her leg. (Now I know why my Dad likes to bounce his grandkids on his lap.) It was so sweet to see my Dad hold her close and show her such love and sympathy.

The picture hanging above my Dad is a puzzle that Ellie sent to Nanny Nette and Grandpa for Christmas. After they put it all together, my Dad "engineered" it into about 8 pieces, plus edges, and sent it back to us to put together and keep. (They have no where to put it now that they're homeless.) So, we put it together and then I glued it and framed it for Ellie's birthday.


We LOVED having family here - we are so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents for our kids!

Utah with the Johnson Family

(Part II of our vacation out West)

It was so great to be back in Utah again - it almost felt like we had never left. We had so much fun playing with cousins seeing friends again. I've always loved and appreciated the mountains, so of course it was so wonderful to be in the shadow of the Wasatch Front again.

We drove through beautiful Park City to go boating with my family at Deer Creek Reservoir. I wish I had a video of the girls tubing with Kali, Emma and Sophie, with the music blasting from the boat and Scotty singing out at the top of his lungs to One Direction. It felt so good to be with family again!

 I don't know what this is called, but we saw some people doing this on the reservoir. It was pretty cool!

Driving home through Provo canyon was pretty spectacular! I love driving through the canyons with mountains towering on either side of you - never gets old!

 dinner with some siblings - Steph (sister) and Bryant, Ang (sister) and Jimmy, Aaron and I, and Ryan (brother)

 Sisters (minus one - Jen)

Going in to Seven Peaks water park

 We also got to meet up with our friends the Wibergs while in Utah - this is the only picture I have to prove it. We also saw our friends the Balwins and Hamiltons. It was so good to see them - it was like no time had passed!

 Had lunch on Temple Square with Nanny Nette and Grandpa. They work in the church office building in the Senior Missionary Dept.

 Camped out in Angela's backyard and had s'mores.

 Fancy tea party at Angela's with all these beautiful ladies and one good sir.

 FHE at Nanny Nette and grandpa's club house. Steph and Bryant revealed the gender of their baby. Above, the people who guessed it is a girl. Below, the people who guessed it is a boy.

And I was on the winning side - it's a GIRL!!! Yay, we are so excited for them!

 Aubree and Grandpa cuddling up. Even though my parents are living in this apartment while on their mission, it still felt like home just because they were there. They give us so much love and attention and it just feels so peaceful whenever we're with them.

And last but not least ...... (we actually missed this by a day so we listened in on speaker phone while driving home from the airport) ..... my nephew Brandon received his mission call to the Paris, France mission. We found out our first day in Utah that he had decided he wanted to serve a mission and I was so happy that it made me a bit emotional! He will leave in December. I am so proud of him and his decision to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He will be awesome - I just know it!

It was so good to be with family and be back home in Utah and Idaho! The first day back in CT was a little rough and we all felt homesick. But we'll get back into the swing of things ....