Pit Stop in Utah

So we're in Colorado now! These past 2 months have been a real blur. I haven't sat down to write any posts since my "Disney Family" post. All of the posts after that were pre-scheduled, so I feel like it's been a while!!

We moved at the end of June, and with the hecticness of the time, I am sad to report that I didn't get pictures a few things:

* us saying goodbye to our friends in So Cal,

* my cute cousin Brynne & her husband Tanner coming over to help us pack our cabinets & bookshelves while cracking us up with their stories,

* Tyler's ninja mom packing my entire kitchen in a matter of hours and cleaning the rooms of my house faster than I could pack a box.

* our ghetto hotel room in Victorville that was straight out of an episode of 24,

* our U-haul issues from Vegas to Veil (I'll leave it at that or else this post will get way too long).

Just know that we are enjoying our time here in CO so far. Hallelujah! I will take a couple of posts to journal some family time we enjoyed in the midst of our move.

So... On our way to Colorado we stopped in Utah. Tyler's parents graciously let us park our Uhaul in their driveway while we visited some extended family for a few days before heading over to Colorado.

The big mountain in the back of this picture below is Mt Timpanogos. It's one of my favorite sights in Utah--just a gorgeous place.

But even more than that grand sight of Mt Timp, my kids love seeing that teeny hill with the "G" on it. The kids call it "Grandma Mountain," and it makes me so happy that the kids get excited when they see that mountain b/c they know it means we're almost to Gma & Gpa Nelson's home.

Speaking of which... not only did Tyler's parents let us park our monster moving truck in front of their home... they also hosted us even while the back of their home was under construction. They are adding a lovely porch, deck, & balcony, and things are looking so nice!

They also recently got a new play structure in the backyard...

...complete with a helicopter see-saw! The kids spent plenty of time out here playing and exploring. I felt grateful we decided to spend some days in Utah instead of making the drive straight from California to Colorado.

Tyler's parents also did us a huge favor by watching our 3 youngest kids while we took Whitney on a special date. Whitney chose to eat at Costa Vida, and then Tyler & I took her to a park where we could give her "the talk." It went really well, and it was a special experience to share that knowledge with Whitney in such a positive manner.  

[Thanks to the Eyres for writing a great book, and thanks to Tyler for the self-timer pic.]

Whitney felt so honored that we would entrust her with that knowledge of how amazing our bodies were. As we were walking back to the car, she gave us big hugs and thanked us for telling her what we did. It was a great night!

One day we tried to take our family up to hike Mt Timp caves, but there weren't any tickets available for the big group that we had. So we took the kids to hike Stewart Falls instead.

They did surprisingly well! Uncle Dallin & his girlfriend (DOH!--no picture of her, but she's a beauty!) joined us and were SOOO helpful with our kids.

Shannon threw up on the car ride there. She's a total barfer in the car--I think I gave her that motion sickness gene!! So Tyler got to carry her the whole hike, and they both had a lovely throw up odor on them. Poor thing fell asleep in Tyler's arms while hiking, so we plopped her on this rock while we enjoyed the falls & stream.

She woke up right in time for the hike back!

What a lovely time we had in Utah with the Nelsons.

Wish I got a picture of:

* Cole shooting off fireworks with the neighborhood kids practically every night; his blackened soles of his feet from running in the street over all the burned fireworks.

* Cole taking/dragging Little Pup (the Nelson's dog) on walks up and down Grandma's street daily. 

One Sunday morning I couldn't find Cole for the longest time. After a while I was getting nervous so I started scouring Grandma's cul-de-sac to find him. Finally Cole came around the corner with Little Pup on the leash. I asked him where he had been, and he told me that he took Little Pup to the park. 

The thing is... I have no idea where a park is near Tyler's mom's house. I still am wondering where this place was that Cole described to me where he tied up the dog to the slide while he did the swings.... Yikes. So grateful we didn't lose Cole or Little Pup that morning!!