Our Summer Vacation, Part 1

We started our summer vacation in Utah.  I took lots of pictures and every one has a great story to go with it, but I'll never get this posted if I try to tell them all.  So, in no particular order, here are some of the highlights of our trip.  I'm sure I'll miss some of the adventures- we had so much fun!  I don't have the pictures from Jason's phone because he jumped into a swimming pool with his phone is his pocket while we were in Moab, so his pictures are no longer with us.  

Jason and I left the kids with my parents for a few hours and went to the Salt Lake Temple, where we were married 10 years ago.  It was wonderful to be in the temple again, and fun to remember our experience there on our wonderful wedding day.

 Jason took the big kids hiking one afternoon before he left. 

The ladies got pedicures.  I've never had a pedicure with a baby on my lap before, and I'll probably aim to never do it again.  But our toes looked great!

Allison and I have a standing cupcake date whenever we get together.  It is one of my favorite parts about our visits.

Her high school graduation was the main reason for our trip.  I can't believe my little Pooky is graduated and moving on to college!

Four of the five sisters in our family.

We walked to feed the horses one day and they were nowhere close to the fence.  We stood there for 15 minutes shouting, "Apples!  Apples!" but they never came.  

Heather kindly let us use her Thanksgiving Point discount, and we took the kids to the Museum of Natural Curiosity, the Dinosaur Museum, and Farm Country.  It was kid heaven.

 I got to introduce Noah to Noah's Ark.

We had a family talent show.

And sang around the piano.

We had a campfire cookout in the canyon.  

The kids were a little crazy, and we discovered "Poohpeepee Rock".  My sisters and I took a mini hike up the mountain, and we got a picture of the kids on this log.

 Lots of pictures, actually.  

The kids begged Grandpa for tractor rides, and he always obliged.  He also rewarded their bravery of looking behind a fox skin with a dollar bill for each of them.  That made me laugh and laugh.  

I got to visit with my sweet friend Bea, who was one of my first newlywed friends- 

 and my sweet friend Heather, who I've been friends with for nearly 20 years.

 She has made a beautiful quilt for each of my babies.  Clearly Noah loves his.

 The girls went to Princess Dance Camp again this year, and this time Emma got to go, too!

 

 We spent an afternoon with Jared- Uncle Bubba!- at Camp Williams.  

One afternoon Grandma Cathy hosted a tea party for the grandkids.  

Grandma Morales and Autie Emily came for a visit when Sarah and Matt blessed baby Jocelyn.  

 We spent an afternoon exploring Bridal Veil Falls.

We also got together with Grandpa Art, Sarah and Matt at the duck pond one day.  Those pictures must have been on Jason's phone.  Jason spent 10 days of the trip back in Iowa, working and traveling and digging up the yard.  While he was gone, we stayed up late and shopped and played hard and enjoyed the mountains and the cousins and the conversations.  I got to go on a date with my mom, and we had a cousins sleepover.  Before we knew it, Jason was back and it was time to pack up and start slowly heading back east.  It was a delightful trip, and we were only able to leave easily because we knew that we'll be back in a short six months for another wonderful visit.