Our Utah Trip

So we went to Utah.  In fact, one week ago, my mom, Lynnaea, and I were somewhere in Oregon right about now...  Possibly passing a forest fire.  Jeremy wasn't able to go, due to the fact that now is the busy time on the project.  He was warned months ago that certain dates would not be approved for time off -- and this time-frame was among them.  Boo.  I really wish he'd have been able to go.

We went at this specific time to be there when Brad and Angie got sealed in the Salt Lake Temple, otherwise we would have chosen different dates so Jeremy could have gone!

I have to say that Lynnaea was amazing!  I took lots of things to entertain her, and we just made sure to stop every 2 to 3 hours.

That was at our very first rest stop.  She'd taken a little nap right before this.  We were still in Washington at this point.

We had gotten on the road at 6:45 in the morning.  Originally, I had hoped to make the trip all in one day...  But that didn't happen.

This was somewhere in Oregon -- nap number 2.  Weird thing was that I started to lose my voice.  I don't know if it was the dryness in the air or what.

After she woke up, I moved to the back to sit with her and entertain her.  I gave her the snack necklace I'd made for her...  And rapidly realized the yogurt pretzels were not the best idea in the summer...  The yogurt got melty -- and messy!  She liked them, though :).

So my eyes started really bothering me.  It was probably the 4 hours of sleep the night before mixed with contacts and a lot of driving (like 10 hours).  So we stopped in Boise and got a hotel for the night.  This was the next morning.

So we got back on the road, but not super early.  I figured it was worth it to relax and get on the road eventually -- which turned out to be 10 Idaho time.  And as we drove, we saw a sign for Chick-Fil-A around lunch-time...  So we went there!  And yeah, it was a bit off the beaten path, but soooo worth it!

Lynnaea liked it.  Her first fast food -- Chick-Fil-A -- as it should be!

We finally made it to Brad's house around 6 p.m. on Thursday.  And the traffic in Salt Lake (and the nearby areas) is insane!!!

We did some visiting the evening we arrived.  Then Friday we did some more visiting ;).  Then my mom and I took Lynnaea, Vivienne, and Autumn with us for some fun times! We started out by going to the THRIVE Warehouse!

I was like a kid in a candy store.  It was soooo awesome.  Samples of everything everywhere!  My mom and I picked up our orders (that saved us shipping) and then, of course, we bought even more stuff!  So awesome.  If only I were a millionaire... ;).  If you'd like to see what I do with this stuff, check out my THRIVEing Nilla blog.  The kids all thought this place was awesome too.  The toddlers because they could run around pulling stuff off racks :/... and the 11 year old because she could have a million samples.  Haha.  The toddlers liked the samples too.

We ate at Panda Express, and then it was off to the aquarium!  We figured it would be a fun thing to do on that hot hot day. 

Here is Lynnaea checking out a fish...  And now for several more -- all at the aquarium!

Autumn and Vivienne checking it out.

This was in the "big" tank with the huge fish.  And turtles, as pictured here.

We let Lynnaea run for most of it.  She was not keen on being cooped up.  She certainly kept me busy!

And she was definitely worn out by the end.  Vivienne slept in her stroller...  Lynnaea doesn't sleep well unless she's in her crib (or pack & play) or car seat.  So she didn't sleep until we got back to Brad's.

That night we watched Frasier while Angie worked on her bouqet.  And we ate chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

Saturday was a big day.  We put Lynnaea down for a nap in the morning so she'd be in a good mood for the rest of the day.  And then the three of us headed into Salt Lake City.  Thank goodness for the Garmin!  I'm so glad my mom bought one of those things.  We'd have been lost -- literally -- without it!  But we managed to find our way and get to where we needed to be.

That's Lynnaea running around Temple Square.

Then this is after the sealing ceremony while we were waiting for Angie and Brad.

A mom always had a diaper bag.  Haha.

It truly is a beautiful Temple.  But wow there were so many people!

Lynnaea was running and climbing everywhere!  And it was sooooo hot. 

Here are Brad, Angie, and Vivienne after they came out of the Temple.

After all the pictures and such, we went to Tucanos Brazilian Grill.  Great food.  Servers come around with different meats and ask if you want some.  If you do, they slice off pieces.  Lynnaea ate a ton. She was pretty hungry by this point -- but then, we all were.

After eating, we headed back to Brad's and put Lynnaea down for a much-needed nap.  I got a shower and relaxed until she woke up.  Then me, my mom, and Lynnaea headed to Provo for a bridal shower for someone we knew in Panama.  Here are me and Lynnaea at the shower.

It was the coolest ever...  We saw so many people from so long ago.  What a treat!

Almost everyone pictured there (except the gal in sunglasses who was photo bombing) lived in Panama at the same time.

This is Larry with me and Lynnaea.  He and I grew up together:  same Primary class at church, same teachers in high school, etc.  When he found out we were at his parents' house, he swung by to say hello.  It was getting late, and my munchkin was definitely tired, so we couldn't visit long.  But it was still lots of fun to remember the good old days.

We decided to leave Sunday and drive halfway home.  We knew we weren't going to make it in one day, so we wanted to just have a good night sleep.  We left Brad's around 8:15 (Washington time) and got on the road.  We made it to La Grande, OR and stopped there for the night.  And by the next morning, I knew LeGrande was on my poopie list.  Or at least that exit in LeGrande is...  If only I'd gone up one more exit.  Grr...  But when you're tired.  Well, you just want to stop.

It was a beautiful thing when we started to see trees again.  Seriously, I'm not cut out to live anywhere without trees and green.  Driving through Idaho with the sun blazing on everything and no shade, the only word I could think of was "scorch."  Yuck.  And then we got into Yakima area and stopped for peaches -- 5 boxes of peaches -- because they were a good price and we brought some back to those we love here.

We hit nasty rush-hour traffic (boo), but finally made it home at 6.  And found that sweet Jeremy had left the air conditioning on (it was 98 degrees in Washington -- GROSS!) and that he'd cleaned the house for me!  My mom helped me unpack (well, she fixed dinner -- THRIVE Express Creamy Garden Vegetable Chowder -- and watched Lynnaea so I could unpack).  Then we ate and then we took my mom home and visited a few minutes.  Then Lynnaea and I returned home and she went to bed and I got a shower and finally relaxed.  Then Jeremy came home and I told him all our travel stories, and then we went to bed.  The end!

Then yesterday, Lynnaea and I enjoyed a smoothie with THRIVE bananas.  She was a total fan.