Week 2 of Vacay

Our second week of vacation we spent out in Utah.  We stayed with Christopher's sister Kelsey, bro in-law Paul, and their kids.  We got in Sunday and spent the day relaxing, catching up with them, and enjoying our time out of the car.  Monday we went to see my grandparents.



Mason was really good with them, he let them hold him and talked at them a little.  He really enjoyed my Grandpa's walker, and would try and reach for it and have us walk him over to it anytime he got the chance.

We loved visiting just them and we also got a chance to go out to lunch with them later in the week along with my Uncle Bruce, Aunt Laura, and cousin Kim. We went to Zupas and had a great time chatting with them and eating awesome food! We miss you guys and wish we could see you more often.

Since the weather was nice we spent lots of time playing in the water. One day we pulled Crew's water table out and had the babies play there while the rest of us played on the slip-n-slide. It was a lot of fun sliding down it, I haven't been on one in a very long time.

We had a blast running and sliding down and off the end.  Mason loved walking down the slip-n-slide and getting sprayed in the facel. We turned off the water for a little while so the babies could crawl on it for a bit.

It was so cute watching Crew and Mason play together. Every morning when Mason or Crew came out for the day they would be excited to see the other one.  Mason loved trying to keep up with Crew and his super-speed crawling.  Mason actually started schooching across the floor here and there to move better and be by Crew.  I think they are going to have a blast together at Pearrygin.  Crew also loved Mason's head; we guessed it's because it's round and bald and maybe Crew thought it was a ball. He loves balls.

We spent an afternoon at a pond that Kelsey likes to go to.  We played in the water, Christopher spent time going in the deep water with Macey and Miles while Crew and Mason played in the more shallow water with Kels and I.  We ate lunch there and had a great time hanging out and playing in the water.  Macey and Miles fed some of the ducks that were there, Miles loved it so much he even fed them the bread from his lunch.  For the fourth we spent the morning at the Lindon Pool.  We floated along the lazy river which Mason loved, and stopped at some slides for Macey and Miles to go down. Christopher even took Mason down the slide, from what we could see he liked it, at least he didn't cry when he went under water.

We ate a delicious dinner of brisket, potato salad, and corn on the cob before we did some fireworks. We set off parachute guys but couldn't get any of them; two we thought ended up over the fence and one landed at the top of a big tree; we found the smallest one later in a  tree. Next we did tank races, we each got to light our own, Miles liked to pick and give each of us our tank.  Trina ended up winning by a landslide!

We even had tank battles where two caught each other on fire.

Later that evening we sat on Paul and Kels' deck to watch some fireworks over the fence through the trees. Utah has made aerial fireworks legal so the neighborhood had some pretty fun stuff to watch.

Christopher showing off his super eagle shirt that is very partiotic!

A couple days later we went on a hike to the falls on the Timpanogas trail.  Macey and Miles walked all the way up on their own, and it was not a stroll through the park. I was really impressed with them, I'll admit I was hot and tired.

The falls were really beautiful and very refreshing to stand in. The way down the trail was super fast, and Miles was only carried for a little while on the way down.  Overall we had an amazing time on our hike looking at the scenery and chatting on our way up. I'm sure glad that Mason likes being in his pack, as long as we're moving, because we'd love to take him on hikes often.

We miss Utah and felt a little nostalgic as we walked through BYU's campus. We loved remembering the things we did there and visiting some of our old favorite places. We miss being close to the family there. We are happy where we are at, but with views like this so close by, who wouldn't miss it!

We were lucky enough to borrow Kelsey's favorite photographer for Mason's 9 month shoot. It was close to bed time and he was tired, but surprisingly she got some really good shots. Here's a few!

Thanks again Holly for doing those, we love them and are so glad we got super cute pics of him.

That was our trip, we had an AMAZING time visiting our family and spending time with all of you! Thanks for housing us, feeding us and entertaining us.  We love you all and are so glad that we got to spend this time with you!

First Week of Vacay

We love the summer. We like it for the weather to boat in, and be in the water, and Christopher gets a break from school; but one of my favorite things about summer is that we can drive and visit family.

Christopher's final ended at noon on Friday and we were on the road right after. We were headed to California to see my family first, but since it's a really long drive we split it up so Mason wouldn't go crazy being in the car.

We thought this was the best sign ever, it's like 4 signs put together, and is probably a whole road lane wide! It's so big, it looks cartoon-ish to us.

We stopped in Bend Oregon Friday night and left Saturday morning for the rest of our trip, we got in right before dinner time and Mason was a champ in the car. 

We sang a musical number with my family in church on Sunday since both Chris and Julie and Burley and I were home.  Then on Monday I went with my mom, Zoe, and Lindsay to get pedicures. I needed one very badly; we all picked different colors but they all look super cute.

Mason got to experience Paka and Grandma's backyard. He got to bounce on the trampoline, walk around on the grass, and get  pushed in the baby swing by Grandma.  He loved the swing, he would laugh and giggle everytime he got pushed. He was so fun to watch and play with, I guess we'll have to take him to the park so he can swing in the swings more often.

Mason also go to play in the pool. He loves water and had a blast being in he pool.  When it's a little low they fill it up by turning on the water which shoots a stream of water into the shallow end, Mason thought it was the coolest thing ever. When it was on he would turn in his floatie, reach for it, and kick and flap his arms trying to get to it. He had great time in his floatie and being in the pool with lots of people to watch.

We were also lucky enough that my sister Wynne decided to go through the temple before her mission while we were there. It was awesome being able to go through with her and be there for that. It was an awesome experience which of course had to be celebrated with Leatherby's afterward.

One of the days we took a trip out to Sutter's Mill. It was fun to see the different sites there and see the mill. We got to play in the river which was really refreshing that day. Mason loved the water despite it being pretty cold. We skipped rocks and threw bigger ones to splash people, mostly Zoe.

 We got to see a blacksmith shop, a chinese store, the "Mormon Cabin" where LDS men stayed while they worked on building he mill. We got to go on Grandmother Rock where the Native Americans would grind acorns, and go inside some of their teepees.

After a while of exploring we went on a hike to Marshall Monutment and on a loop around the hill. It was pretty hot and we only had to check the GPS a couple times to make sure we were on the right trail. We were all really hot, tired, and definitely sweaty from the hike, we stopped at In N' Out for lunch to eat and cool off on our way home.

 Mason fell asleep partway through the hike and collapsed onto the hiking pack.  He had a little bruise and scab the next day from all of his bouncing. I figured if he was uncomfortable at all he would have woken up, I was wrong.  

So after our hike if we stopped walking Mason would wake up, Paka was kind enough to carry him the rest of the way back to the cars so he would stay alseep. 

Mason started sleeping better a few days before we left to go on our trip and I hoped that it would last through our trip and he did.  Some times during his naps I would go in and see him on his knees with his butt in the air. I was glad that Mason slept well while we were in California, even if he slept in funny positions every now and then. 

We did a lot while we were in California and had such a fun time. We got to visit with family and even help move my sister Melissa into her new house.  We loved spending time with everyone and visiting for the whole week.  We love and miss you guys!!