Utah 2011

This year we decided to make our trip to Utah in the summer. It had been awhile since we had been able to enjoy Utah in the summer and now that traveling around the holidays will be difficult, our planning worked out well. We flew to Utah on July 29th, which was an adventure in and of itself. We decided to take them up on the offer of each receiving $400 vouchers ($1600 total) to take a later flight. We ended up having to transfer to another Houston airport and our second flight was delayed, but we each roughly earned about $50 an hour. Not bad! From the time we left our home until we got to Utah, it was like we had traveled from Amsterdam. Fun stuff! But now we get to enjoy the luxury of a trip up to Utah next June without any flying cost. No complaints here!

So, we got in really late (I think it was technically July 30th by then). Amy and Nathan were kind enough to stay up and gather us at the airport. When we arrived in Utah none of the Smiths knew I was pregnant. I was almost 17 weeks along at that point. Andy wanted to wait and surprise them. He really wanted someone to say something. But of course, that's kind of awkward, so by Saturday night we announced with the help of Isaac. Once we announced several commented on how they had been suspicious, but not brave enough to say anything. We had just told the girls on Thursday night and I was very surprised that they didn't spill the beans. Although Rachel did tell Natalie on Saturday afternoon, which confirmed Craig's suspicions... Anyhow, fun times!

On Saturday we decided to go down to Provo to Seven Peaks. We had fun in the sun! After lots of water fun we headed to Natalie and Craig's place to celebrate Craig's birthday. Here's a picture of Chase, Rachel, Isaac, and Audrey at Seven Peaks:

Aunt Amy reading a book to Audrey:We unfortunately didn't get to spend much time with Amy. She had to head back to Denver on Sunday due to starting a new job on Monday. It was good to see her while we did and for her to be willing to make the long drive to see us briefly. On Sunday the fun continued. Here's Presley and Rachel enjoying some dessert:

Sunday evening we decided to take a drive out to Herriman to see the "Up" house. We were only planning on checking out the outside of the house, but we lucked out by being able to go inside as well. The inside was exactly like it is in the movie. As we had a chance to talk to the builder, he said he probably watched the first 20 minutes of the movie 100 times. The details were pretty amazing. And of course Rachel was thrilled since she is quite familiar with the "Up" movie. Carl was even on the doorstep and the girls took a picture with him:

The day before there had actually been balloons coming out of the chimney, just like the movie but unfortunately a storm rolled in on Sunday. A picture of us in front of the house:

On Monday Andy completed some projects around his parents' house. While he was working away I was able to meet up with a friend from Amsterdam who happened to still be in Utah on home leave. It was so much fun to see Allison. And Tally and Rachel picked up right where they left off...

On Wednesday we headed to Thanksgiving Point. Julie and Natalie had the day off, so most of the cousins got to spend the day together (Isaac had already started school). We grabbed a few pictures of the little cousins all together (Rachel -5, Presley - 3, Chase & Audrey - 2):

We got up close and personal with the cows:
Enjoyed pony rides:
Enjoyed a wagon ride:
Got pretty brave about feeding the goats (and other animals):

On Thursday we loaded up the trailer and went camping with Papa and Grandma up near Kamas. The girls were so excited to be able to sleep in the trailer and go camping. Thursday was spent getting ready to go and getting settled in into our campground. We must have been too busy having fun to take many pictures on our camping trip. On Friday Julie, Nathan, Presley, and Brinley came up to spend the day with us. We took advantage of the pool at the campground. The girls really enjoyed the pool until we were told they had to wear life jackets (it didn't matter that Rachel could swim). Unfortunately the life jackets made it more difficult for Rachel to be able to swim and the girls didn't last much longer. Here are some pictures of them having fun before the life jackets:

Friday night we did s'mores. Although our girls were really just interested in the marshmallows and then the chocolate on its own. Silly girls!

I think they were watching the ashes:

Saturday we headed back to South Jordan. That evening we went over to Julie and Kelly's. Papa took the girls for 4-wheeler rides in the backyard. We decided they would be just as pleased with that set-up and we didn't have to travel 45 minutes to ride them... The girls enjoyed their 4-wheeler rides.

They also both enjoyed the trampoline. I love this picture Andy caught of Audrey:We went miniature golfing that evening as well. We sure did pack it in! :) Rachel did really well and she even got a hole-in-one a few times. Here she is holding up 1 finger:

When Andy got a hole-in-one Rachel insisted on taking a picture of him:

Audrey and Rachel with their Uncle Nate:

On Monday we headed to downtown Salt Lake. We had plans to do Temple Square and then the fountains at The Gateway. We enjoyed Temple Square and here are some pictures we took:

We then grabbed some lunch at a little cafe. Unfortunately while eating there we think Audrey had an allergic reaction to something she ate. We aren't sure what, because none of us had peanut products in our food... So, after that episode we headed back to South Jordan. Since then we have learned to carry around single doses of Benadryl. Of course we haven't had anything happen since, but it's best to be prepared. I had the EpiPen, but the allergic reaction she had wasn't severe enough to utilize that... Fun stuff!

Monday night we hung out at Julie's again. The girls had fun dressing up. We have a picture of Rachel in this same dance costume when she was about 3. Fun memories!

Monday night (with the assistance of Julie) Amy announced she was expecting by speaker phone. It was fun to be there when she announced. For a little bit there were three of us pregnant - Natalie in her 3rd trimester, me in my 2nd, and Amy in her 1st. Lots of new grand babies for the Smiths! :) That evening we also attempted to go to a splash pad, since The Gateway hadn't worked out. Unfortunately by the time we got there it was shut off for the day. The girls enjoyed playing on the playground though:

Audrey was making us all laugh as she would explain how to do this again and again and again to whomever would listen:

Tuesday we ran a few errands. We seem to always need to stock up on some Church items and it's much easier to do that in Utah. We then headed to Wheeler Farm and the girls had fun feeding the ducks:

We visited Grandpa and Grandma Mills as well. We had seen them a few other times, but wanted to get one last chance to see them and say good-bye. And then on Wednesday morning we flew home. Our time in Utah is always cherished and always goes by too quickly. I think we are going to carry on the tradition of visiting in the summer. It's nice to get to enjoy some nice summer weather and there's always plenty to do. The girls love playing with their cousins, being spoiled by their aunts and uncles, and enjoying quality time with their grandparents. So, most likely we'll head up next June before our airplane tickets vouchers expire!

The Mind of a 2 Year-Old

Recently Audrey has been asking some interesting questions. While we were driving in the car the other day she asked me, "Why don't cars fly?". So we had a conversation about how a car would need wings. And then we talked about all the things that have wings - including teeny mosquitoes. Today at lunch she asked me, "Why is your baby boy naked?". I found this quite amusing. It's not like I've ever told her the baby is naked, but it's an obvious assumption. So, we addressed that concern. Then about 5 minutes later the following conversation occurred:

Me: Audrey why am I so lucky to have a beautiful girl like you?
Audrey: But Mom, you have two beautiful girls. Rachel's beautiful.
Me: You're right. And I'll have one handsome boy.
Audrey: But Mom, you have two handsome boys because Daddy's handsome.
Me: You're right...
Audrey: Mom, the baby's not handsome yet.
Me: Why?
Audrey (with a grin on her face): Because he's naked!

So, there you have it! I'm glad she likes her boys clothed. :)

The Circus

The circus came to town in July. And lucky for us there was one Saturday in July that Andy didn't have to work, so we took the girls and they enjoyed their first experience at the circus. We even convinced Uncle Craig to join us, which wasn't too hard since he had never been to the circus before. We got there early and enjoyed the pre-show. We were able to see some of the animals up close and watch clowns and acrobats perform as we roamed the floor.

Checking out the elephants:
Family picture:
Daddy, Uncle Craig, and the girls:

We even grabbed a picture with a few clowns. And can't you tell how thrilled Audrey is? ;)

Busy watching the show:
The finale:

I was very surprised at how long the show was. I wasn't expecting more than 2 hours, but I believe it was nearly 3 hours. I think the part the adults were most fascinated by was when they got up to 7 motorcyclists in a round metal cage riding around. Pretty impressive! The girls enjoyed the elephants and the acrobats. They thought it was pretty funny when they watched a dog lead one of the elephants off the stage. :) It was a fun Saturday family outing, which we are trying to get into the habit of more often. We used to do it all the time in Holland, but we didn't have the responsibility of yard work and crummy work hours... So, when all the stars do align we try to take advantage!

Dance

Rachel started her first dance class last week. She's taking a ballet/jazz combo class and she loves it! We did gymnastics last year and then a few months ago she was asking to do ballet. So, we signed her up. The best part of the deal is that she has a friend in her class, so we are able to carpool. Works out nice for the moms! I think we have started something that is going to last for awhile. Whether Rachel sticks with it or not, it's not going to take long for Audrey to follow. She would love to go now, but we have told her she can't start lessons until she's 5 and we'll see if we are able to hold out. I had to laugh at a recent FB conversation about dance classes. One mother's comment was something like:"she loved it and we only spent 11 years and a mortgage". So true! But it's fun for them and as long as it's what they want, we'll try our best to support it. For now Audrey has fun dressing up with Rachel every Tuesday and then doing her own style of dance:

Rachel is definitely the smallest one in her 5-7 year-old class, but she doesn't seem to mind. She's pretty excited that her teacher is having a baby boy in December. I'm looking forward to seeing her progress through the year - right now we're working on right vs. left. :) It's fun to watch her when it's my turn to drive. And she loves to come home and teach Audrey her new moves.

Extended 4th of July Holiday

Back in June my brother Steven and his beautiful wife Rachel came out to Texas to visit my parents. Rachel was in the middle of swim lessons, but as soon as she finished her last lesson we headed up to spend the last couple days of their visit with them. I was really bad about taking pictures, which I'm kicking myself about now. But you see June was my worst month with this pregnancy. So, I was surviving... And it was nice to go up and be spoiled by my parents. Andy wasn't able to join us until a week later due to some training days at work. So, the girls and I enjoyed Steven and Rachel for a few days.

The highlight of our time with them was the girls playing on their phones or Steven's new iPad 2. I guess in California they couldn't keep the iPads on the shelf. In Texas Steven was able to walk right into Sam's Club and buy one. So, the girls enjoyed playing games on their fancy devices. Here's one picture I did grab - Steven on his iPad and Audrey's on his phone:

We spent Friday through Monday with Steven and Rachel. Tuesday they had to head home and we spent a few quiet days. Then Andy drove up Thursday night and joined us for the 4th of July weekend. We enjoyed some classics while visiting my parents - tractor rides, swinging in the swing, Chuck E. Cheese, fishing, boating, playing with minnows (Audrey even got so she was kissing them - gross!), enjoying lots of good food, and playing games in the evenings. We did add a new tradition - a slip 'n slide. The girls loved it! And my parents have quite a few hills on their property, so it worked out well.

Playing with the minnows while Daddy and Papa attempt fishing (no luck this trip with catching anything):

Love this picture! All ready for a boat ride:

Can you tell it's hot??? Rachel's face is just a little red...

Fourth of July evening:

On the 4th of July we enjoyed a barbecue. We had stocked up on quite a few different fireworks. The girls are still talking about some that scared them to death (namely. the ladybugs). Audrey spent most of the evening inside with Papa. Although she did enjoy doing sparklers... Rachel enjoyed the show for the most part. It's always fun to spend the 4th at my parents. The next day we drove home. Andy even drove the girls the whole way home and I got to enjoy some solitude as I drove his car home. He's a pretty nice guy! It was hard to adjust back to life after being spoiled for 12 days, but luckily we had other things coming up later in the summer to look forward to!