Utah 2012 - Week 2

I really should be better at writing my posts right away. I just have a horrible memory... I really do and I've already forgotten a lot of stuff about our Utah trip. So, I am hoping I can at least remember the highlights through the pictures. 

On Wednesday morning Andy and I were able to go to the temple. It's so nice to have a temple close by and that has sessions so frequently. It makes it much easier when you exclusively breastfeed your babies. So, we always make a point to go to the temple while in Utah. Plus, we also have access to wonderful grandparents who are willing to babysit. Although Aunt Julie even helped out with the babysitting this time. The girls went over to her house and loved playing with Presley and all of her stuff. Once we got back from the temple, got Ian, and headed over to Julie's, this is what we discovered:

The girls were having a blast! They were having so much fun that they didn't even notice my escape with Julie, Brinley, and Grandma to get pedicures. After we got back Andy, Nathan, and Papa went golfing. By then our Wednesday was over.

Ian woke up in the wee hours Thursday morning and was running a fever. Great! We enjoyed about 5 days of everyone doing well. Luckily Ian didn't have any other symptoms with his fever, so we still don't quite know what was going on. He ran a fever for about 4 days. But he was definitely a trooper. We tried to be a bit more flexible around his schedule, since he was not feeling the best. We decided to go up and visit the Bingham Canyon Copper Mine. We enjoyed our little visit there and learned a lot from the little video we watched. We were a bit disappointed that the museum wasn't more hands out, but the kids still enjoyed it.

A picture in front of one of the tires that are on the trucks:

The pit:

Where are you taking me now?

Checking out the museum:

I actually purchased a pocket knife for Ian inside the book store. Isaac was looking out for him and found a knife with Ian's name on it. I couldn't pass it up, because it's hard to find things with Ian on them. So, I'm hoping I can find it once Ian becomes a Cub Scout.

That afternoon the men were helping Grandpa Mills move, so we took the kiddos to a splash park while Grandma watched Ian. Rachel had fun at the splash park and Audrey had fun complaining. Not sure why she didn't want to play in the water...

Cute girls:

Thursday night Grandpa Mills treated us all to one of our favorite Mexican restaurant. Then the little girl cousins got ready for a sleepover with Grandma in the trailer. Grandma bought them matching pajamas and they were so excited to have a movie night and then to sleep in the trailer...

Well, let's just say Presley and Rachel enjoyed it. Audrey soon came in and slept in her normal bed. While the girls were bonding, so were the boys:

On Friday we just hung out and let Ian get good naps. The kids went and saw Brave that afternoon. And I enjoyed a nap while Ian was napping! On Friday night the little girls had a sleepover again. This time everyone slept downstairs in the basement. They were going to sleep in the trailer, but Audrey quickly changed her mind on that.

Saturday morning we decided to make a quick trip to BYU. I haven't been to BYU since Andy graduated in April of 2003. So, we decided it was about time. Our main purpose was to visit the bookstore. Rachel was a bit upset that she didn't have a college shirt to wear to school this past year when they had a college day. So, we all got BYU shirts, even Ian. And I've never had a BYU shirt. Kind of odd, but I haven't... Unless, once again, my memory is failing me. We also drove by our old apartments to show the girls where we used to live. They didn't care, but it was kind of fun for us. And then we went to the Monte L. Bean Science Museum. It was great! In some ways it was better than the zoo. It was air conditioned, free, and we were able to see a tons of animals in a short amount of time. Sure, there wasn't much interaction, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. We hit the museum just at the right time too, because now it's closed until Fall 2013. We'll have to go back and see what changes they make...

Ian was even thrilled to be there!

After the museum I dropped off Andy and Rachel to join the Kings to hike up to Timpanogos Cave. I can't blame my memory on this, since I didn't go. But here's some pictures they took:

 

Rachel is absolutely thrilled about a butterfly landing on her:

We then all met up in Big Cottonwood Canyon for dinner.

Grandma did a good job of keeping Ian warm:

Ian enjoyed Papa walking him while Mommy got a chance to eat:

A picture of just our family:

Rachel enjoyed exploring with Brinley:

Back home that evening we took a picture of the 3 generations of Smith men. I sure love each one of these boys and am so grateful that Ian has such wonderful examples of the man he can aspire to be some day.

We definitely enjoyed a day of rest on Sunday. We went to church, we all got naps, and just enjoyed one last day together. On Monday we flew home. We had a 3-hour layover (which I believe ended up being a bit longer) in Denver. So, Ian was able to get a good, much needed nap on the airport floor:

Our time in Utah flew by too quickly, as it always does. We enjoyed our time up there so much and look forward to the next time we can be up there again!