August 2016 - Trip to Utah Part 1 Day 1-6

I had another sewing date with my friend Kristy, and this time we made a new church bag. It was a lot of fun. It has several pockets on the inside. The handles are too long, so I plan on fixing that, but other than that, it is awesome. Devry loved carrying it around (even though she could probably fit inside it).  I think I need to make her one of her own. 

My sister-in-law Jari, who currently lives in South Korea, flew back to the US with their three kids to visit during the first part of August. (Actually, she came in July but visited Vegas first, then Idaho, then down to Utah.) Though I really didn't want to make that trip again that soon, I decided that if she was going to brave international travel with three young kids, I could survive the drive up north again. 

I bought Devry a new reversible car seat. She has been using her infant seat, which I think she could probably use for a very very long time based on her size, but it was Pierscen's seat and it finally wore down enough that we could no longer adjust the straps. I will keep her rear facing for a while because she is so small and she doesn't know any different. 

We made it on the road on Friday morning around 7:30. We had one gas station potty break in Farmington, and then didn't stop again until Hole 'n in the Rock between Monticello and Moab. We've driven by it a hand full of times, but never stopped. I didn't actually know what it was. I figured it was just a trinket store carved into the rock - which it is now - but it is so much more! We opted to pay for the tour of the original owners 5000 sq ft home blasted into the rock. No pictures are allowed inside, which is a bummer, but it was amazing! The original owners decided to build a diner in the rock. It did really well, so they decided to keep blasting into the rock to build a home. It was incredible. I can't even imagine deciding to do that. They did everything on their own. They eventually closed down the diner and turned that portion into a shop to sell the wife's homemade jewelry and the husband's paintings. The husband died a good twenty years before the wife, and she continued building and doing really neat stuff even after he had gone. 

I was super impressed with Pierscen during the tour. He didn't touch anything and he listened really well. He was able to repeat a lot of the facts afterward which showed me he really was paying attention!

We only made one stop after that, at a train rest stop after Price. I discovered Dev had managed to tangle some granola bar chunks into her hair and her brand new car seat was pretty disastrous, but hey - at least it's safe!

We made it to town in the early evening and got settled in. In the morning I went for a run, then headed to the salon to go see my sister-in-law Chelsey to get my hair done. It was kind of sporatic decision and I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with it. Just something fun and different. I was tempted to dye it, but was on the fence. We chatted for a while, found a picture I liked, then I turned everything over to her and told her to work her magic. 

I've only completely dyed my hair twice I believe. It is a long process because my hair is really thick. Combine that with the fact that Chels wasn't feeling good, so things took longer, and a break in between for another customer because she thought she would be done with mine) and this process took 8 hours. Eight!!! We were both dying by the end - but I'm sure Chels was way more exhausted than I was. I'm so sorry Chels!!! The wonderful thing is that I LOVE it! I have never been so in love with my hair before. None of these after pictures really get it right. It is an auburn red - but it really is red. It is gorgeous! Chelsey, I'm so sorry for the pain of this experience, but THANK YOU! If there was a way to make this permanent, I think I would do it.  

I took these pictures Sunday morning trying to get the color right, but even here it almost looks purple and that is definitely not the right color. Jari got in late Saturday night, so I was able to see her and give her a big hug when picking up the kids. Sunday I went to church with my family, then had dinner with my in-laws. My father-in-law is now a young single adult bishop and he holds dinners for the engaged couples so they can some fun family dinners and discuss things like finances, traditions, pet peeves, etc. He wanted me to join in to add a different perspective. It was a fun evening. I often feel like I am the same age as these college kids just about to get hitched, but then they mention that they graduated high school in 2012 or thereabouts and then I realize that no, I am SO not their age! When did I get so old?! Haha

Monday morning we loaded up my car with my sister-in-law Jess's kids and my in-laws and headed to Holden to celebrate Great Grandpa's birthday. 

I think I say it every time I have a post involving Holden, but I love that place. There is a different feel there. Priorities shift. Life slows down. It's beautiful. The boys had a great time throwing rocks in puddles, feeding the horses, and making booby traps in the basement. 

Dev loved seeing the horses and she made me nervous by getting mighty close to them at the fence. I had to stay right by her to make sure she didn't climb through the barbed wire to get a closer look. 

Ryan and I don't know where we will end up in the long run, but if there was ever an option that involved somewhere like Holden, I think I would take it. 

This is the first picture I sent Ryan of my hair.

These two cuties are only about a month apart in age (just shy of a month actually). They are both petite little gals. None of these pictures are particularly focused, but they were having a lot of fun. 

Here is the booby trap the boys constructed. My camera would not stay focused, so this is not high quality. 

We had a really great time in Holden, then drove home in the early afternoon. Pierscen passed out in the car. When we got to my parents, he woke up briefly, but was so emotional I sat down to hold him for a while and he passed right out again. Lots of travel and play makes for a tired boy. 

And girl. Jari's little girl Hazel passed out on their adventures too, so we let these two nap while we helped with dinner. 

Here are Devry and Zachary playing together. They are two months apart. It is great having cousins close in age!

Since the main point of this trip was to spend time with Jari and kids, starting Tuesday we did something fun together every single day. It was amazing! I have always loved Jari, but we've never really gotten to spend a lot of one on one time together. She and Fred moved to Maryland shortly after they got married, and even since then, our time together has been limited to family functions whenever be both happened to be in town. This trip was honestly so great. It was fantastic to get to spend so much time with her and the kids!

To start things out, we went to the Bean Museum in Provo. Most of the time was spent in this little play place, corner, but they still enjoyed seeing the animals. 

Tuesday is James's day off and we hardly ever get to do anything with him, so when he called and invited us to go to the Tracy Aviary and a splash pad afterwards, we said yes. We headed home, grabbed some lunch and some swim suits, and headed to SLC. The nice thing is that my Zoo pass from ABQ got us in for half price. Sweet! Apparently I didn't take any pictures of the actual birds, but hey - the kids had fun!

Cousins! Charlotte, Hazel, Owen, Olivia, Devry, Preston, Jacki, Pierscen, Issy, and Zachary. 

Oh look! A bird! Dev followed this peacock around for quite a long time. 

Following the aviary, we headed to the splash pad located right next door. Only it's not a splash pad. It was called something something fountain and it was a series of waterfalls and streams leading down to a little wading pool. It was really neat!

I didn't see much of Pierscen during this because he found some leaves and kept running to the top of the waterfalls and then racing the leaves down the stream. It was fun... until a little girl plucked one of his leaves from the stream. Oh boy. I thought he was going to throw a punch. I'm kidding. It wasn't that bad, but he was not amused. Haha.

Dev and P chasing the train...

Issy, Jacki, Hazel and Charlotte playing in their new "house."

Following the splash pad, we headed down the road until we found a place to eat - a diner I totally forgot the name of. (Kind of like Denny's). We had a big group and just as they finished our order, or poor waitress dropped both trays. Everything but one basket of french toast sticks as lost. I felt so bad for her! They remade everything and we even got a few bonus baskets of french toast and stacks of pancakes. 

The group: Jari, Charlotte, Hazel, Preston, Pierscen, Me, Zachary (in the middle very back), James, Caroline, Olivia, Owen, and Issy. What a great group and a really fun outing!

Wednesday was my 30th birthday!!! Ah! Man... I cannot believe I am finally 30! I actually have no pictures from my birthday which is a crying shame. 

I started out my birthday by going to spinning class at the rec center. I had hoped, and had my wish granted, that the instructor was my friend Jackie. She is one of my dancer moms. It ended up being just me and one other guy, and technically they are supposed to have three students in order to teach, but Jackie taught anyway. Thanks Jackie! It was the perfect way to start the day/new year. ;)

After spinning, I went back to my in-laws, cleaned up, then went to Zupa's with some friends. Following lunch, I went to get a pedicure with Necia and Jari.  I have only had a pedicure twice - once for my wedding, and once as an anniversary present from Ry. It was a funny experience. It tickled so dang bag when they were scrubbing my feet. Necia and Jari got quite a kick out of watching me squirm. 

After the pedicure, I headed to my mom's. We went shopping for a little while, then I headed out to go meet up with my dance pals for the evening. The plan was to go up the canyon, eat food, roast marshmallows, laugh, cry and do rain dances around the fire. Haha. Unfortunately, the rain part is the only part that ended up happening. First off, there are no fires allowed up the canyon right now, and secondly, we started pouring only a few minutes after we got there. So we moved location to Stacy's house. Not as many girls were able to come as previously RSVP'd but that's okay. We got some grub and climbed on Stacy's couch and just talked. It was a very different sort of night than what I had envisioned. This group of girls is usually loud, spontaneous and fun. That night was pretty somber. It ended up being mostly a therapy session, much more serious and deep than is "typical." That being said, that's one of the most amazing things about this group of girls. We are all still so close. Yes we can be goofy and crazy, but we are also each other's support system and team when we are in need. This was such a night. I love these girls so much. I am so grateful for them and so grateful that we are all still so close. Academy of Ballet was the greatest thing to happen to me growing up. There were so many studios I could have attended. This is the one I needed the most. Thank you, mom, for all you invested into my dancing. It has truly shaped who I am today.

I got back to my in-law's after midnight some time. It was a busy, fun birthday. Thank you for all those who took part in it!   

Thursday was awesome. My little brother Asa went through the temple for the first time. It was such a neat experience! He wanted to go through the new Provo City Center temple. My mom, dad, Jari, Uncle Karl, Aunt Linda, cousins Ana, Sara and Joel, Jari's brother Eric, and several of Asa's friends were all in attendance. It was really inspiring to see how supportive everyone was and see the temple workers help Asa throughout the endowment. Wow. 

This gospel is amazing. It is truth and light. It gives meaning to everything. I am so thankful for the knowledge we have. The church is TRUE!!!

Thank you little Asa for letting us be part of your big day! We love you!