June 2014 - Utah - BYU

Being so close to Provo I had to take the kids on a trip to visit one of my favorite places. There was so much I wanted to show them and share with them. There is something magical about this place for me.

I love seeing the "Y" all over the place, even on the ground in intersections. 

Arriving at BYU video

I probably shouldn't have taken a photo of someone's car but I loved seeing a New York license plate with a BYU Cougars frame and a Y logo in the window. 

 First glimpse of "Y Mountain" Can you see it?

A closer look at the Y. 

 The Law School Ryan went to.

One of the first things we did when arriving to BYU was roll down the hill to the library. First the kids rolled down, then the Moms. 

Kids Rolling Down the Hill.

Let me just say, we were going really fast and the only way we would have stopped is if we crashed into each other, which we did. This hill goes from the ASB building to the library. I hope the guy who was trying to study in the library (just inside the windows) was entertained. We sure were! We were laughing so hard we were crying. (That's not unusual for the two of us)
Sarah and Roise Rolling Down Hill

 A better view of the J. Ruben Clark Law School and a bunch of silly kids. Ryan spent many many hours in that building.

These stairs are in the Wilkinson Student Center. I just love seeing the BYU pride everywhere.

The Quad.

This is the Harris Fine Arts Center, or HFAC as we call it for short. I worked in this building at the School of Music for 3 of the 4 years that I was at BYU. It was usually the first place I went to in the morning and where I made lots of friends and memories.

Here is the walk to the law school I took multiple times a day.

We had to visit the BYU Bookstore and get lots of goodies while we were there. Bailey, however, wasn't as excited.

The kids found cool hats and shirts.

 The Y is hiding in the background.

 We met up with some friends for lunch. The kids all had a great time playing together.

One of my favorite friends I met at BYU. Her husband and Ryan were roommates.

 The boys!

Playing with friends at BYU

 After lunch we walked around a bit more and went into the area where they serve food on campus. We call it the Cougareat. BYU makes it's own ice cream at The Creamery and serve some on campus. The kids each got some yummy treats before heading home.

Ice Cream at the CougarEat.

I stole Bailey's hat. 

We teach them young. Go Cougars!

Andrew Sings Cougar Fight Song.

The kids were pretty wiped out after spending the day on campus. They were all so good and patient with me wanting to see everything. 

On the way back to Heber we drove past Bridal Veil Falls. (There's another post about that coming)

 We had an absolutely wonderful time at BYU. Go Cougars!!!!!

June 2014 - Road Trip - Drive to Utah

This summer I decided to take a spontaneous trip to Utah to visit my best friend. Everyone thought I was crazy, but I was excited for a challenge and an adventure. It was a three day journey. I planned for absolutely everything and packed up the van with more than we needed.

I packed up a "treat" bag for each kid to open every 3 hours both ways. The bags had fruit snacks, or hot wheels, or coloring books and crayons, or books or toys. They loved opening them up and finding what was inside. The best part was they were so happy that we didn't need to stop every 3 hours. They would get a treat bag when we got gas and that lasted them for hours.

First stop to get gas and I let the kids explore the giant gas station. They wanted all the snacks that they are never allowed to get at home. I wasn't about to give in on the very first stop.

So we got Icees instead!

 The kids were so happy to get their own Icee! I should have thought about giving them so much to drink when they would be in the car for hours, but it wasn't a problem and they were so happy.

After a bit of a detour, we stopped at In-N-Out in Dallas for some burgers and fries and of course we each got a milkshake.

Oklahoma Border!

On the road again!

I love Andrew's face.

 Our very kind friends offered their portable DVD players to us for our trip. I can honestly say I couldn't have survived this trip without it.

We made it to the hotel!  The kids love hotels. Andrew took the second bed and Bailey made a tent on the floor. They were up talking and giggling and playing for hours and were so loud. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. Long story short, I didn't sleep much, or well.

I kept trying to get them to sleep but they were so excited to be in a hotel. I let them jump on the bed in the morning.
Fun at the hotel

One thing I really liked was that I packed a bag just for the nights we would be at the hotel and at our friends house. That way I only had to bring in one bag from the car and everything I needed was in there. It saved me a lot of time and hassle going through each bag looking for a toothbrush or pj's. 

DAY 2

This is how I felt starting day two. Ahhhh, I'm crazy!

I found this Mach 1 in the hotel parking lot for you, Dad. What year is this one? School bus yellow with black stripes. Look familiar? 

Another cool car for ya, Dad. 

Things got better after a bit of driving. I love Bailey's face in this photo. 

The kids were very entertained by counting windmills. Good thing there are a ton of them on this drive.

My sweet sleeping babies.

176 miles to Denver! We're getting closer!

Welcome to colorful Colorado!  (I missed the Kansas sign)

We made it to Colorado in one piece! We stayed with some friends overnight and got a good night sleep. It was great to catch up with one of my favorite people before going back on the road. 

DAY 3

Ready for the last day of driving!

 

Hello Wyoming!

We hit some heavy clouds and hard rain for a while. I'm glad it was when I was on the straight drive in Wyoming instead of going through the mountains in Colorado. 

Then suddenly the skies cleared and the rest of the drive in Wyoming looked like this. 

I missed the Utah border sign but this was what it looked like once I crossed into the Beehive State.

 Clouds and cold weather waited for us in Utah as we got closer to the mountains.

This sign made me so happy. I was so close to the end of our trip!

After a slight detour we made it to Rosie's house! Horray! We survived a 3 day journey and 1650.2 miles across the country!

June 2014 - Gymnastics

 The kids had another fun month of gymnastics! Here's a quick summary.

June Gymnastics

June gymnastics video 

The end :)