Utah Visit

We had a long and wonderful visit to Utah--3 weeks!  Pretty much the first week of that was spent in Jackson Hole with my family.  After that, we spent some time with Cameron's family.  Unfortunately Cameron had to work from home the days we were there, but we still had a great time!  After that, Cameron left for a work conference in Malaysia and a man trip with friends in Bangkok, while I hung back in Utah for a week and half with my family.  We had such a great time!  It was so fun to spend so much time with loved ones.

Our first full day in Utah was my mom's birthday, so we made her a cake to celebrate.  We also got to attend my cousin Kip's mission farewell, which was wonderful of course.  And it was so great to see so much family!

We had such a great time with Greg and Kathy!  Andy was in heaven the entire time.  He always knew Grandpa Greg would take him outside, and he took full advantage of that.  They knew Andy likes to throw rocks, so they had an entire bucket full of rocks for Andy to throw.  Our first day, Kathy and I headed to the Discovery Children's Museum at the Gateway, where Andy had a fantastic time.  His favorite (again) was the ball area.

We had a really fun Baker family get together that night, but we were all having too much fun to get any pictures!

Tuesday, Greg, Kathy, and I took Andy to a really fun park in Pleasant Grove.  Afterward, we went to lunch with Cam and a really good Grilled Cheese place in American Fork and got cupcakes at Cravings--amazing.  We drove up to Tarahumara in Midway for dinner and then stopped to throw rocks at the river in the canyon on the way home.

Wednesday, Kathy and I took Andy to the Highland splash pad, which Andy loved.  Coolest splash pad ever.  And I ran into a good friend I hadn't seen since elementary school!  It was great to see you Heather! Kathy and Greg watched Andy during the afternoon so I could head out for a sisters lunch with Sara and Rachel at Zupas.  Yum.  Sara and I went shopping after, and had a blast of course.  And I was reminded of just how easy it is to shop without a two-year-old! I didn't miss pushing that stroller at all.  :) That night, we met up with the Jensen clan at Thanksgiving Point for ice cream and a farm visit.  Andy had a blast seeing his cousins! I'm kicking myself for not getting a group shot with everyone.

Our last day with Greg and Kathy, we went to Provo Beach Resort to ride the carousel.  Andy was a bit of a pill that day, but we still had a great time.  He especially loved the toddler bowling, even though he didn't quite get the concept!

After we dropped Cameron off at the airport, Andy and I headed to my parents' house for a week and a half of partying.  Though I spent most of the time in a sleep deprived stupor, thanks to Andy's discovery of how climb out of the pack 'n play, we had a blast!  We went to the splash pad lots.  We went to Seven Peaks twice.  Andy absolutely loved this.  His favorite was going down the slide with Aunt Abby, whom he adores.  We got delicious ice cream cones and Nielsen's at Pace's, Bountiful favorites.  We took a "hike" up by the temple.  My mom and I did a temple session together, which was wonderful.  We did a couple shopping trips, of course...the Nordstrom sale was happening, after all.  We ate delicious food: my favorite was The Mandarin take-out.  We had a barbecue with Paul and Christy's family.  I converted my family to watching HGTV.  I visited with my Messick grandparents while Andy dismantled their house.  Sara and Rachel both came up from Provo a lot; it was so great to spend time with them!  A few pictures of all the fun:

Andy watching cars with Grandpa.

Check out Andy's face: absolute bliss!

First time I've ever let him eat a cone by himself.  He loved every minute of it.

He surprised me by loving the splash pads we visited!  He'd not been a fan earlier this summer. 

Sprinkled between all of this were some great visits with friends.  Of course, we didn't get to see everyone we wanted to see, but we sure loved catching up with those we were able to see!  We had Cafe Rio with Dimitriy and Monique.  It was so good to see them!  Andrea and Addy came to visit Andy and I at my parents' house.  We met up with Bonnie and her darling kids at the splash pad.  We visited Marsha and her two adorable kids in Provo.  I got to have dinner with my great friend Whitney.  I got to meet up with Emily for Indian food.  I got to have a quick hello with my beloved piano teacher, Dr. Peery-Fox and introduce her to Andy.  I even ran into my great friend Amy at Target! It was so wonderful to see such good friends!  Sadly, I only got a couple pictures of these friend visits.

Two of Bonnie's cute kids!

Andy and Ben.  These two would be best buds if we lived closer!  Ben kept wanting to hold Andy's hand.  It was basically the cutest thing ever.

So good to see Marsha!

Thank you a million times both to my parents and Greg and Kathy for their generosity in hosting us and in making sure we had such a great time.  We love you and wish we lived closer!