Utah Vacation!

We got back this week from our Utah trip... it was a fun and crazy time! Our first couple of days in Utah were spent in Provo. I love Provo! It was fun to be back. Ben and Hailey were nice enough to let us stay at their house... thanks guys! The first night we were there Hailey got a babysitter so we could all go to dinner at Pizzeria 712... YUM!! It was such a tasty place, and fun to be out with Ben and Hailey! We never get to do that! Luke loved playing with Mila, Ethan, Lucy, and Lane. He chased them all over the house the whole time we were there. Then, Hailey's birthday was on Sunday! Chef Ben prepared a big tasty birthday dinner and we had cake and ice cream. Other highlights of our stay in Provo included going through Lane and Lucy's baby clothes! Hailey let me raid her baby girl stuff... our little one is going to have so many cute things to wear now! So nice not to have to buy everything. Seriously, we came home with SO many baby clothes. Fun! Also, I took advantage of the cool Provo mornings to do some running... some of the big hills in the area kicked my trash! I was pretty sore after since I'm used to TX flatness. Kind of hard to find a hill close to our house...
Some pics of our stay in Provo...
Pizzeria 712... Mmmmmm. Luke and Ethan

Happy Birthday Hailey!

I took off on Monday to meet my friend Ashley and her 2 cute little girls while Jake and Ben went golfing. Ash and I have best buds since we were in nursery together... like 2 years old! It was fun to meet baby Evvah... her newest family addition! Luke and Presley played together and had fun. We ate lunch at Paradise Cafe... I guess it's pretty new to Utah although it's been in AZ for quite a while now. I love Paradise.

Presley and Luke

Later on, we met up with Jake's old mission companion Levi, Stephanie (his wife) and their baby Claire. We hung out at the park and I got a second dose of Paradise Bakery for dinner... good times.

After our time in Provo, we went up to Ogden and stayed at Grandma Nan and Grandpa Arnie's house. I'm pretty sure I have the coolest grandparents ever. Both sets of my grandparents. They are so much fun to hang out with, and I just love being at their houses. We went to dinner at The Greenery with my Aunt Heidi and her cute family for my cousin's high school graduation. It was good to see my cousins and everyone I hadn't seen for so long. Other highlights of being in Ogden...

*Went with grandma and grandpa on a Frontrunner train ride to Salt Lake. Luke loved it! He had so much fun looking out the windows and watching everything pass by. We ate at CPK once in Salt Lake. Fun little trip!

*We met my good friend Bahar and her cute brother Xan at La Ferrovia. We didn't get to chat very long, but it was fun to catch up a bit! If you haven't eaten at La Ferrovia, you should go next time you're in Ogden. It's one of my favorite places... the best Italian ever! So fun to see you Bahar!!!

*Went to the Treehouse Museum with Aunt Heidi, Grandma Nan, and my cute cousin Jackie. The Treehouse has lots of fun stuff for kids to do! Yummy Costa Vida lunch after!

*Had a fun family dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house

*Ate lots of Grandma's waffles... they're the best.

*Played Grandma in Rummy 500... she killed me. Played some Mancala... I beat her ;)

...Can't visit Grandma Nan without having some great games!

* Luke had a great time playing with Grandpa and Gabby outside! (Gabby is my grandparent's dog.)
The Frontrunner...

Treehouse Museum...

Grandma, Heidi, Jackie, and I had some fun playing school at the schoolhouse in the museum...

Grandma and me... not a great picture,.. but at least we got a picture!

Luke playing trains with Jake at the Treehouse...

Grandpa, Luke, and Gabby...

After our stay in Ogden, we headed up to Eden and stayed at Wolf Creek for Jake's family reunion. Over 100 people ended up coming. Fun turnout! It was great hanging out with everyone.

Here's a big Smith family pic...

Smith ladies...

Such a fun place and gorgeous place to stay! ... views from Wolf Creek...

Luke bonked his head a million times on our trip in the same place... here's a shot of his enormous bruised forhead :) ....

some of the guys...

Cute kids...

Jenni and I cooked about every cow that ever lived for dinner this night... so many people to feed!

Jake was fascinated by this messed up tomato...
Cousins playing duck duck goose!... well, making an attempt anyway..

Fun times at the park.... Smith acrobats fixing swings... haha

Luke didn't want to get off this horse...

Cute Mr. Logan

Caden, Luke, and Austin... Bath time!

Sunday we went up to Beaver Dam. We went to church then had a big family lunch there and a little program on the hill...

Boys having fun with their "swords!" Luke thinks he's one of the big kids... calls the cousins his age babies... haha

Mila very into her book...

After church/lunch everyone went up to the cemetery to see where some ancestors are buried... did some grave rubbings and hung out...
Ethan and Luke chilling by someones grave...

Jake...

Luke wrestling with Caden! .... ya, probably not the most cemetery-appropriate activity... ;)

Jake, some of his brothers, and his dad went for a hike after the cemetery stop... Mt. Baldy... or Baldy Peak... something like that ;) The train passed by while they were hiking...

Josh... um... listening for a train??

We had a fun time with all the Smiths at the reunion!

After the Smith reunion we were off to Grandma Fran and Grandpa John's House.

*Got to hang out with more grandparents!

*Uncle Eldon and Melanie and kids came up to visit.

*Ate way too much food...

*Luke had a blast running around outside, smashing bugs with grandpa John's fly swatter (I'm really considering getting him a fly swatter for his b-day now... he loved it!), checking out grandpa's tools, watching Eldon mow the grass, and swinging.

*Jake watched some bad Spurs games

* I got to hang out with my Aunt Carol... so fun to see her!

Luke with my cousin Ashley... they had fun together!

Zonked out in the swing...

Smashing bugs...

Grandma Fran, Luke, Me, Grandpa John...

Oh my... what a long post! After leaving Grandma Fran and Grandpa John's house we were off to the airport and in for a long day coming back to TX! Such a fun trip! Luke was great on the planes... horrible while waiting in the airports. We had a layover in Las Vegas on the way back... nightmare! haha. He just wanted to run around like a crazy guy there. I'm sure it was great entertainment for onlookers watching me and Jake take turns chasing him around the airport. Anyway, I'm glad we were able to see so many people we hadn't seen in so long. Hopefully we'll get to do everything again next summer!