Our Summer Adventures Part IV

DAY 8: Dan went golfing early in the morning with his brother Dave and we were able to spend a few more minutes hanging out with him and his wife Holly that morning. Then we were off again. We met my family at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake. Our children absolutely love it there . . . I don't blame them - it's the best zoo I've ever been to - OK, so I haven't been to many, but they really DO have a great zoo - and Dan made the strange observation that the cost of admission there was cheaper than at our zoo here in Anchorage . . . everything costs more up here! Anyway - I was SO happy to have so many members of  my family there.

L to R: My oldest sister Teresa, my 3rd sister Tifanie, Teresa's daughter Jordan, Dan and me, My brother who's 4th in line, my sister (and best friend) Taisley who's #6 and her husband Warren.

Then there were all the little kids - Back to front - my brother Troy again {uncle Troy gets plenty of admiration around here . . . the kids had so much fun with him!} my Harrison, my Emery, Taisley's Everett, my Jackson, Taisley's Bentley. I am so sad to not live closer to them. Our kids would have so much fun growing up together. But they're stubborn and won't move up here . . . course . . . is it stubborn for us to refuse to move as well??? I still say - we have deeper roots . . . so they need to move here!!!

Anyway - after the zoo we went to Sugarhouse park and met up with extended family on my mom's side. It was so great to see 2 of my aunts and a couple cousins - the kids played at the park but mostly at the water fountain and the adults either visited or played bocci ball. My mom & dad called from their mission in Wyoming just to talk to us while we were all together. It kills them to miss out on family things like that. Then that night we just parked outside Taisley's and after putting the kids to bed, I went in and stayed up late talking with Taisley and Troy. It was so very nice!!!

DAY 9: So we drive up to Layton and meet Dan's sister and mom. The plan was that they were going to watch the two younger kids and we were going with Harrison and Emery to Lagoon. We'd been looking forward to it and talking about it almost as long as the trip itself. That morning I grew a little nervous about how Harrison would do - he was reluctant at Disneyland to ride anything too scary (and by that I mean Dumbo was his comfort level!) so I pulled him aside and told him that we all needed to have fun today - we needed to be brave and not keep others from riding anything. I pretty much freaked him out so that on the drive to Lagoon we were trying to figure out a deal where he could pass on a certain amount of rides or he'd have to ride a certain number of scary rides. We couldn't come up with anything fair and he did not seem thrilled about going. Dan mentioned just taking him for the day and going golfing while Emery {the brave little thing!} and I had a special day at Lagoon. We drove back to Ann's house to get my phone and work out the details. So it ended up being a late start - and not quite the day we'd planned, but it worked out for the best!!

Emery was very brave and we went on some fabulous rides. It was a great day for us - and Harrison had fun with Dad as well . . . fortunately. I think back now and realize it would have been a miserable day for all of us. I'm glad I had the day w/ Eme and I'm glad he didn't feel pressured into riding something that terrified him. Win win.

After Lagoon, we drove to Bountiful to meet up with our friends the Kerr's. They were here in Anchorage when we first moved in but left a couple years ago and now live in Utah. We again had a fabulous time catching up - they have kids close to our kids' ages and even though in the beginning they were tentatively admitting they didn't remember each other - by the end it was hard to get them to say goodbye. Us, too. We really have fond memories with the Kerr's. I can't for the life of me figure out why people move away once they're here. I'm always secretly hoping they'll move back!

So fitting for the last night of our trip - Jack fell asleep sitting up again. He was so stinkin' tired he just fell asleep . . . right there . . . in the swaying RV.

We drove late into the night . . . destination Boise, Idaho.

At one point Dan pulled over and slept for a little while.

DAY 10: Our final day began with more driving . . . then dropped off our little home away from home and went to the airport. Another couple flights and we were home. Back to the overcast skies and hoodie-wearing temperatures. Our summer ended just like that. I can't believe how great this vacation was. It was fast and we tried to squeeze in as much as we could . . . but I don't know how we could have made anything better. The kids traveled fabulously. They were mostly well-behaved and really enjoyed our time together. Aidan bonded intensely with daddy - he'd never spent that much time with him . . . so their bond has carried over into regular life and he's so enamored by his dad. 

We really are grateful we got to see so many family and friends. Every time we go home we worry about getting to everyone and seeing who we can. There are many more people we wanted to see and just weren't able to do it. Next time, we promise! It's just so hard when you live over 3,000 miles away and are so popular! {that was sarcasm!!!}