The Ol' B.Y.

Good times since I last posted. Our Utah portion went very quickly...we sure packed in the fun! I think last time I posted there was an illness issue...no worries, Kyle bounced right back (go with the shot) and so far nobody else has shown signs of strep (or any other illness). Whew. We finished a great week on the lake. We had wave runners again on Friday and everyone just had a great time...the boat had some issues so that part of the adventure ended early but we still had a very full, very fun week of sun and sand! We ate enormous amounts the entire time we were there and still managed to send home enough food to feed an army...amazing! Some of the group headed out Friday evening and more left Saturday. Saturday night it was just Jeff's family, our family, and Kim (along with a couple of stray cousins). We enjoyed some time at the dinosaur museum and a night of cards. Sunday morning we packed up and headed back to Brigham City for a few hours with Dan's parents. We really wish they could have spent more time with us on the lake but we cherished the few hours we had alone with them this trip. After even MORE food in Brigham we decided to sleep in Lehi at Kim's house with Jeff's family since we needed to be south anyway. It was a great time...thanks Hoppie's!

Monday morning brought the much anticipated BYU portion of our vacation. Basically there are two kinds of people in this world; those who love the Y, and those who are not invited to our house ;-) Seriously, good times. BYU is where Dan and I met--we lived there all the way up through the first 4 1/2 years of marriage. That place is steeped in memories for us and it is always a treat to go back. The kids were great and we all had a fun time. The morning was spent on campus...breakfast at the 'Cougareat', a trip to the bookstore for some new shirts and souvenirs, and then meeting friends for a tour of Legacy Hall. Obviously we had lunch at the Brick Oven (tummy pizza) and then off to the hotel. We relaxed for a bit and then it was off again. A trip to Provo is not complete without a drive up the canyon, so drive we did. Bridle Veil falls, and some of our favorite parks were included. It was trying to rain so we didn't spend a ton of time but it was a pleasant afternoon. I convinced the kids to take off their socks and shoes and walk a bit in the water...hehehe! They have never exactly experienced the 'refreshing' cool of mountain spring water...it really feels nice...if you are trying to ice down your ankle. It really did start to rain so it was back to campus for some more walking down memory lane, dinner at Creamery on 9th, bowling at the WILK (Monday night is dollar night...score one for us!), and back to the creamery for the best ice cream ever (I know, Blue Bell fans, it's a tough call. I think we need to go head to head on this one, and I need to be a judge!)

Since we can't move into our new place until Saturday we decided to break up the drive home into 3 days instead of 2 and that allowed us enough time for a bit more of The Ol' B.Y. before leaving town. Dan took Tyler and Kyle to hike the 'Y'. We always plan to do it and it never works out...the last 3 times we've been in Utah something has foiled our plans and we have never taken any children up the mountain. This time we prevailed! We opted to keep Aaron and myself behind for this trip...and Katherine decided last minute that she did not want to go (when she got to the trail head and looked up it was over). Next time we're going to take everyone! Side note here...we were almost unable to hike again today. When we got into the car this morning the battery was indeed dead. Grrrrr. I guess if you are going to have car trouble that's a pretty good option...very easy fix, but still frustrating. We were already running late and then we had to take time out to jump the car. Thankfully the hotel is across the street from a Jiffy Lube and they loaned Dan one of those jumper cable boxes that doesn't require another car to jump start your battery. Whew, thanks guys! Dodged another bullet. After saying goodbye to Provo once more we headed out on the road and here we are in Farmington, New Mexico.

It was a slow drive but basically pleasant. The kiddos enjoyed driving through Moab/Arches the most...it really is impressive. One of these times we are going to have to take time to add southern Utah onto the itinerary as well, lots of good camping to be had down there. Anyway, we hit some rain but saw some amazing rainbows...the pics didn't turn out but they were great. We experienced the joy of driving through the Indian reservations...and are thankful that our car functioned properly the whole way...and here we are at the Towne and Place Suites in Farmington. We all enjoyed a quick swim and, again, love the really comfy beds and are hoping to sleep in a bit. Tomorrow we drive to Amarillo and Thursday we get to the Egan's in Flower Mound (yippeee). I know I keep saying this but I can not believe it is over already. In some ways it feels like we've been gone forever and in others it's like we just left. Definitely the trip of a lifetime! I hope all is well with everyone, happy summer!