3rd Stop Tooele

Anne came and picked us up Friday mid morning and took us to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  Wally was on his lunch break so he met us there and got to meet Reid for the first time!  Then we drove out to Tooele where Hayden had fun with cousins playing on the water slide and jumping on the trampoline until it split in half!   Darice drove out with her family for the day so there were lots of cute little babies!

Hayden and Gigi, she loved holding a little baby again

Sunday Mark and Kelsey blessed Georgia Ann (Gigi) in church and then we had a big lunch afterwards.  It rained so we all came inside, but it was great to visit with family on such a special day.

Monday preparations for the river began.  It takes a lot of work to get everything ready to go.  Anne and Steve work so hard to make the river such a fun experience for everyone.  I don't know how they do it every year!

Most people who know me know that I get sick every time I travel and I was so proud of myself because up until now I was doing really well!  Well Monday rolls around and Paul gets sick and then proceeded to give it to EVERYONE else!  It was a nasty cold that took forever to go away.  Around the same time my eyes started to swell, I wouldn't find out until the following Sunday that I was having an allergic reaction (I believe to dogs) it was awful!

I was scared to camp with Reid for 5 days, so I let Paul take Hayden to Jackson Hole on Tuesday and I joined them on Thursday.  Mark had to work until then, so he was nice enough to let me ride with him.  I always love getting to talk to Mark.  It reminds me of when I'd go to Tooele to visit with them when Paul was on his mission or at the Academy. Mark was always so good to stay and hang out with me.

I was super nervous about camping with an 8 month old, but Reid did pretty good!  The first day he refused to nap, he was way to excited about everything, and then at night he woke up after only an hour of sleeping.  But I nursed him and laid him back down and he slept all night, Thursday and Friday.

The river was freezing cold this year and the weather was the worst it's ever been since I've gone.  It rained a lot and never got much above 70.  But that didn't stop us from having fun.  I was so proud of Hayden for being so brave.  She loved going on the river despite shivering most of the time and loves it when he dad calls her a "river rat."  She even jumped off the side of the boat into the water.

Cousin Tate and Reid, all of Reid's cousins were so cute with him!

Reid's 1st morning around the campfire

On Friday night we headed in to Jackson Hole and had pizza and walked around the town. Reid dumped a water bottle on himself so he got these cute $20 pajamas!

The next morning we packed up and headed home.  We took the scenic route through Bear Lake and got a delicious raspberry milk shake!

That night Hayden's older cousins let her in on the sleep over and Hayden was beyond thrilled.  She was so excited to be with the big girls!

The next day after church Grandma Anne and the cousins had a surprise birthday party for Hayden since she's never been able to have a cousins party.  She was pretty excited to have all the attention on her, to open presents and eat princess cake!

Monday came and sadly it was time for us to head back to Georgia.  It doesn't matter how long we stay, it is always hard to leave!  

We had such a memorable trip.  Paul and I often say that we don't want to raise our children in Utah, but then after being home with family we can't help but want Hayden to be near her cousins and grandparents.  It was a rough adjustment back to being at home.  We love our families so much!

2nd Stop Salt Lake

Michelle and I made it to Salt Lake around 5pm and we were shocked to get out of the car and feel how HOT it was!  Owen and Hayden were greeted by Grandma and Grandpa Robinson and my brothers, Sean and Ian.  They definitely got spoiled while we were there with nerf guns, and they each got their own special toy.  Hayden got Maleficent the Barbie Doll and recently took her to show and tell at preschool.

We drove to Utah on the 23rd so that we could celebrate the 24th in Utah.  In usual fashion, my Dad bought a huge pack of fireworks and we had quite the display on the driveway.  Owen loved doing the sparklers, while Hayden was VERY cautious with them.  We all loved watching the fireworks together.  Owen even sat on my lap for quite awhile which made me feel extra special.  Earlier that day we got lunch to go and let the kids play at Southwood Park while we had a belated birthday lunch for Shannon.  It was fun to visit and catch up with Shannon.

 We packed so many fun activities into the week we visited, I think we hit just about every fun kid attraction in the Salt Lake Area!  We made a trip to the new Aquarium, and despite being spoiled by the Georgia Aquarium we had a great time.  Hayden enjoyed climbing across a rope bridge in the tropical area.  

Just like in my childhood, we went to lunch at Chuck-A-Rama on Saturday.  I can't eat there without thinking fondly about my Grandma Robinson.  Later that afternoon we went swimming at the Murray Pool.  Hayden and Owen loved the water slide which Michelle and I got to accompany them on over and over again!  

After church on Sunday we braved the triple digit temperatures to go to Wheeler Farm.  I was smart and left Reid with my mom and dad.  It was seriously the hottest I have been in a long time and I live in Atlanta!  Shannon and Marcus met us there and we fed the ducks and visited the animals.  

On Monday we were smart and got out of the heat by going to the Children's Museum at Gateway.  Hayden loved the grocery area and spent a substantial amount of time in the deli making sandwiches for her customers!

My mom was pretty awesome and got Reid to take a short nap and was so good to play with Hayden and build ginger bread houses!

Shannon getting to know Reid...

Uncle Ian and Sean spent countless hours jumping on the trampoline with Hayden and Owen.  Both kids loved watching them do tricks and then the kids would show the boys their fancy tricks.  The spent every night jumping and even jumped with the sprinklers on one day.

We also visited one of my new favorite places in Salt Lake, the Tracey Aviary.  It has totally transformed since my childhood and is such a beautiful place!  We didn't stay too long because it started to rain but it was fun to go.

On Wednesday I picked up Paul from the airport and it was so wonderful to be reunited after about 2 weeks.  Paul and I don't do well apart.  He can't sleep without us home and we just miss each other!  

Thursday we went to the Hogle Zoo which is another one of my favorite places to go.  It always reminds me of the fun trips we took there with my Grandma and Grandpa Cowan each year.  I had to get a picture with Hayden in front of this drinking fountain.  I LOVED drinking out of it for years!

My favorite part of the zoo this year was the bird show.  It was so good!  We had all kinds of birds swooping over our heads.  Hayden still talks about the giant owls that flew over us.  Grandma donated some money to the bird show so Hayden got to have her picture taken with a bald eagle.

This was another favorite for both Paul and I.  We had to show Hayden this part of the zoo!

We also rode the train and the carousel 

On Friday my mom drove back to Colorado Springs with Michelle and our family headed on to stage 2 of our trip.  This was one of my favorite trips home.  We did lots of fun activities and spent a lot of quality time with each family member.  My mom and dad did a great job of making it a special week.

Summer Trip Out West: 1st Stop Colorado Springs

For Mother's Day Paul surprised me with a trip to visit my sister Michelle in her new house in Colorado Springs.  I was so excited to be able to go out and see her since I have not been since Owen was born!  So July 16th I flew out with both kids on my own.  I was a little nervous about this and it wasn't nearly as easy as flying with just Hayden, but we made it!

My mornings started out very early since Reid has a strong internal clock!  The earliest he woke up was around 5 am and the latest he slept was about 6:30 am!  Our first full day we headed over to Manitou Springs.  The kids loved the playground and then we checked out some of the quirky shops, like the rubber ducky store and Christmas shop.  Before lunch we headed over to the arcades where Aunt Michelle treated the kids to a handful of quarters to ride the rides.  Both Hayden and Owen were quite sad when the quarters ran out!  For lunch we settled on P.J.'s Bistro.

On Friday we went swimming at the Wilson Ranch Outdoor Pool and enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather.  Hayden had fun going down the small water slides while Owen loved the whirl pool and lazy river.
Aunt Michelle was so great in helping me out with Hayden while I nursed Reid and got him ready for bed at night.  Hayden looked forward to story time the songs Michelle sang.

Recently Hayden told me her favorite Aunt was Michelle, and when I asked why she said because she was so fun and let her play with her American girl doll.  Michelle is awesome and has the complete Addy collection and she was brave and kind enough to let Hayden play with her while we were there!

Michelle and Reid snuggling!  

 On Saturday Jared was kind enough to watch the kiddos while Michelle took me for a run at Fox Run Park.  It was beautiful, but I died!  Michelle is an excellent runner, I did my best but definitely held her back!  After getting cleaned up we went shopping at Briargate and had lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen.  We got some awesome deals at William Sonoma before the rain and Mr. Reid waking up from his nap forced us back home!

On Sunday Michelle took us over to the Air Force Academy so that Hayden could see where her dad went to college.  It was VERY hot this day and Hayden did not enjoy the short walk to see the grounds!  But she did like seeing where her dads dorm room was and watching the cadets training.  Coming back to the Academy brought back all kinds of fun memories about when Paul and I first started dating.

After their crazy late church (2pm-5pm) we had dinner and delicious gluten free cookies.  They really were amazing as you can see by Owen's face!

On Monday we headed over to the North Pole which is a theme park for little kids.  It was not what I was expecting at all.  Michelle and I tentatively decided to spend the morning there, but they were having so much fun so we spent the entire day!

Reid did not appreciate Santa, but to his defense he was tired!

Feeding the Reindeer 

Riding the rides.  Michelle was awesome and went on several spinny rides, I cannot do them anymore without feeling sick!

Hayden never falls asleep in the car, so this is proof of how exhausted they were!

On Tuesday we prepped and got everything ready for our drive to Utah.  That night I also got to reunite with our friends and neighbors from Cheyenne, the Sanders.  These girls are just a few weeks apart and always have a great time when we get together.  So grateful to have friends all over the country!

Wednesday morning we woke up early and started the 10 hour drive to Utah with these 3 in the back.  I was really nervous about this phase of the trip, but they all did great!  Reid barely made a peep, I was surprised and extremely grateful.

Michelle and Jared were such great hosts.  We really packed in an entire week of fun!  We had a great time and Hayden loved playing with her cousin Owen and having sleep overs in his room each night.  They played much better than previous visits, but Hayden still has some room for improvement in learning to play with Owen.  Hopefully next time will be even better.