Fun In The Sun!

The last 10 days of April was a super fun trip to Utah and Idaho. Olivia and I flew out first to Utah, where we spent a couple days, then went to Idaho, where Alex met us. It was a crazy whirlwind of a week, but we had a blast and I can't wait to do the trip again!

We started out with some more airport craziness....I won't go into detail like I did last time, but I did learn a few lessons that I will share:

1. Never count on leaving on time out of Fresno airport

2. If you are traveling pregnant with a toddler, don't try to switch airlines with less than a 3 hour layover

3. If you DO have to switch airlines, pay a little more to get on an airline that will transfer your luggage for you

4. It's ok to call your husband in a panic and let him sit on hold with the airline while you try desperately to get to your next flight.

If you don't follow these tips, you may end up running, pushing a stroller with an unhappy 18 month old, pulling a luggage cart with a suitcase, two carry-ons, and a car seat attached, through an airport, begging the ticket counter people to hurry with checking your luggage, and dashing to the new gate (after going through security AGAIN)... while in your third trimester with kid #2.

However, once we got to Utah we had an amazing time. The first night was one of exploration, as Olivia met Kylie (they have met before, but never with a completely mobile Olivia and very active Kylie) and her two big dogs, and explored all the messes of a new house. Candy, Bryan and I (then just Candy and I after Bryan went to bed...) chatted until 3 in the morning, all the while knowing that we were going to be woken up very early with the kids. It was so fun to have time just to sit and talk, I wish we could have stayed a lot longer.

Here is Olivia's hand as she reaches into Kylie's car seat. She loved that she could find Kylie's nose and mouth and play while driving, though Kylie wasn't entirely fond of it. I did catch them holding hands at one point while they were both falling asleep, but didn't get it on camera.

The next morning we hung out with Bryan and Candy, then did a little bit of consignment store shopping (I found the swing I wanted!!). In the afternoon we headed down to Orem to see all the rest of the Utah family. It was the day of the Stays' dance recital, and the day before Nikki's homecoming, so there was lots going on and people running around everywhere. We ended up chatting away the afternoon with Ali and Nikki (Jesse, Olivia, and Kylie had fun playing together), then going to Chris and Katie's house before all congregating at the Stay's for some late snacks and games. It was a very fun-filled day, and one that I wish I could have stretched on to make time to talk to everyone a little more. I feel like we barely saw Tasha especially, but we had a quick turn around.

The next morning Nikki gave her homecoming talk in church (it was a wonderful talk with fun anecdotes, great stories, and a very heartfelt testimony), then Dalita, Ali, Jesse, Nikki, Olivia and I loaded up in the car for the drive to Boise. Thinking back I can't believe all that we packed into less than 36 hours in Utah, but it explains why I have no pictures! We just kept going and going...

The drive to Boise was a blast, it was really fun to have some quiet grownup time with my almost-sisters and almost-mom :). We got to the Grovers' house just in time to say hi to the kids before they went to bed, then we stayed up chatting (what else? I remember texting Alex at this point and him asking what I was doing, then immediately replying that he was sure I was chatting because that's all I had done thus far on the trip. It's true that catching up with some of the women that I love and don't see often was a major plus from this trip!). The Stays were only at Amber's for a day, so we wanted to make the most of it.

The next morning we hung out at home, played with the kids, and planned a grown up lunch for the afternoon. The Grover kids were in school, so there was lots of running to do, but we managed to squeeze in a two hour lunch excursion to an amazing restaurant (name escaping me) for great food and even better company.

After saying goodbye to the Stays, we settled into somewhat of a routine for the week. One of the things I loved about this trip was just doing regular life with Amber and being together so we could talk and hang out even while we were doing the dishes, grocery shopping, and chasing around 5 kids. Granted I was only responsible for one of the kids, so it might have been a different experience for Amber :). I got a couple nights with too much sleep to make up for the several before with hardly any, and we waited for Alex to come.

I just remembered why I have no pictures! I forgot my camera at home, so Alex brought it with him when he flew out. That's when the real Idaho party started, because the kids all had their jungle gym uncle around. Here are some pictures from a trip to the park on Thursday, the 27th. First we just have cute pictures of all the kids (and Alex). None of Amber or me...I just didn't take any :).

Elli,

 Teag, concentrating on the steps...

 Olivia tackling the bumpy ramp...

 The boys, who were inseparable :),     (Dan was out of town the whole time we were there, which was a huge bummer for Alex, who was hoping for some video game competitions and man-time :))

 Maely, (by the way, I love how both of the Grover girls strike amazing poses as soon as a camera is pulled out...they know how to work it!)

And now for the fun activities...Kade and Alex played catch with the football for a lot of the time, then came over to join us at the playground. Maely was a super helper and pushed Olivia for a while (the swing is the only apparatus she wants these days). Olivia enjoyed her big cousin pushing her and doing underdogs much more than her boring mom!

We put both of the kids on the swings, and you might be able to see the difference in reactions. Teag was still concentrating, and maybe a little concerned...Olivia was one-handing it while kicking and shrieking with joy.

The next morning Amber and I took off for a huge semi-annual kids sale at a local consignment shop, and Alex watched ALL 5 KIDS! I was amazed that he would even volunteer, especially since he hasn't babysat EVER before. Amber and I both made out with huge hauls (everything is .25 a piece at this sale), and came home to happy kids and a not messy house. Just another reminder of the amazing man that I married. He is a wonderful husband, father, and uncle.

Early in the afternoon Alex and I headed out for our night away. I felt bad to leave yet another little one with Amber, who already had her hands full, but she was glad to do it, and we really had a great time. It's been hard realizing how difficult it is to get away with just one child, and we know it will be a rare occurence when #2 joins our family later this summer. I made Alex plan the entire excursion, and not tell me details, because I love surprises. He didn't disappoint in the least, we had a great time.

We started out night away at the Anniversary Inn Boise in the "Fire and Ice" room.

In case you've never heard of this hotel, it's a nice bed and breakfast type hotel with themed rooms. The decorations are just past corny, and some of the rooms are pretty crazy, but it was the perfect place for us. We had a fun time exploring the ice cave, even with the creepy penguins right by the bed.

After that we headed to my favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot. I didn't know there was one in Boise, and I was in charge of the directions, so I got more and more curious as we started heading downtown. I didn't know the destination, but was watching closely, and I'll admit I was just a 'little' excited when I saw the Melting Pot sign. I completely forgot my role as navigator, and we ended up taking a slight detour because of my lack of helpfulness, but it was all worth it :).

Here is Alex enjoying the wonderful aromas from our first course...I can practically taste it as I type this, which is bad news, because there is a Melting Pot in Portland as well...just within reach!

After a very tasty dinner, and a slow walk to the car (we were both very full, and needed to walk it off a little), we headed back for a relaxing movie in bed. It was a perfect day, and I couldn't wait to see what was planned for the next day!

We woke up the next morning to breakfast in bed...always a nice treat... and an entire day to plan. Alex had some ideas for what to do, but we both realized we were totally enjoying just hanging out together, so we didn't overplan the day.

After breakfast we headed to the huge park that was next to our hotel to walk around and enjoy the cheesecake that came with our room. We found out later that the park has tons of walking paths, playgrounds, and even a splash park area, but we were on the wrong side and pretty much ended up walking through a frisbee golf course, trying not to get hit :). On the way out we saw this 'bump' sign, and I just couldn't resist. I'm not much of a maternity picture taker, but I always think other people's pictures are adorable, so I took this one. It was about 24.5 weeks.

Next we went to the Old Idaho State Penitentiary, which is now closed and used as a museum. It was totally crazy, and worth going to for anyone visiting Boise. I just made a collage of some of my favorite pictures, but seeing the living conditions of the prisoners there was unreal. I wish I had better pictures of the solitary confinement and some of the older cells, it was a really crazy place. We saw a couple areas where people were executed, and read about some of the escape attempts (some successful) and other interesting stories from when the prison was operating. We have somewhat of a special connection to this prison, as an ancestor of mine was housed here for a short time :), but were unable to find any information about him specifically.

After walking around the jail, we had lunch and decided to go back to the park. We were just having a good time exploring without chasing Olivia and/or stopping every few steps to grab her out of something 'yucky' or 'danger'. When we drove back to the park, we noticed that there was another park right across the street, and decided to go there instead. It was a good choice, as the other park was actually a wildlife reserve-of-sorts, right in the middle of Boise. As we were parking we watched a couple deer run around the parking area, and laughed at the people not 20 feet away that had NO idea.

There were tons of geese, ducks, and a few deer in this park, and lots of beautiful trails. Definitely something Alex and I were missing after spending almost a year in dusty, dry Fresno. Here is a quick pic of Alex doing his 'stud' pose :). He didn't understand how ridiculous he looked, but did oblige me in hiking up his shorts a little more...he likes to show off some leg!

The bottom middle picture in this collage has a deer in the background. We walked around where they were nesting down, but there was a lot of people trying to take pictures and being pretty loud (a wedding was going on about 100 feet away) so we didn't get any great pictures.

It was late afternoon by that point, so we decided to pick up some cheesecake for Amber and the kids and head back. I can't even say how grateful I am for an amazing sister who watched Olivia, even taking her to church during nap-time (I don't know how she did it!). We had an amazing week there with her family, and our little excursion was just the cherry on top. Just going through these pictures makes me anxious to do the whole trip again...hopefully soon!