Utah Vacation!

Before you read this post, take a deep breath, cause it is long.  We were in Utah for almost 3 weeks and there was not a day that we sat still.....

We drove to Utah on Aug. 9th and made our first quick stop in Gunnison, to pick up a second car.  Then we had dinner with some of our favorite Utah friends, Nikki, Jody, and Meggan, and their little families.  I am so grateful I still keep in touch with these friends.  It is so nice to know that even though we are far away, we still have friends in Utah and we always look forward to seeing them.  Nikki was such a good host and allowed the kids to play in the water.  Jordyn had been in the car literally all day and was exstatic to play!  That night, we drove to SLC and stayed with Chad's grandparents.  As always it was great to see them, even though it was brief.

The next day, Chad went golfing with his brother and Tarrin was nice enough to let me chill with her and the kids.  And I finally got to meet the twins!  So adorable!  That afternoon I met my little bro at the airport returning from his mission!  Welcome home Connor!  He got to meet Jordyn for the first time.  She was mostly concerned about showing him her bunny.

We left the airport and drove to Bear Lake.  I had never been there, and I tell you...GORGEOUS!  Chad's parents rented this awesome house.  We spent a day at the beach playing in the sand and riding wave runners.  Jordyn was in heaven!  Unfortunately, I had to leave Bear Lake early to go to my brother's homecoming (which is why we needed the second car and wich is why I only took 100 pictures instead of 1,000!). I know that Chad had a blast sharing Jordyn with his family as they toured caves, played games at the house, and enjoyed  Bear Lake and Logan. Thanks Rod and Lisa for providing such a great get-away for the family!

Do you love how her fat cheeks just roll out of her life jacket?! She was great not to whine about it and wear her life jacket whenever we asked.

When the Bear Lake portion of the vacation was over, Chad and Jordyn joined me in Gunnison to go to Lake Powell.  Oh, how I love Lake Powell!  It was different for me this year.  I realized it is much less of a relaxing vacation now that I have a child to watch.  Less relaxing, but more entertaining.


What is it about digging holes in the sand that is just so satisfying?



More sand.  More water.  Jordyn LOVES the water.



We went for a short boat ride to the huge over-hang you see in the top left picture.  Chad also showed us all up by jumping a huge cliff.  You can see in the bottom left picture where the arrow is how high he was.  Crazy man. 



Skiing, skiing, and more skiing.  Chad again showed us up by getting up on one after only like 3 tries.  To make sure we all know how awesome he is, he crossed the wake the first time he was up.  Pictures are of .....
Top left: My dad.  He is 58 and still skiing like a pro.
Top middle:  Cody
Top right: Canyen
Bottom left: Chad
Bottom right: Casey
I spent a lot of time on the boat this trip because it seemed to be the only way to get Jordyn to sleep.  And the poor girl needed some sleep!

Jordyn learned lots of new words at Lake Powell.  She became obsessed with stars, and, and water.  After we left, I was putting her to bed at my mom's house and she laid there saying, "Oh, water. Oh, boat.  Oh, stars.  Oh, swimming.  Oh, sand..."  On and on, repeating all the things she loved about Lake Powell.

Chad and I split ways at Lake Powell.  He had to be back in Denver for a performance review so he drove home, and I went back to Gunnison with my parents.  Jordyn was pretty confused about the whole thing.  Anytime I asked "Where's daddy?" her reply was "Bye-bye, at the water".  I stayed in Gunnison for a whole week. I got to meet another new nephew, baby Kelton.  My mom started work and it was a really busy week for her.  I was glad to help out with all the kids staying at the house right now.  There were times when it got crazy, but honestly, it was mostly caused by Sam and I!  We wanted to have fun, but that meant taking three 1 year olds and and 3 year old every where we went.  We went shopping, and the park, the derby, El Mex (of course) and at trip up the mountain to roast hot dogs.

I love these mountains!

 

Being with family is great.  And Chad and I are so blessed to have great families who have so much fun together.  Jordyn and I flew back on Aug. 25.  That makes almost 3 weeks.  I was glad to be home with Chad, and Jordyn was glad to be in her own bed.  Bedtime on vacation is no fun for anyone!  Especially 3 weeks worth of bedtime.  I am glad to be in my quiet home.  After being in Colorado for a year now, I am so grateful we are here.  We definately made the right choice.  We have learned so much and become a different family than we were in Utah.  We are different church members here.  We are just different than we were.  Sometimes when I go back, I miss who we used to be.  But then I come home to Colorado and remember that this is a good life!