Reader's Digest version of UTAH

The kids and I took advantage of our their SPRING BREAK & went to UTAH! We left a NASTY snowstorm behind and were welcomed by BEAUTIFUL blue skies. Perfect timing! 

We had a wonderful visit and are already counting down to when we get to see our family and UT friends again.

Because of the aforementioned snowstorm, our flight was delayed a couple hours so we had LOTS of time to kill at the airport.  We ate nasty and over-priced airport food and the kids played in the playplace (GENIUS idea) while I read.

 

Tol was SO excited to go to Utah that he woke up at 3 am that morning.  He woke up, made his bed, showered, got dressed and came upstairs to watch recorded Spongebob episodes until I woke up.  Needless to say, he was out cold before the plane was in the air.

Lunch @ Hagermann's with Lee, Grandma Alice, Aunt Lorainne (Lee's sister) and her husband, Whitney. We rarely see these guys so it was great to see them and catch up.

The kids LOVE their Utah dentist so we made time to visit Dr. Johnson.

He really is the BEST pediatric dentist. And they had ZERO cavities!

My girlfriends rented a cabin in Midway for a little girlie get-a-way while I was in town. First, we indulged in a little PC Outlet shopping then went to the YUMMIEST dinner at Maxwell's. I usually can't pass up Loco Lizard when I'm up that way, but now it's going to be a toss-up.  Maxwell's was AMAZEBALLS!, right girls?  Then we headed to the cabin where we stayed up WAAAAY too late talking. The next morning we had an amazing breakfast, thanks to Jen. And there may or may not have been a few of us who got a little obsessed with a puzzle. I forgot how fun (and nerdy) putting together a puzzle is. 

Oh, and that pic if Kristen with the tissue up her nose; she was a sniffer (which is a MAJOR pet-peeve of mine) so she stuffed a cork in it. Thanks Kris.

 It goes without saying that it is always a pleasure to spend time with these gals, but we definitely missed both Kriste(i)'s, and Keri.

The pics below are the views from both sides of the cabin. I took them from the deck. So pretty!

Lucky for us, our trip overlapped with Candice's Utah trip!  Lucky for me because I was able to get my hair done.  Oh the luxuries I took advantage of!  We both worked in the salon and that was super FUN working with each other again. We also met for a DELICIOUS Mimi's breakfast and shopping at the "Horsey Mall" one morning before she headed back to Cali.

 We had a lovely day with Jan at Gardner Village. Before we fed the ducks, we had lunch at Archibald's and shopped at a few of the adorable shops there. The kids LOVE their Grammy Jan and were able to spend a whole other day with her at Wheeler Farm.  Jan really pulls out all the stops for these kids and rolls out the red carpet when they're with her. Thanks for the great day, Jan!

Chel and Becca went to Mexico for almost 2 weeks. LUCKY DUCKS!! And it just so happened that they had a layover in SLC on their way back to Seattle. Me, Jess and the kids (my parents and Curt were at a mandatory basketball banquet) met them for a Cafe Rio picnic at the airport. It wasn't the longest of visits, but we'll take what we can get. I mean, how perfect was that timing? It was SO FUN to see Chel and Becca and their BRONZE BUNS!

Chuck-A-Rama with the Bollingers.

Old traditions die hard.

Auntie Jess took the kids on a special date. They went to Chuck e Cheese for a while but got bored (shockingly) so they ended up going bowling and to Chick-Fil-A instead. The kids are STILL talking about their "Auntie Jess" date- they had so much fun! Jess is the BEST! My kids just ADORE her.

Lee took us out to dinner at Mimi's (no such thing as TOO much Mimi's) and to dessert at The Sweet Tooth Fairy. I think the highlight for Tol was filling up Lee's Natural Gas Honda. Can you believe we filled his car half-way for $2.12?!! I want that car for that reason alone!.. and a few other reasons, as well.

A trip highlight for me was the Nelson/Pugh reunion. We were neighbors growing up, but just saying we were neighbors doesn't quite cut it. We were much more than just neighbors, we were more like family. I have SO many memories involving these guys. Lori was my second mom and Kaiti was the older sister I never had. Chad lived in the circle playing basketball (I was SURE he'd make it to the NBA).

For some really dumb reason, I haven't seen these guys in ages! It was SO great catching up and reminiscing of the old days. It was a bummer that Brian and Tricia couldn't make it, but we LOVED seeing Nanc, Lor, Chad and Kate.

The day before we left were were able to meet my darling grandparents at Corner Bakery for lunch, then we went back to their house to hang out for a while. I had to get a pic of my Gramp taking out the garbage; he had one hand on the garbage and one keeping his pants up. I don't think his cane was helping him much. My cute gramp- I offered to take his garbage can to the curb for him but he is one stubborn dude and insisted on doing it himself (like everything else). I should mention that he was in the hospital just a few days prior to this, too. I just adore my grandparents and feel so blessed to have had so much time with them and that my kids have been able to have a relationship with them, too.

The worst part about visiting Utah is having to say good-bye when it's time to go home.

But it is good to be home. And weird that Minnesota has, in fact, become "home."