Utah-Temple Square/Date

Our Date at The Garden Restaurant in SLC

My hero...

The fountain & gardens on top of the Conference Center...

Proof of my Naughtiness...

You can't fly to Salt Lake without going to Temple Square. Kevin and I were lucky enough to get away one night and go on a date there. We saw the Joseph Smith Film in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (top secret-Joseph Smith's heroic acts made my hot hubby nearly weep crocodile tears and say he wanted to be a better person, as if he could be any more perfect). We ate at the Garden at the top of the building (Salmon & Creme Brulee) and met a cute couple on their 30th wedding anniversary and took turns snapping pics of each other. We got a few pics in front of the temple and then got a quick tour of the Conference center before it closed. I was very naughty and snapped a picture of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practicing, before a tour guide quickly told me, "No Pictures Allowed, Especially of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!!" Kevin quickly grabbed my camera and ran out screaming, "I've Got It! I've Got It!" See what I mean-he's practically perfect! If you ever run into my hot husband, please thank him for rescuing the above pic that I took on that fateful day. Just remembering his heroic act is bringing crocodile tears to my eyes...

Utah-Thanksgiving Point/Mt. Timpanogos

We went and toured these lush gardens in Thanksgiving Point with Kevin's Aunt Jolene. The boys took a catnap, and the place was beautiful. We took pics by the waterfall, and these pics don't do the place justice. We then took the boys to this neat petting zoo there. The cow was nibbling on Hayden's shirt, the boys rode ponies, fed chickens, there was a cow being milked, donkeys, horses, goats, ducks, pigs, etc. It was really fun, and I think I loved it more than the boys. The next day, Kevin, Hayden, and I went hiking up Mt. Timpanogos. We then toured the 3 caves at the top. The tour guide was very adamant about not touching the cave, yet nothing touched more cave than the top of Kevin's poor head. We went with 3 of Kevin's cousins (Sher, Angie, Deena) and their kids. I was the last one up the mountain (turns out I had a cold, but still I felt pretty pathetic being beat by 3 year olds). It was gorgeous on the mountain, but it turns out I was pretty scared of falling off the edge. I mean, seriously, if you were dizzy or lightheaded (say with a head cold) one bad step in the wrong direction and you would fall off the mountain. All the way to the ground. Really far. Just a little to the right. Down. Gone. Finished.

Utahville-Clogging Cousins

On our 6 am flight to Utah-mom & Rowan.

Dad & Hayden

I love this pic of Hayden pulling his luggage with Grandma...

Mom & Rowan

Clogging Cousins

Hayden & Dad

Kevin's cousin's kids playing football, Kelly & Sher.

Rowan sharing with Alex.

Grandma Reva & Rowan. Rowan & Hayden were the only great grandkids that Grandma Reva hadn't met yet.

Deena helping the boys with clogging. Rowan, Amari, & Alexi.

Angie & Sher teaching Deena (Kevin's mom's sister Jolene's daughter)'s kids to swim in exchange for Deena teaching their boys clogging.

Jolene (Kevin's mom's sister), LaVon, Grandma Reva

Grandma Reva-Kevin's mom's mom. She's the only person I've heard yodel in real life, and she was awesome!

Avery, Parker, & Payton practicing clog dancing.

Our trip to Utah was awesome! We went with Kevin's parents, Dave & Lavon to visit both of their families. The boys were awesome on the plane (Rowan slept). We stayed most of the time with Kevin's mom's sister Gaylia & Bert. Kevin's mom's mom (Grandma Reva) lives with Gaylia, so we were able to spend time with her, too. Kevin's grandma is hard of hearing and can hear male voices better, so it was almost nice when I ended up catching a bad cold and sounded like a boy for most of the trip. Gaylia spoiled us rotten by cooking meal after meal for us and having potluck dinners at her house. Kevin's cousins would bring over delicious food on multiple occasions and it was so neat to be a part of it. It felt like we lived their our whole lives and were a part of their weekly gatherings. Kevin has some of the coolest cousins, and their kids are even cooler. Gaylia has two daughters, Kelly & Sher, and 3 of their sons clog (Payton, Parker, & Avery). We were lucky enough to see them practice clogging and then perform on a stage at a fancy ski resort in Park City Utah while some of their friends' band opened up for another band. If you google "Fubecca" you can find the youtube video where they are dancing to "Are you going to be my girl". Try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lH-GsVO4bs . Seriously, take a look, they couldn't be any cuter. I have much more to blog about our trip to Utah, I just needed to start somewhere. Typing this makes me miss everyone there, and I hope we get to go back, soon...

Aunt Donna/Utah Visit

Uncle Dee and Aunt Donna and their 4 daughters and grandchildren.

Aunt Donna and a fraction of her Precious Moments collection (she's holding the first one she got here).

Donna and her daughter LeaDawn fixing dinner at the cabin.

4-Wheeling in the Mountains in Park City, Utah


Hayden & Dad on the 4 wheeler.

The boys watching a DVD in the cabin.

Me and the hottest man in the world.

Kevin's dad talking to his sister.

Selena and the largest Dandelion I'd ever seen...

Selena and I went on a loooong hike where we ran into some porcupines that scared us and we could hear a woodpecker pecking on a tree...

Forgotten Lane

Dee & Donna's Cabin in Park City

Papa Moose not ten yards from the cabin.

Mama, Sister, and Baby Moose

Rowan in the hospital on the baby blanket that Donna made.

I am very grateful we were able to go to Utah in July to visit Kevin's side of the family. We were able to visit with both his mom and dad's family. Shortly after we left Utah, Kevin's aunt Donna (his dad's sister) passed away. Kevin's parents flew back up for the funeral. I first met Aunt Donna when she and her husband Dee surprised us by showing up at my wedding reception in Austin. They were both such a sweet couple. They visited a few times after that in their RV that they drove around the country to visit loved ones in. Dee loved to eat at Chuy's and tried to talk the waiter into shipping some back home to him in Utah, but it couldn't be done. Donna took great care of Dee who was wheel-chair bound and needed extra Oxygen. On one visit, Donna took me to Barnes and Noble and bought some nursery rhyme books for my boys. Donna also made the baby blanket that Kevin was taken home from the hospital in, and I took weekly photos of my boys on and now yearly ones. Dee passed a way a few years ago, and shortly after Donna's health began to deteriorate. When we visited with her she said that she had spent 150 out of the last 365 days in the hospital. I was able to see her famous Precious Moments Collection (4th or 5th largest) while in Utah. Then, we went up to her cabin on Forgotten Lane in Park City with her daughter LeaDawn and her daughter Selena, where we rode 4 wheelers and saw a family of Moose. Donna tried to stay positive during her health battles and even joked that she was the skinniest she'd been in a long time. Due to health problems, she couldn't eat any solid food, and she said she missed steak and lobster the most. She seemed to collect recipes and still fixed a few for us while we were in the cabin. She often talked of her late husband Dee and proudly told Hayden about the story of the moose on the wall and how Dee brought it to be there. A member of the Seventy spoke at her funeral and said that he knew that Dee and Donna were together again, and I have a feeling that Donna is enjoying steak and lobster while Dee is eating some Chuy's. Dee and his precious Donna will not be forgotten.