Utah

Gas to drive the kids to Grandma & Grandpa's house - $75

1 new black dress - $60

2 plane tickets to Utah - $650

5 days ALONE with my husband - priceless!


Jamie and I went to Salt Lake a few weeks ago for his annual Les Schwab Manager's meeting. Although it is called a "meeting" we only have to attend two short meetings all week. Really we play...play...and play some more! Here are the highlights:


Sunday:
We flew out EARLY and I mean EARLY! When we arrived at the Grand American Hotel we 1.gushed...what a gorgeous hotel! 2. took a nap! Later in the evening we attended the Les Schwab Welcome Dinner.


Monday:
We attended a short meeting after breakfast (Dan Fouts gave a less than motivating talk on being positive) and then we toured temple square. Since it was our 8th anniversary we wanted to celebrate. We ate dinner at "The Roof" which overlooks The Salt Lake Temple. Beautiful and the food was delicious!


Tuesday:
After another short meeting we went back to temple square to see the Joseph Smith movie. WOW. I was overcome with emotion...blubbering like a little girl. It was so amazing and real and added to my testimony of this wonderful prophet. We then took in a live session at The Salt Lake Temple. A live session is very interesting...something everyone should do at least once. We then wandered over to Benihanas and had a very yummy dinner and socialized with some other Les Schwabies.


Wednesday:
We slept in (Jamie's favorite day) and then took a trip to Cabela's (The Lehi Temple as the locals call it :) WOW...this store was amazing! If you love the outdoors...this store has everything your little heart desires and then some. We ate at The IceCap where they make THE BIGGEST milkshakes you have ever laid eyes on...not only was the cup gigantic but the shake overflows like 4 inches above the rim! I highly recommend their chocolate peanut butter...YUM!
Later that night we attended the Les Schwab Dinner and Dance. This was a semi-formal event which was held in the Grand American Ballroom...the place was stunning! After dinner we eagerly awaited the entertainment. Every year Les Schwab hires some famous (not quite the most popular at the moment but, non the less, famous) person to perform. This year was Neal McCoy, a country singer who was popular about 10 years ago. He was FABULOUS and put on quite the show...extremely entertaining. I was even able to get Jamie out on the dance floor :0


Thursday:
Our flight didn't leave until late so we had the whole day to explore. We drove down to Provo and I was able to show Jamie where I lived when I attended BYU. We then went up the canyon to Sundance. I had forgotten just how beautiful this place is! Breathtaking! It was a gorgeous day and we took the chairlift up the mountain. What a peaceful, quiet ride. I could use a lift like that every day...just to think! If I had to choose...this would be my favorite part of the whole week. We hopped in the car and drove to Park City where we were able to watch future Olympians practice at Olympic Park, took the worlds steepest zip line down the mountain and finished off with a nice Alpine slide.

It was a much needed week of rest, play and one-on-one time with my hubby! Priceless!

Family Camping Trip

Last month our family took a trip to the beach and stayed at a fabulous campground...lots of trees and privacy...I love that! It was a nice get-away. Here are the Top Ten things that made our trip fun...

1. We rode our bikes all around the campground. Ben got lots of practice on his new bike and is close to getting his training wheels off. He flew around that campground pretending he was "Lightening McQueen".

2. We got lots of use out of the campground's swingset. Ben became quite the daredevil. He wanted to go higher and higher which ment lots and lots of pushing on Jamie and I's part because Ben doesn't quite know how to pump his legs on a swing yet :) Megan even got in on this. Check out her "What the '@&##' is going on here" look...in the slide show above!

3. Ben thought the giant arrows in the road were the coolest thing...on the way to and from the bathrooms/showers we would race from arrow to arrow.

4. My family came over to stay with us for one night. We loved having them join in on the fun.

5. Cooking dinner outside. This has got to be my very favorite thing about camping. There is just something about a meal prepared outside that tickles my tastebuds. YUM OH!!! Plus...we use paper plates! Toss those babies in the garbage can and you're done!

6. Roasting marshmellows around the fire and telling ghost stories. The first night we were there Jamie told a pretty scary tale and struck fear into our little boy. Ben got scared (duh) and insisted on sweet stories the rest of the week. This was ok with me since I am afraidy cat, too!

7. The beach! Our family loooooves the beach! The weather was nice and sunny so we went to the beach every day. We splashed in the water, drew pictures and wrote words in the sand, made sand angels, flew a kite and walked along the water's edge. I even got to sneak away all by myself for a wonderful little walk. There is something about the sound of the waves crashing, the smell of the salt water and the beautiful scenery that makes me contemplate life...I like to reflect and ponder and plan for the future...the beach makes me think.

8. Every night after we put the kids to bed Jamie and I would sit up talking by the fire. I love this time with him when there are none of the day-to-day distractions (phone, TV, computer, ect...)

9. After the fire would die down we wandered in to our trailer to play cribbage. We are huge nerds!

10. I truly enjoy watching my two kiddos interact with one another especially when they don't know I am looking at them. Megan and Ben slept together on one side of our tent trailer and every morning when Megan would start to chatter Ben would pop up out of his sleeping bag, wipe his sleepy eyes and smile. He couldn't wait to see her but the cute part is that he played with her (sang her songs, played peek-a-boo) really quietly knowing that Jamie and I were still asleep. He would completely entertain her for about 30 minutes every morning and I just layed there like a fly on the wall, with one eye slightly cracked, watching the whole thing. So much fun for me!!

It was a great trip.