Staples, Tacos, and Love: Utah Trip Part 1

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Utah Trip Part 1

I have a lot of catch-up to do! I have hardly said anything about our trip to Utah last month!

Here is how the trip can basically be summed up: We had a fun time, saw fun people, ate good food, and did good things.

Now for pictures!

(But first, this story) Our first real stop in Utah was to my grandparents' house in Orem. It had been an exceptionally early morning for us since our flight left at 6 am Eastern Time, which meant leaving for the airport 4 am Eastern Time, which meant being up 3:30 Eastern Time, which meant . . . ugh. 1:30 Mountain Time. So we were tired! And Joseph was a little bit sick on top of it all, so by the time we got to Utah he was overtired and hungry. Which makes pretty much anyone a little cranky, to the point that the only thing he was willing to eat at my grandparents' was ice cream. I was a bit worried about him playing with other kids given his state, but we really wanted to meet his second cousins who lives next door, so we decided to give it a shot.

Incidentally, I had been wanting to meet this their oldest son for a while. About three years ago, when I was three days overdue, Kevin and I went up to the Clyde Building to do some work. When I happened to check Facebook, I saw that my cousin's wife had had a baby that day, and pictures were up. As I scrolled through pictures of this adorable human being, I suddenly felt a strange bit of pain. It took me several hours to realize it, but I was actually going into labor. And, you can't help but feel a bit of fondness for someone who indirectly may have finally freed me from being pregnant.

And now we got to meet him! Luke and Joseph immediately warmed up to each other, and the entire time they played we were able to forget just how tired and grumpy we were.

Luke was excited to show him the funny rocks that were perfect for sitting.

The pinecone game.

After that, we headed to Duchesne and had a good time with family as they gradually trickled in and out of the house.

On Thursday, we made a quick visit to Huntington, Utah, where many of Kevin's friends have ended up. I also discovered that changes of elevation in Indian Canyon can make for some wicked Braxton Hicks. We had considered going to Arches that day but I think I would have been pretty miserable so we'll just go to Google Images sometime/play in the sandbox to capture the same feeling.

One thing we had been looking forward to was chasing the cows. I was eager to make a remake of the movie from last year,

so I had my camera ready and waiting while he and Daddy and Grandpa were out rounding up the cows.

But it was not to be this year. The cows didn't moo enough, they went on a steeper part which scared Joseph, and worst of all, the lightning and hail started before they could really herd the cows. I stood on the front porch waiting for them to return when I heard the sound of Joseph screaming in terror. After a few minutes being wrapped up in a towel and not being pelted by rain and hail, he calmed down, but his ranching experience was done. I made a movie of Kevin and his dad herding the cows for Joseph to watch later, but it wasn't the same. So, no movie this year.

One reason we decided to have the trip in May was to see Brant, Margaret, and Fiona before they left for Germany for a new exciting job. We got to witness a lot of cousin love . . .

There were a couple of hugs they toppled over for

. . . and it only got better when more cousins showed up!

Looking for the lizard that was hiding in the fire pit.

This one.

So, it turns out that there were still some trees that were blossoming by the time we got to Utah. And I loved them.

For Mother's Day, Joseph made me a macaroni necklace in nursery. And we took pictures with other people's cameras so there are no pictures from that day. But it was a good day.