Utah Trip!! November 2013

I had the opportunity to take a quick trip back to Utah in the middle of November!

The one thing that I will say about this trip was that it was not a vacation!

It was exhausting and packed full of things to do and people to see

and looking back and thinking about the trip, I don't think I would have wanted

it any other way (except, of course, I would have wanted Nate to come with me).

Here are some highlights & pics!
(Warning: LOTS & LOTS of pics!!)

Day 1

Just because I can ... here's a pic of me waiting for my flight out ...

(yes, those are MY cowboy boots ... yes, I know it's weird to see ME in cowboy boots)

I was lucky enough to be picked up by Ollie, Jack & Sadie! I practically

ran out of the terminal because I was so excited to see them, only to realize

that my plane had arrive early and that they were a few minutes away still ...

Jack & Sadie had fallen asleep in the car but I was happy as could be

to wake them up! They insisted that I ride back to Logan in the back seat

with them and we had a wonderful little reunion in the car and made this

little video to send to Nate!

We stopped at Old Gristmill in Brigham City so that the kids could use the bathroom

I could get some of the most delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread!!

Between the snuggles and the bread I was a pretty happy girl!!

Ollie took me to my parents house so that I could give my mom a squeeze

and then we headed into town to meet up for dinner at Costa Vida (YUM)

with my dad and the Wilkie Family!!  (The Wilkie kids didn't know that I

was coming into town so I surprised them at Costa Vida! They were paying

for their dinner and I walked up to the counter and said, 'Well what are you

guys doing here?' It took them a few seconds to register what was going on

and then I got some giant hugs!! It was awesome!! Here's a happy Daisey & Mags!

And just because it makes me happy, a video (sorry, it's dark) & picture of Sadie & I!

She was my best friend through the whole trip - man I love these kiddos so much!!

Day 2

I woke up early and got Daisey, Isaac & Mags off to school -

I'm SO not used to waking up at 6 - but for these three, I did my best :)

I headed into Logan to make a stop at the Law Office to see the Attorney's and my D&J Ladies!

I had a nice visit with most of the attorneys and then Giselle, Ash & I headed to Einsteins (YUM)

to get some tasty chocolate chip bagels!! We had a WONDERFUL chat and I'm SO glad

that we were able to get together! I really do miss working with them!!

After our lunch I headed out to Preston to see Sam before his dress rehearsal started - he was cast as the Grumpy Dwarf in Preston High's Shrek the Musical! I didn't get to see him the first day so I wanted to make sure to at least be able to give him a squeeze!! I was SO happy to see this kid - isn't he the most adorable Grumpy Dwarf in the entire world?

On my drive back in to Logan I was hit with a sense of nostalgia

and I realized just how much I missed the mountains and the

landscape of Cache Valley! I pulled over and snapped a few pics on my phone ...

Day 3

This day began with snuggles from Miss Maggie!!



Later in the day I met up with my ma!!We had lunch at Taco Time (YUM),
took a drive around Logan so that I could reminisce a little,
made a stop up at Old Main and First Damand then went and got Pedicures!
It was a much needed and so wonderful couple of hours -
I really wish I could have had several more days with my parents!
It's easier when I've been away for a while but after seeing them
and coming back home, it made me all homesick all over again!
(Sorry these pics aren't the best quality - they were all from my phone.)




I picked up the kiddos from school and we met my dad at Coldstone for a little treat before dinner!

Then we met up with Ollie, Jack & Sadie at Cafe Sabor (YUM again - I made sure to hit all my favorite places)! My Aunt Wendy also came and it was so good to see her!! Here's a little video of the kiddos eating the lemons ...

After dinner we went back and hung out for a little bit ... Sadie & Maggie took it upon themselves to draw pictures of me (oh so flattering) and we chatted and played and it was lovely!!

Day 4

First things first, we woke up to SNOW on day 4!
It was SO beautiful and I was so happy that it snowed for me
while I was there! (We don't get much snow here in Grants Pass)!!

The actual day of the week was Friday, so for this day, I pulled Daisey, Isaac & Maggie out of school and took them out to Joe & Ollie's for the day! Luckily it hadn't snowed very hard at their place and we spent the day outside chasing chickens, riding goats and go-carts and running around!!
It was such a fabulous day!











































Oh, and for your viewing pleasure, some jokes by Jack & Sadie ...






 Day 5

Despite having a VERY late night on Friday
Daisey, Maggie & I woke up bright and early on Saturday
so that we could go see Marisol & Omar play basketball!!

It was SO, SO great to see the Dutson family -
our visit was short, but very sweet!!









And as a bonus, I got to give my favorite pup Hailey a squeeze!!



We grabbed some lunch at Mandarin Garden (YUM) and took it back to share with Isaac & Bob!



For the afternoon, we headed back out to Joe & Ollie's to catch more chickens, play a riveting game of Spoons, snuggle, laugh, eat and have a wonderful time!










For dessert, Ollie made my most FAVORITE peanut butter frosting
(seriously, it is so YUMMY!!) to put over brownies ...
we found Jack cleaning out the bowl after the brownies had been frosted ...



That evening, G&G Harrison and Leslie & Noal came up to go to Sam's play (and hopefully to see me, too, although Sam is pretty darn adorable ;) ) I'm so annoyed with myself because I didn't
get any pictures with them ... super big bummer ... Even though there are a lack of pictures, I was so happy to see them! I married into such a wonderful family and we miss them so much!

Anyway, Sam did so wonderfully in his play and I am so grateful that my trip worked out so that I could be there to see a performance! I'm so proud of him and his dedication - he did such a great job!

Here's Sam's big line (sorry it's so shaky, I had a wiggly Sadie on my lap through the whole play ... I'm not complaining, though, I got some GREAT snuggles from that girl)!!







We had another very late night hanging out at Joe & Ollie's after the play - partially due to the deer hitting Ollie's car incident (afterwards Sadie ran up to me and said 'We made the dear dead') and mostly because this was going to be my last day seeing them and I was totally putting off the inevitable! As a result, the kiddos were tired and hilarious - we had a fun game of charades and I caught Jack making funny faces at himself in the mirror ...



Day 6

My last full day was the day that I FINALLY got to spend with my parents! We went to Noodles & Co for lunch (Mmmmm .... this blog post is making me hungry) and stopped by Jimmy John's to get a sandwich for later!! My little brother came up with his puppy Stout and we had a wonderful time catching up and playing cards!! It was a much too short visit,
but I'm grateful that he took the time to come and see me!!

(I was feeling a little Oregon homesick so I wore my Ducks shirt!!)

 As you can see, it was a very busy trip!! I'm so grateful that I was able to get time off work to go and support our friends and family and get some wonderful snuggles while I was there!