July 2022- Part 3

 Tuesday, we got to go to the Provo City Center temple with some of the Henricksen cousins. I have wanted to go to that temple for a while and thought it was really cool!

After the temple we went to Sharon's pool and everyone else came who hadn't made it to the temple. I didn't swim and just chatted with a few of the other adults but Richard had a blast playing with all the kids. They came up with a game that involved just about everyone and it was fun to see them all having a blast together.

The Andreason's left the next afternoon and we were very sad to say goodbye to them! I couldn't believe how many times my kids told me they were bored just on that first day without the Andreason's!

We drove out to Saltair to have our family pictures taken. They didn't end up being my favorite family pictures ever but Jen is always so great to do them!

On Thursday, Tess decided she also wanted to have a cousin party even though her birthday would be after we left so we went to Kristi's and joined Tess for a princess party. We played some fun games like wrapping people up in yellow streamers for Rapunzel's hair, princess BINGO, and Tess wanted to play the candy bar game like we played for Parker. 

Later, we went to Julie's house again so Kaylee could do one last baptism trip at the Mt Timp temple. We are so lucky that we got to go to the temple so often on this trip!

On Friday afternoon, we met Jared and his family for lunch and then checked out the International Peace Gardens. It was really hot and I'm not sure the kids had any fun but they didn't remember being there before so it was something new for them.

Afterwards, we went to the Conference Center to show the kids where General Conference happens and we even got to go on the roof to see Uncle Dan's mural.

That night, we met the Gregory's and Mom and Dad at Mulligan's where half of us did batting cages and the driving range and the rest of us did mini golf. McKenna loved the batting cages and got some good hits in for her first time! Richard went straight from there to meet Jason at Tucano's for dinner and was really glad that he was able to meet up with him for a long overdue chat.

The next morning, we met Richard's siblings at Top Golf to celebrate Bryant's birthday. I was nervous because I hadn't been to a driving range since I was maybe 10 and had no idea how to hit a golf ball. By the end, I had relaxed enough that I thought it was really enjoyable. I like that they have different games so even people who aren't great at golf can have fun.

Then we went to Spanish Fork to see Laura's new house and go on a hike with the whole Henricksen crew. Unfortunately there had been a mud slide or something because the normally clear water was really murky, which made it a little treacherous to walk down the river but it was still really pretty and was a hike worth doing. We ended the night with dinner at Jared's house and said goodbye to the Henricksen's. 

On Sunday we went to Julie's church to hear her family sing and then had dinner with them after. 

Rachel planned a special FHE lesson and wanted to invite us over so later that night, we went to the DuVall's and she did an incredible job on teaching us how to come closer to the Savior.

On our final day in Utah, I really wanted to go hiking but we didn't have a ton of energy or time so we picked something that was relatively close and wouldn't be super long. We took the girls to Ensign Peak but I don't know if they didn't get enough sleep or if the last couple weeks had just caught up with them but they were really struggling to hike and kept saying they couldn't breathe and were too tired to do the hike. That definitely didn't make it the most enjoyable hike ever but we all made it to the top! I love that view, I miss being able to look out over the whole city!

In the evening, I went to see the new Thor movie with Kristi, Tony, Scott and Rachel while Richard took the girls out to eat with his mom to say goodbye. 

Even though we packed 3 weeks full of family and fun, it also seemed to be over so quickly and we were very sad to say goodbye! It was one of our best Utah trips ever.

July 2022- Part 2

 We started off our next week in Utah with a bang and spent the entire day at Lagoon from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM! It honestly could not have been a better day though. In the morning, we split into 3 groups with a few adults going in every group. Kristi and I went with Kaylee and some of the older kids. I was feeling good and decided I would try to go on as much as I could, even though I haven't been on a roller coaster since 9th grade probably. We started off easy by going on the Terror Ride and then the kids did not waste a single second- we went back to back on roller coasters from then until lunch was served. I went on most of them until we did Colussus and then my head was so messed up, I could feel it the rest of the day!

I was worried that McKenna would be left out because she wouldn't go on much but she found a group of cousins that were perfect for her and also wanted to go on the same two rides over and over for most of the day. I was so grateful that she had an amazing day even though she was sure she wouldn't go on anything. 

Brooklyn was super brave and wanted to go on everything and didn't seem to be phased by it at all. She did have one smaller roller coaster that she was obsessed with and luckily Tess, Madelyn, and Emily also wanted to go on it 50 times in a row. 

After lunch, we all decided to do Rattlesnake Rapids and the Log Flume together as a group since those were ones that everyone could do. The lines took forever and it was really hot but it was worth it because those two rides created some amazing memories for all of us. The Rapids were really fun but the best was when Adam, Todd, Nathanael, Richard and Emery all piled into one log and created the biggest wave I've ever seen! It was an amazing moment to have all of us at the bottom cheering for and laughing at them as they got completely soaked. I think that is something all of us will remember for a really long time.

Scott and Tony took some of the kids to Lagoona Beach afterwards and the rest of us split into groups again. Unfortunately, Kaylee's stomach started hurting pretty bad and we figured she needed a break. I stayed with her for a little bit and then we met up with the big kids again. She didn't go on any more rides that afternoon but was still trying to enjoy being with everyone. That was literally the only damper on the entire day, nobody was fighting or complaining that they weren't getting to do what they wanted to do, it was the most perfect cousin/family day ever! 

I didn't go on a ton more rides but they did convince me to go on Cannibal, which was terrifying! It felt very unsafe to me and I had nightmares about it that night...but I'm still glad I did it. I had so much fun with all of my nieces and nephews and had some good moments with a bunch of them. 

After dinner, Richard took Brooklyn and some of the littler kids who had mostly stayed in the kid area on some bigger rides. I could not believe how brave Brooklyn was! I thought my kids especially would get tired and want to go home but everyone wanted to keep going and was really sad when the rides started to shut down. I don't think we could have planned a more fun, perfect day for everyone!

The next day we purposefully didn't plan a lot since I figured the kids needed more of a down day. It was Parker's birthday though and they didn't have anything planned so Kristi invited us to come celebrate with him for a little bit. The kids played some games that Kristi put out and we all played a fun candy game together but it was pretty low key. I was glad we were able to give him something fun to do on his birthday. 

Afterwards, we stopped at the visitor's center for the Taylorsville temple. The missionary there told us why it was called Taylorsville (after John Taylor) and that the temple was sitting on the edge of a huge lot that belonged to Joseph F. Smith (I think!). She also told us a really cool detail about the soil where they were building. She said they had tested the soil and found that it wasn't strong enough to withstand the weight of the temple for a long period of time. So what they did was drill big holes every 10 feet or so and fill them in with little rocks. She said this allows the little pebbles to spread out and mix with the soil which will strengthen it and also allow it to be more earthquake proof. So many cool Gospel analogies could be made from that story! She also gave the girls each a picture of the temple and a little bag of the rocks to remember the story by.

That night, Sarah got home and Holly and I got to be at the airport to welcome her home! She had the biggest smile on her face and was just beaming! She was so excited to see everyone, it was really cute to watch and I was really happy to be a part of something like this that we normally have to miss out on!

The next day we dropped the kids off at Kristi's house to watch a movie and went to the Oquirrh Mountain temple to do baptisms. Unfortunately, Kaylee's stomach was still not doing well so she decided not to come but Rachel, Alex, Emery, Holly, Scott, Dad and I went. It is a gorgeous temple with a gorgeous view of the whole valley!

Richard caught a ride with his brother and went camping in Spanish Fork canyon with his family. It was a quick trip down there for one night but he seemed to have a lot of fun.

That night we went to the DuVall's house where the DuVall's, Andreason's, and Henricksen's put on a play that Rachel had written. It was a super cute play and they did a great job, especially for not having much time to practice. Putting on a play with Rachel is one of the things my kids always seem to remember the most about our trips to Utah so I was glad they got a chance to do it again.

The next morning, they invited everyone back to Grandma's house to put on another play, this one was written by McKenna and Madeline and of course was about a boy they liked! Ha ha. They even had sound effects recorded on Madeline's phone and recruited Emily and Rachel to help with the lights and props.

That night we had a really special experience. We dropped all the kids off at Kristi's house and all the adults went to the Jordan River temple to do a sealing session with my dad acting as the sealer! I loved being able to watch him in his new role and he looked great in his white suit! Afterwards we all went to Kristi's for dinner and then got a pic of all the grandkids at the temple with Grandma and Grandpa.

The next day we went to American Fork to watch Sarah give her homecoming talk and Katie give her farewell talk. We were so lucky we got to be there for both of them! They had lots of people over for food afterwards and we stuck around and chatted with them for a while, we love being with the Awerkamp's!

The next morning we woke up bright and early and went to Provo for the Temple to Temple 5K. I have wanted to do this for years and was so excited that I finally got the chance! I haven't run more than 1.5 miles for years so my goal was to run 2 miles of it. I was very proud of myself that I ended up running the entire thing without stopping! I miss running in those Utah mountains so much!! Brooklyn's stomach was not feeling well and even though Richard was pushing her in a wagon, she only lasted 1/3 of the way through. Richard called his mom to come pick them up and Brooklyn hung out at her house and played with her dog while the rest of us finished the race. 

We chatted with Sharon, Bryant and Cheri for a bit and then met up with Mike and Rachel Biggerstaff real quick to say hi. We were sad we didn't get to spend more time with them, and especially that our kids didn't get to see each other, but at least we got to say hello.

That night, we had a DuVall family BBQ since that is what Sarah said she had missed doing with the family the most. The kids played yard games in the front yard while the adults chatted in the back. I have missed that so much!

That night, I guess Brooklyn's stomach really did hit it's limit because she threw up. We all had this stomach bug at some point during the week but luckily it was pretty mild and Brooklyn was the only one who ended up throwing up.