This last Thursday, January 19, I returned from a WONDERFUL trip to Utah! Greg stayed behind, but he and I had some crazy adventures getting to the airport in St. Louis on Thursday, January 12. We got up at 3:30 a.m. and left Springfield at 4:30. Of course we hadn't had snow all winter, and it chose that morning to start snowing! The drive was pretty scary since the snow was blowing over the road, and you couldn't see any of the lines. When we got to St. Louis, not only were the roads horrible, but so was the traffic. There were people sliding off the road, and everything was so backed up that all we could do was creep along with the rest of the cars. We were going so slow that at one point our GPS unit asked us if we wanted to switch to "Pedestrian Mode"--it thought we must be walking instead of driving! Miraculously we made it to the airport in time for my flight, and everything went smoothly from there. When I arrived in Salt Lake, Mom picked me up at the airport, and we went and had a fun late lunch with Aunt Karalie at our favorite place: Left Fork Grill. They have the most delicious pies in the world! That evening we were able to visit the Barretts and then went to see Grandma at her fun new place which is very close to where Mom, Dad, and Rich live.
On Friday Mom and I ran some errands and had lunch at Brick Oven with our good friend Yevon. It was so great to see her and to catch up on everything. Mom and I then had some delicious Coney's Custard and picked up KFC for the big sleepover with the Barrett girls that evening.
Here I am with my nieces Sidney, Camden, and Riley--we are all ready for the big sleepover! As you can see, the movie of the evening was "Enchanted"--always a big hit. We got to watch the movie in Mom, Dad, and Rich’s cool theater room.
When we woke up the next morning, it was Dad's (aka Grandpa's) birthday!! Happy Birthday, Dad! I was so happy to be home for his birthday. He is a wonderful dad, and I feel so bad about all of the health challenges he has had over the last two years. But he is recovering well from his last surgery, and hopefully he is on the mend for good now! Dad had to fix his own birthday pancakes, but no one makes pancakes quite as delicious as Dad's :-) Here is the chef hard at work.
And here is the rest of the crew ready for a fun Birthday Breakfast. We had a great morning playing games, having fashion shows, watching movies, and just enjoying being together.
Later that day Mom and I went over to see Grandma and had a fun time enjoying dinner with her. After dinner we watched the movie "The Help" with Dad, which was a really good movie. And then when Rich returned home from work, Dad opened his birthday presents. It was such a wonderful day of celebrating Dad!
On Sunday morning I was getting ready for church, and I noticed that the blinds on the windows had a pink glow coming through them. I peeked through the blinds, and this is what I saw--it was SO beautiful!! I've got to say that next to being near my family, the mountains are one of the things I miss the most about living in Utah. Mom, Dad, and Rich live in such a beautiful setting, with Mt. Timpanogos right outside the window.
We had a nice time at church, and then a relaxing afternoon at home. Then we headed over to the Barrett's for dinner and a continuation of Dad's birthday party. Mr. Ben is always up for a good party!
Lindy made some really tasty ribs for dinner, and then we had birthday cake and birthday pie--yummmmm. Here is Dad getting a little help from the girls in blowing out all of the candles.
We thought we'd take a picture of the kids with Mom and Dad for the birthday party. We're just missing Sarah, but she, Joel, and the kiddos will be visiting Utah in February. I'm sorry that I will have just missed them by a couple of weeks!
On Monday, Mom and I realized that we were wearing the same clothes--just reverse colors! It was so funny. Great minds do think alike :-) Mom, Dad, and I had a nice visit to see Grandpa Taylor in Springville that morning, then we had a fun lunch at Cracker Barrel. That afternoon we and Rich went to see the movie "Warhorse," which was awesome! That evening we had a fun time playing games together.
I realized that I didn't take any pictures on Tuesday because we were too busy having fun! Mom and I made some quiche and went to the Relief Society luncheon at the church that morning/afternoon, and then ran quite a few errands. That evening we made Pad Thai noodles and watched movies with Dad. Here is a picture of Mom on Wednesday at J Dawgs--one of the most fun places to eat right by BYU! Our J Dawgs were so delicious.
We then went to the BYU campus and ran into Dad at the Bookstore. We also visited my friends Shauna and Jeanne who work in Dad's college. I worked with them for a couple of years on the Winter Quarters Project while I was at BYU. Then Mom and I went to see our other friend Susan Black, and it was certainly nice to catch up with her.
That evening we met Dad over at Grandma's for dinner and had such a nice time with her. It's wonderful that she can be so close to family, and I am happy because now I can see her every time I'm home.
After dinner we went to visit the Barretts one more time before I left. We played a really fun game called Hedbanz. The girls were so cute and funny with the game!
The kids also did some serious dancing while we were there. Ben is growing up so fast--not only is he walking/running all over the place, but he is also a dancing man! We had a great evening together, and then on Thursday morning Mom and Dad took me up to the airport. Luckily the weather was a lot better in Utah than it had been in St. Louis the week before. Thank you, everyone, for the WONDERFUL week! It is always hard to return to reality after a fun time in Utah (especially getting up for work the next morning), but it was fun to see Greg and the animal children. Greg and I had a fun evening in St. Louis after he picked me up. We went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries and visited our favorite baseball card shop. It was a great week!
On Friday Mom and I ran some errands and had lunch at Brick Oven with our good friend Yevon. It was so great to see her and to catch up on everything. Mom and I then had some delicious Coney's Custard and picked up KFC for the big sleepover with the Barrett girls that evening.
Here I am with my nieces Sidney, Camden, and Riley--we are all ready for the big sleepover! As you can see, the movie of the evening was "Enchanted"--always a big hit. We got to watch the movie in Mom, Dad, and Rich’s cool theater room.
When we woke up the next morning, it was Dad's (aka Grandpa's) birthday!! Happy Birthday, Dad! I was so happy to be home for his birthday. He is a wonderful dad, and I feel so bad about all of the health challenges he has had over the last two years. But he is recovering well from his last surgery, and hopefully he is on the mend for good now! Dad had to fix his own birthday pancakes, but no one makes pancakes quite as delicious as Dad's :-) Here is the chef hard at work.
And here is the rest of the crew ready for a fun Birthday Breakfast. We had a great morning playing games, having fashion shows, watching movies, and just enjoying being together.
Later that day Mom and I went over to see Grandma and had a fun time enjoying dinner with her. After dinner we watched the movie "The Help" with Dad, which was a really good movie. And then when Rich returned home from work, Dad opened his birthday presents. It was such a wonderful day of celebrating Dad!
On Sunday morning I was getting ready for church, and I noticed that the blinds on the windows had a pink glow coming through them. I peeked through the blinds, and this is what I saw--it was SO beautiful!! I've got to say that next to being near my family, the mountains are one of the things I miss the most about living in Utah. Mom, Dad, and Rich live in such a beautiful setting, with Mt. Timpanogos right outside the window.
We had a nice time at church, and then a relaxing afternoon at home. Then we headed over to the Barrett's for dinner and a continuation of Dad's birthday party. Mr. Ben is always up for a good party!
Lindy made some really tasty ribs for dinner, and then we had birthday cake and birthday pie--yummmmm. Here is Dad getting a little help from the girls in blowing out all of the candles.
We thought we'd take a picture of the kids with Mom and Dad for the birthday party. We're just missing Sarah, but she, Joel, and the kiddos will be visiting Utah in February. I'm sorry that I will have just missed them by a couple of weeks!
On Monday, Mom and I realized that we were wearing the same clothes--just reverse colors! It was so funny. Great minds do think alike :-) Mom, Dad, and I had a nice visit to see Grandpa Taylor in Springville that morning, then we had a fun lunch at Cracker Barrel. That afternoon we and Rich went to see the movie "Warhorse," which was awesome! That evening we had a fun time playing games together.
I realized that I didn't take any pictures on Tuesday because we were too busy having fun! Mom and I made some quiche and went to the Relief Society luncheon at the church that morning/afternoon, and then ran quite a few errands. That evening we made Pad Thai noodles and watched movies with Dad. Here is a picture of Mom on Wednesday at J Dawgs--one of the most fun places to eat right by BYU! Our J Dawgs were so delicious.
We then went to the BYU campus and ran into Dad at the Bookstore. We also visited my friends Shauna and Jeanne who work in Dad's college. I worked with them for a couple of years on the Winter Quarters Project while I was at BYU. Then Mom and I went to see our other friend Susan Black, and it was certainly nice to catch up with her.
That evening we met Dad over at Grandma's for dinner and had such a nice time with her. It's wonderful that she can be so close to family, and I am happy because now I can see her every time I'm home.
After dinner we went to visit the Barretts one more time before I left. We played a really fun game called Hedbanz. The girls were so cute and funny with the game!
The kids also did some serious dancing while we were there. Ben is growing up so fast--not only is he walking/running all over the place, but he is also a dancing man! We had a great evening together, and then on Thursday morning Mom and Dad took me up to the airport. Luckily the weather was a lot better in Utah than it had been in St. Louis the week before. Thank you, everyone, for the WONDERFUL week! It is always hard to return to reality after a fun time in Utah (especially getting up for work the next morning), but it was fun to see Greg and the animal children. Greg and I had a fun evening in St. Louis after he picked me up. We went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries and visited our favorite baseball card shop. It was a great week!
3 comments:
Ditto to everything you said. It sure was a lot of fun! Thanks for coming to see us and for all the fun adventures!
Wow, you know how to fit in a lot of fun when you visit! That mountain/sky photo is amazing. I also miss the mountains!
I always laugh at how your trips revolve so much around good food! You eat out more than anyone I know! :) Sounds like a fun trip. I'm glad you had such a good time.
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