Utah, Here We Come . . . Again

I try to make a trip out to Utah at least once a year to visit Jules, Brrrian and their boys. It started when Kenner was born, and has worked out that we go out each year around his birthday by taking advantage of the Columbus Day weekend. It's always a quick trip and I don't always get to see everyone I'd like to see, but I'm glad to have the chance to go. Connor enjoys the trip "to Kenner's mountain" even though it's "far far away." We prepare for the trip with gadgets for him to play with along the way, and of course lots of DVDs to watch. We left fairly early Friday morning, picking up David at his house on the way out of town. Unbeknownst to Grandma, we had planned a surprise blueberry pancake breakfast at David's for her birthday. After we ate, we set out on our journey. However, we had only been on the road for 1/2 hour when tragedy struck . . . the DVD player died on us. Luckily, the other items we brought for Connor entertained him for the most part. Unfortunately though, the trip took 2 hours longer than normal due to making extra stops for Riley. So over the next 9 1/2 hours, I think Connor asked "Are we there yet?" at least two dozen times. We've never been so happy to arrive at a destination. Jules and Brrrian fed us dinner, and we just lounged around the rest of the evening. Even knowing how it would most likely end, we decided it would be fun for Connor to sleep in Kenner's room with him. It turned out to be a very BAD idea. Connor sleeps with a nightlight, whereas Kenner does not. That was just the beginning. We would periodically hear different noises while we were downstairs, so would go up to check up on them. Sometimes this kid was touching that kid or that kid was looking at this kid. It all came to a screeching halt around midnight when Kenner turned the light on in the room and Connor was crying because he had gone potty in his pull up. Connor slept in the room I was sharing with Riley for the rest of the trip.

The next day we lounged around some more, just spending time together and watching the kids play. Miraculously, the stars were aligned just right and all four kids went down for a nap at the same time. It will never happen again. Grandma stayed with the kids while the rest of us went birthday present shopping for Kenner. Of course by the time we got back, all four kids were wide awake. We had to prepare for Kenner's party, so it was just as well.











Kenner's "Red" grandparents came over for his party. (Brrrian's parents are U of U fans, hence they are "red." My parents are BYU fans, so they are "blue.") We were all entertained watching Kenner open his presents, especially when he opened one of his last presents and found his favorite character inside, Curious George. With that said, the REAL fun started when Red Grandma helped Kameron demonstrate his new skill. When his arm is raised, so is his middle finger.











The next morning, we woke up to snow on the ground. It was the first of the season for us. The boys were quite taken with it and wanted to go outside to play in it. However, instead of romping in the snow, they had to get ready for church instead. After church, lounged around some more and ended up amusing ourselves by dressing Riley in the infamous brown suit. The history of the brown suit goes back to when Micah was an infant. He wore this brown suit, which everyone says looks like lederhosen, and Nate thought it was so funny, it was handed over to him to keep. Nate didn't have it handy when Connor was an infant, but Kenner was lucky enough to model in it. Since then, Lexi has joined the brown suit club, as well as Kameron. It was only fitting for Riley to have to wear it as well.












Nate, Dre and Lexi were in Utah over the weekend for Dre's brother's wedding, so they joined us Sunday afternoon. Unbeknownst to Grandma, we had another surprise in store for her. Each time she's gone back to Utah, she has vowed to get in touch with a longtime friend, Vicky. However, it never seemed to pan out. Our families grew up together and we did lots of activities with together - camping, acting out Star Wars, etc. Knowing we were coming out, Julia took the initiative and contacted Vicky to invite her over for a surprise birthday party for Grandma. We were all sitting in the front room talking when there was a knock at the door. When Vicky walked in, Grandma glanced over at her, continued talking, then did a double take. She was very pleasantly surprised. Seeing them reunite was worth the trip in itself.

We headed home the next morning. It's always fun to see Connor and Kenner get together every few months since they seem to change so much in that time. Pretty soon, we'll be watching the progress with Lexi, Kameron and Riley as well.