Friends

Of course it's fun to go to Vegas and to take the boat out on the lake but by far my favorite thing about our trip was being able to catch up with friends. There are so many people that I didn't have time to visit but we were able to see some of you and we are so happy that everyone is doing well. I got to meet two new babies and spend some quality time with people I love. I am so blessed with great friends.

My good friend Kari came all the way down from Washington with her 4 kids. I can't believe she flew on the airplane by herself with all those kids in tow but she is amazing. Her parents have a dairy farm just outside of Logan Utah and she invited us up for the fourth of July festivities. Man, they sure know how to party in those small towns!! We went to the Lewiston 4th of July parade and the kids got way more candy from the floats then they knew what to do with! The boys got to ride around the farm on the ATV and see the baby cows. They even got to see the cows coming in to be milked for the day. We ate at the famous ice-creamery right in Lewiston (home of the "Fat Boy" ice cream sandwich) and to top off the wonderful trip we saw some awesome fireworks.

It's so fun to meet up with people that you haven't seen for over a year and feel like you have never left. Thanks so much to all of you for making my trip so memorable. Now, come and visit ME!!!!

Kate and Steve Mooth with new baby Wilson

It was kind of crazy being in Utah and catching up with friends from Germany, I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone!

Kari Christensen with new baby Eli

I love this shot of these four kids. The Christensen's and Durtschi's, together again...life was good:)

I got to meet up with Gary and Jenn Halversen at Cafe Rio. This isn't a photo from Cafe Rio but an old photo from girls camp 2007...good times!

I didn't get a picture but I have to give a shout out to Duane and Rachel Andersen and also Brandon and Jamie Plewe. Rachel and Jamie were my YW leaders when I was growing up in Buffalo, NY. It's lots of fun to get together and have them tell me what a rotten teenager I was:)

Fun Times in Utah

So life on my trip wasn't all just traveling to the airport and visiting exotic places (like Payson Arizona!) The majority of our time was spent in good old Pleasant Grove Utah. It was so great to have time to visit with Oma and Opa and use all their fun toys (ATV, boat...you get the picture.) We walked around American Fork Canyon, hiked around Bridal Veil Falls, walked up to the Battle Creek Canyon waterfall, hung out all day in Salt Lake City and took the boat out on Utah Lake.

There are quite a few pictures in this post...only those that truly love me will make it to the end:)

This is Julian with the WalMart greeter on his first ever visit to a WalMart! Welcome to America Julian, land of huge warehouses that sell lots of junk made in other parts of the world:)

Townsend and Emerson playing at the pool with their cousin Taylor. Taylor was so great with my boys, I wish she lived closer so she could babysit!

Oma and Julian playing near Bridal Veil Falls.

Two monkeys in a tree.

If I posted every single picture I took of Julian in a swing it would probably bore you all to death, let's just say there are lots. He loves to swing and I think he is so adorable and he has the cutest smile when he swings, I can't resist snapping a photo.

Townsend at the Children's Museum in Salt Lake City. He is all dressed up to deliver the mail.

Family photo in front of the Christus on Temple Square

Julian playing in the water park in Salt Lake City. We thought all our boys would love this splash park but Townsend and Emerson ran through the sprinklers once and then played on the playground the rest of the time. Oh well, at least Julian had fun.

The boys playing in the forest up American Fork Canyon

A family photo in the canyon, minus Hyrum.

The waterfall up Battle Creek canyon. It was a hot day so the boys brought their water sprayer bottles and kept us nice and cool the whole hike (ie: they sprayed us with water the whole time!)

Trying to keep cool in Oma and Opa's back yard.

My three little pyros on the fourth of July lighting sparklers on the driveway.

Julian's first boat ride.

Yes, they were brave enough to jump in that yucky Utah lake water. They loved jumping off the front of the boat and then swimming to the back to climb in for another jump.

Another Bonus Trip...Las Vegas

I got back from Pheonix on a Monday, Hyrum left for Las Vegas the next Wednesday. If there was a pattern to our trip so far it would be: travel, crazy catch up time, travel, crazy catch up time...you get the picture. While Hyrum was down in Vegas for his medical conference I got to spend some fun time with his sister Katrina who had traveled down from Portland to visit. We took all the kids to Toy Story 3 (LOVED it) and also took them swimming. It was great going to the pool with Katrina and her kids because her kids are all older than mine and so I basically didn't even need to put on my swim suit or get in the water, the boys just played with their cousins the whole time (LOVED it!!)

Because Oma and Katrina are wonderful women they offered to watch my 3 crazy kids so I could fly down to Vegas on Friday and drive back to Salt Lake with Hyrum on Saturday after his conference ended. Of course I took them up on this offer, so it was back to the airport for me.

I arrived in Vegas Friday evening and Hyrum and I grabbed a bite to eat and then hit the strip. I had been to Vegas one other time but only for a few hours stop on my way to Arizona. We spent about 3 hours walking up and then back down the strip. We walked through the Venetian and the Palazzo and saw the volcano erupt in front of the Mirage. We both agreed that the classiest hotel in Vegas is the Belagio. The lobby is spectacular and the fountain is a wonder. We both also agreed that whoever gets to choreograph that fountain to music must have a lot of fun.

Saturday morning Hyrum went to a few last seminars and I got a spa pedicure...nice:) Before leaving Vegas we stopped at a nature park and attempted to walk around. After about 15 minutes in 100 degree weather we decided to hit the road in our nice air conditioned car. Driving 6 hours can actually be a lot of fun if you don't have kids. You can talk, listen to music, listen to NPR. You don't have to stop for potty breaks, you can get ice cream sandwiches and eat them in the car because you know it won't make a huge mess! I love my hubby and I love the few times we get to spend just the two of us.

Bonus Trip to Arizona

The Friday after we landed in Salt Lake City, Julian and I departed on yet another airplane ride to Pheonix. My Grandma Merrill was turning 90 years old and there was a big party planned with all my Aunts, Uncles and cousins. It was so much fun seeing so many people that I have not seen in years. Some of my sisters had never even met Julian so it was really cool to be there with him. Of course they all told me he was beautiful and wonderful and a happy boy, which I already knew. I got to meet a new niece and catch up with my 6 sisters and hear about how life is treating them all. I love spending time with my sisters because it is so comfortable. I never have to worry about saying the wrong thing or doing something stupid (because we ALL do stupid things together, it's great!) We can laugh at things that absolutely no one else understands. The best part of this trip was that we all stayed in the same hotel so we got to spend the entire weekend eating, talking, swimming and playing together.

Julian and I enjoying the hotel swimming pool.

My mom, me and my Grandma Merrill (my mom's mom)

Me with my Grandma Myers (my dad's mom)

All of my sisters and my mom posing for a photo...I wish I had a girl!

Oh look, I finally got my wish!! Actually, Julian peed all over his pj's so my sister let me borrow her daughters pj's for a night. He DOES make a cute little girl though, doesn't he?

Going Back to Utah!

Well, we are back from our big 3 1/2 week trip to the States. I wasn't able to post while there so I'm going to be playing catch up the next few days. For those of you friends and family that I didn't get to catch up with this trip, we'll have to hang out next time. These whirlwind trips are the worst for trying to see and do everything in a short time...you know I love ya anyway:)

We left Nurenberg on June 15th. We stopped in Amsterdam and Detroit before finally making it to Salt Lake City. The boys did really well on the airplane. Julian slept for a few hours and the boys enjoyed watching movies and eating snacks. Overall it wasn't the miserable flight I was expecting it to be. Hyrum's sister Andrea and her husband Craig met us at the airport. There is nothing more wonderful than finishing a 20 hour marathon airplane trip with 3 kids who are all cranky and tired and having your own family there to meet you at the airport and take you right to your bed.

Our first few days in Utah consisted of hanging at home with Oma and Opa and trying to recover from jet lag. We walked around BYU campus and got some BYU creamery ice-cream. The boys all seemed to settle into life in Utah just fine. Julian loved exploring a new house and the boys loved playing with all of Oma's toys and taking Opa's ATV out for a ride.

3 boys, all tired out on our final flight from Detroit to Salt Lake City.

Walking around BYU campus.