A week in Utah

We went back out to Utah for the week of July 24th.  It was a fun packed week that started with a family reunion in Park City with my mom's side of the family.   We swam, rode the alpine slide, and started the festivities for my cousin Adam who got married that weekend. The wedding was beautiful, and it was great to be there with so much family.

  

We stayed in Utah for a few more days to celebrate the 24th (pioneer day).  Highlights included: 2 different parades, Bountiful days carnival, A great 10 K run for me, spending time with extended family, 7 peaks water park, Blake's first steps at Steph and Mike's house, fireworks, awesome food, and spending the night up in Midway with our some of our best Maryland buddies, the Skinners.   We love that we can drive to Utah and in just a few short hours be surrounded by so many people that we love!

The Dastrups come to visit

Some of our best friends from Maryland, Joe and Lindsey came to visit us.  Oh, how we've been missing our friends!  It was so great to see them again and meet their new addition, little Max.  He is adorable and fit right in with Parker and Blake.   And now that they are moving to Denver, I think these boys are going to get to see a lot more of each other.  Thanks for visiting us guys.  We love you!

Camping

We decided to try our luck taking the boys camping for one night... the trial run.  After buying all the gear we needed, we went to the lake about 15 minutes from our house and set up our camp spot.  We had a blast and the boys were so excited.   Camping activities included swimming in the lake, playing soccer and badmitten, roasting hotdogs over the fire, Smores, and all of us snuggling in the tent.  

Parker had a really hard time falling asleep because he was SO excited to be sleeping in the tent.  He couldn't stop reminding us that we went camping, and giving us kisses.  It was cute.  Once he finally closed his eyes, Chad and I even snuck in a few card games under the stars.  

Surprisingly, the camping trial run was a success.  Although I have never been big on camping, we had a lot of fun, and bought all of the gear, so, I guess this means we will be camping a lot more in the future....

4th of July weekend in Utah

On Friday, the 2nd, our sweet little Blake turned one year old.  We celebrated by driving to Utah and meeting up with family for the Real Salt Lake game.  We had the best time and saw some amazing goals.  Parker and Blake loved every minute of the game.  The game concluded with a great firework display, that we all got to sit on the soccer field to watch.  It was a great night and such a fun way to celebrate Blake's first year.

July 3rd was my mom's birthday, so we started the day with all you can eat french toast at kneaders.  It did not disappoint.  That day we soaked up the sun at 7 peaks water park, which was an absolute blast.  I may have the world's most daring children.  They wanted to go on every slide at the park, so, we went on everything they allowed us to take them on.  I definitely got some strange looks since I was taking a baby down adult slides, but he squeals with laughter the entire way down... so, do you blame me???  

We ended the night watching the fireworks display at Thanksgiving Point under the American Flag listening to "God Bless America".  Doesn't get much more patriotic than that. 

On Sunday, the 4th, we had a big family BBQ up at my Uncle Matt's house in Alpine.  Great food, and great company.  We finally gave Blake a birthday cake, and knowing the eater he is, we were sure he would devour the thing.  He did, and loved doing it.  

Then we stayed up way too late and lit off about a thousand fireworks outside Matt's house.  Good thing my little guys love fireworks, because the weekend was filled with them! 

Since Chad had Monday off, we stayed one more day and met Candace for breakfast and hit up 7 peaks one more time.  We can't get enough of that place :)  And then we were Colorado bound.  

Oh, Utah... we love you.

10 year reunion

My highschool reunion was on June 19th, and turned out to be such a fun night.  I loved getting together with the girls and reminiscing about the old, crazy days.  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.  It is weird that 10 years have passed since graduation, but I love that I can get back together with my old buddies and feel like no time has passed at all.  I love you guys!  ... and thank you Chad for being such a good sport and hanging in there for the whole night.  I know you were entertained by the great stories!

Glenwood

Glenwood Springs is about a little more than an hour drive from us, and just may be our favorite spot to have a weekend away.  We did a day trip to Glenwood to let Parker ride on the "sky train" -- one of his most frequent requests, and watch the 4D movie up at the adventure park.  Even though it was rainy, Glenwood's beauty did not disappoint.  We had a fun time together as a family and a delicious dinner at Chile's before heading home.  You can't beat that!