Utah Trip 2014

 So we did it. We took a trip to Utah last week and it was marvelous--and as you're reading this, I hope you read that as mahhhhh-velous.

The roadtrip on the way there was full of breathtaking sights, a book on tape called Wild, Wise, and Witty Woman, and a slew of new songs to listen to. Other highlights of the roadtrip included RAIN (which is so fun since I'm from Arizona and suck at driving in the rain at high speeds), never stopping to eat, and a fatal car accident that put traffic at a standstill for 45 minutes.

It was an adventure.

I arrived in South Jordan to pick up my kids around 7pm and we were in Layton to see our friends by 8.

My kids weren't too excited...oh wait, YES THEY WERE! The Hislops moved back in March and we have missed having them as neighbors ever since. When my ex-husband moved to Utah and had talked about the kids coming up for the 4th of July, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to keep my promise to my friend and come see her!

Cassie, my friend/the mom/Mrs. Hislop, is the daughter of a really cool guy who is over the parks & rec and they were having fun events that week. First up? Movie in the park, complete with bull rides. I was so proud of the kids for giving it a try. Petey was pretty scared but she did it anyway!

 

On Tuesday night, we had some evening plans and my hair was a mess. The pink hadn't fully taken and it looked like rasberry/orange sherbet. Also, the ends were horribly fried. Well, LUCKY ME, Cassie has a hairstylist for a sister and she fixed my hair on Monday and I love it!

Ombre red. It is awesome. Seriously awesome.

We spent Tuesday afternoon doing one of our favorite things to do together---Bachelorette, anyone? Cassie and I used to get together every Monday night with another friend of ours and we were so sad when she moved back to Utah. I still get sad every Monday night...

 

 

Tuesday morning (yes, that Bachelorette picture was taken after...I'm a little jumbled here), we headed to a trampoline park. As you can see above, my monkey climbed up those ropes all by herself. She was actually pretty intimidated and I told her she would earn a quarter if she would just try---and look at that! She succeeded!

 Miss J was so awesome and brave and kept practicing the tight rope. I wish I had a picture but she actually made it more than halfway across!

Mr. T is one of the cutest babies in the world. I was the very first person privileged enough to babysit him when he was a few weeks old and I used to cuddle him almost every week in church. I have missed him since they moved and he grew up so much!!!

Thursday we went to the pool and had a great time together! My boy, my awesome brave litle toaster was told he would get a quarter for going off the high dive (Can you tell I like to motivate my children to try hard things?).

 

Although he didn't do it, HE TRIED! He climbed up that ladder and stood up to the edge and then decided he'd rather come back down. I was a proud momma.

 

Sadly, that was going to be the last adventure we would have with the Hislops. We were headed out after swimming to go visit my fake Aunt and Uncle in Lehi.

But the kids had one last thing up their sleeve...

They put on a goodbye show for us in the backyard. We loved it!

After our goodbyes and trying to get the dvds to play on my Kindle (which never ended up working...darn.), we headed on our hour drive to my fake Aunt's house (She is my mom's best friend.).

The weather was perfect. Perfect! The kids played out in the dirt for over an hour and came inside full of smiles and dirt in their ears. What a night.

Absolutely perfect for our very last night in Utah.

Our drive started out early---5:30am AZ time. The kids were tired and a bit grumpy and ten hours of driving was shaping up to be FANTASTICALLY psychotic...and it was.

Spidey took a nap for a while which was great except Petey was bored and whining at me. But she's adorable and I love her.

Luckily, I had packed some coloring and art supplies. My kids eat that stuff up! So glad I grabbed these things the night before we left.

By the time we got to Flagstaff, Petey was done. Look at that face. She was a serious little bugger and was finding any and all reasons to cry or complain about something.

But again, I love her. She's my kid. She's my gal and I wouldn't trade her for all the money in the world!

It was a fabulous trip. I miss my friends already. I hate that we can't live near each other but I love that I was able to see her and let our kids see each other.

I Did It Anyway

One time, I hiked the Y. Actually, let me rephrase that, one time I barely hiked the Y.

I had been home from ANASAZI for over a year but had done an extra "dawnstar expedition" on the trail a month or so prior so I just knew I could handle hiking up a mountain. I felt like a mountain woman after ANASAZI, even though I hardly ever did any physical activity once I graduated from high school. I would often drive up to the mountains just to sit and write in my journal and meditate. I still do this sometimes when I'm kidless. Can I emphasize how much this does not count as physical activity?

But really, how hard could it be?

Hard. Really hard. That's precisely how hard it was---hard. Have I overused that word yet?

I remember getting halfway up the Y and I was no longer worried about being cool in front of my friends. I wanted to quit. My asthma was kicking my butt and I felt like I couldn't take another step. I told them to head up without me.

I could not do this! I convinced myself it was too much. It might've just been a small mountain but that day, it was too much. I sat there for a while feeling silly that I couldn't make it up a stupid mountain that thousands of people have hiked. Where was the fighting Suzanne?

On that particular day, I had a choice to make. So I took a little time to think about it and then I got up and started walking. I took one step, and then another, and then another.

When I got to the Y, I may not have been as enthusiastic as I would normally describe myself but I had done it. I had done something that, 20 minutes prior, I was convinced I couldn't do.

Isn't this kind of how life goes for all of us? We look at other people and the trials they face and we mentally pick which ones we would or wouldn't be able to handle it.

So what happens when we're given the trial we decided we couldn't handle?

This is what I was faced with when I was diagnosed with infertility almost 3 years ago (Oh my heck, THREE years?!). I couldn't handle it. But I did it anyway.

The marital problems came flooding in a year later and at the time, I wasn't sure how I could stay married. I wasn't convinced this could be my life forever. But I did it anyway.

And then my marriage dissolved and it wasn't my choice. I had found happiness in my marriage and it dissolved right before my eyes. I was CERTAIN I couldn't handle it. But I did it anyway.

Sometimes I tell myself I won't be able to handle school AND being a single mom AND babysitting but each day, I do it. I do it because I know it is important. Sometimes I do it just because I have to. Sometimes I handle it gracefully and sometimes I'm convinced my kids would be better off being raised by someone else. But I do it anyway because that is what I need to do.

When you have yourself convinced that you cannot handle the things you've been given, remember that you are stronger than you think. Your Heavenly Father gave you the ability to fight the things you need to fight if you let Him help you.

You can handle anything with God. You are a fighter and you can do hard things.

Our Fastest Trip to Utah

A couple of weeks ago, Boss' brother asked if he would accompany him to Utah to attend the farewell of a family friend before he left on a mission for our church. Boss agreed and we talked it over a couple of times that week before I realized I had a couple of things to do that same weekend and it would be hard to get them done with both kids.
So after some coaxing, Boss agreed to take Spidey with him. I was elated to say the least. I really didn't think he'd agree to take a half-potty-trained 3 year old on a 12 hour trip.
Friday afternoon came and I got a phone call at work from Boss. He asked if Petey and I wanted to join them on their trip since one of his brothers had decided not to go. I wasn't quite sure since I thought I would have to miss my girly's first real birthday party she'd been invited to but when I realized we could fit that in before leaving, I happily agreed!
So off we went at 10pm on Friday night.

Spidey was wide awake when we left so I gave him the Leapster to play with. Unfortunatly, after an hour or so of playing, it made him carsick and he threw up. Luckily, Uncle Same was awesome at catching it all in a ziploc bag.

 Around 3am, both kids were wide awake so we decided to turn on a movie. Petey was so excited to get her own headphones.
Unfortunately, we learned that watching movies while driving also makes Spidey carsick and he threw up a second time about 5 minutes into the movie.
Thankfully, Uncle Sam caught it all again and after that, he asked to switch spots with me in the car. :)
The rest of the ride of was pretty uneventful. As long as no electronics were used by my son, he kept his food in his tummy.

When we got to Utah, we headed straight for Boss' sister's house to visit with her and her family. This was the kids' highlight of the trip and they were so excited to play with cousins.

 Spidey's favorite part was attending Leezer's soccer game.

 As you can see, Spidey is a michief maker and he pulled the flag out of the ground so Uncle Nick had to go fix it.

 Leezer was practicing kicking the ball into the net...

 ...so Spidey joined along. He lookes like a natural.

 He got himself stuck in the net more than once, silly kid.

 I got a picture of Leezer right before she scored the first point of the game. Too bad there is a kid standing right in front of her in the picture.

 Her soccer buddy greeted her with a hug after her goal. :)

 At first, I thought it would be hard to keep Spidey off of the field but he actually enjoyed yelling positives thoughts to the players while they were running every which way.

After the game and some lunch, we headed to Boss' Uncle's house to visit him and his family.

 The kids got Smurfs tattoos on their bellies and it was really funny to watch them lift up their shirts to show everyone. Spidey had eaten a piece of blue licorice and it looks like he ate Papa Smurf. :)

After a fun visit with Boss' Uncle, we headed back to Boss' sister's house to spend more time with cousins.

 The kids loved the swingset.

 Leezer and Petey are besties and had so much fun playing together.

 Miss B was hilarious and loved twisting around in the swing.

 Petey gave it a try and said, "Umm, this is making me kind of scared."

That night, we got a hotel and got the first real sleep of the weekend.

 The kids were exhausted and slept peacefully on this twin bed the hotel brought in.

 They were also excited to find out that they had free breakfast in the morning...or maybe that was mostly me. :)

 We got dressed and headed off to church to listen to Boss' friend give his farewell talk.

I'm super sad that I didn't get any pictures of the after party at the Boyd's house. It was a great Sunday afternoon. I always feel so welcome when we visit the Boyd's in Utah and they always have the yummiest food! We are so grateful we got to see the, even though it was a short trip.

On the way home, Spidey woke up from a short nap and started crying about the sun being in his eyes. My sunglasses quickly came to the rescue and he was a happy boy once again. :)

We had a great trip but I'm not sure we'll attempt such a short trip with two little kiddos again. It was pretty hectic, especially since we got hoe at 2am and Boss and I both had work early that morning. I am still trying to catch up on lost sleep. But it was all worth it to be able to see some of our favorite Utahns.