We're Back

Yes, after a week of being back, Ive finally decided to sit down and publicly announce how our "vacation" to Utah went. Lets just say, I needed a vacation after my "vacation". I quote vacation, because I quickly found out that when you go back to your homeland after two years, suddenly you become more loved than ever before when you actually lived there, and everyone has a sudden need to visit with you one on one. Its exhausting! Boy did we become popular after we moved away! Who knew!? We were on a constant schedule to rush and visit this person...and then hurry to get to see that person...Oh, and we cant forget about these people, heaven forbid we offend anyone by not gracing them with our presence! Not that we dont love everyone, its just hard to fit everyone youve ever known into a two week period. So, we're sorry if we didnt get a chance to stop by for a visit, and we hope you understand...Its hard to be famous!


But enough of that...onto the excitement! I know thats what your all waiting for. Besides running around in circles saying Hi to everyone weve missed, here are a few of the more relaxing parts of the trip...you know, the things a vacation should be about.
(Slideshow to follow...you can piece it all together using the provided information. Wont that be fun!)

• Going up to a picnic in the MOUNTAINS by the stream, where the kids could splash and play, and Madi found an awesome huge frog! My brother helped Zack decide to get his feet wet, and graced him with his knowledge of where to find flies that the fish like to eat. I so missed the mountains, and it was great to be up there again.
• Many days and nights of perfecting our guitar hero skills in between visits to our public.
• Picnics at the park, & fireworks for pioneer day (which we found out greatly diminished after we left. I guess our family kept the tradition running).
• A trip back to temple square, and also to the church history museum, which oddly enough I dont think we ever went to while we lived there. (the museum, I mean...just to state the obvious, since every mormon in the Salt Lake Valley has been to temple square). But the museum was pretty awesome. They have a whole floor just for the kids where they can dress up like scripture people, learn about churning butter and other stuff the pioneers did, make a stained glass window, and build temples with blocks, stand at a pulpit like the prophet at conference...etc. And the best part was that its all free! Sadly, we arrived only about 45 minutes until closing time, so the kids were deprived of the time they needed to spend there.
• A family get together with good food and water balloons.
• A sister-in-law who made yummy desserts for us every night, and thankfully fulfilled the vacation must of gaining weight...Thanks again Tova!
• Attending the new Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple open house. It was a great experience for the kids, and a beautiful temple. Katelin stated after we left, that she felt very happy inside the temple. That made us smile.
• Feeding the ducks.
• Driving up through Zions national park, eating ice-cream, and visiting a replica of an old western town.
• And of course it was great to see all our family and friends and how much all the kids have grown.
  
  Oh, and if you were wondering, surprisingly the kids did better than expected during the long 12 hour car rides, but we have sworn them off for...well, for a while.