More Catching Up

In March we took our family vacation for the year to visit family up in Utah. Why March? Well, when you're having a baby in the middle of the summer it makes it hard to vacation easily. I drove the kids up a during their spring break week. I did it alone, the kids were amazing helpers and although it took a great deal of preparation and planning to make it go smoothly without any help, we were blessed with perfect weather, no flat tires, and only one barfing incident, which for my children and me is a miracle unto itself! The kids were brave and patient and we celebrated heartily when we drove into town. Mission accomplished! I breathed a serious sigh of relief! Austin flew out a week later to be with us for his week off.

We stopped for lunch our second day of driving at hole-in-the-rock. We did a small hike and enjoyed the scenery. I love this rest stop, I know, how can one possibly be a fan of a rest stop, but the kids loved it and it gave us some exercise and a fun adventure. We hit it again on the drive home and I think we will make it our tradition on our long drives.
My cute munchkins.

What troopers!

Lounging on the rock.

The day after we arrived, it snowed the entire day. We got about 6 inches. I was thrilled because my kids never get to see snow, Olivia has never seen snow when she was old enough to realize what it was, and I missed this snow storm by the skin of my teeth. Yet another blessing! Those mountain ranges would have been trouble with that storm.
Hyrum woke me up that morning all ready to go outside, he was SOOO excited to play in the snow, he couldn't even wait for the girls to wake up.

The girls and their snow time after Hyrum was already done and inside warming up. My kids, they are so Texans. They could only take the cold for so long. It was hilarious. Olivia was at first scared and confused by the snow but soon warmed up and ventured out with Paige to make snow angels and slip and slide around. it was a perfect day!

Another bonus of my driving out a week early was I was able to take the older kids to the Draper temple open house. I loved being able to let them have this experience. They enjoyed it and so did I. Hyrum loved the sealing room and said that when he grows up he wants to come to Utah to get married in that room, except without the kiss at the end. Paige loved the chandelier in the celestial room and the mirrors in the sealing room. I loved being there with my kids and my family and Austin's mom. It was really neat. Just missed Austin, lots.



Olivia and Grandma (Austin's mom) bonded while the boys shot guns at the shooting range.

Hyrumhad his first go at shooting a real gun. He shot the 22. He loved being up at the range with Grandpa and dad. This is so Hyrum and he loved it.
The boys.

Paige endured the loud noises while snacking on goldfish. She always makes adventures fun.
Another awesome thing about being in Utah in March is that Austin was able to take Hyrum skiing for the first time. I don't know who had more fun, Hyrum or his dad, but this was a day they loved and hopefully they'll be able to do it again soon.

We also celebrated Olivia's birthday with cousins and family and of course, the Dora cake topper. It made the journey across the country with us just so Livvy could have a continuation of her Dora fest. The things Dora does for that little girl!

There is still so much to catch up on but I am starting my bout of nightly nausea so I think this will suffice for one day. What is nightly nausea you ask? It is the thing that keeps me awake a lot and is a new addition in this last trimester. Cause is unknown (well, you know...). Symptoms include nausea (and other pleasentries I will not mention here), sleeplessness, husband sleeplessness, irritability, grogginess, frequent use of the phrase, "What's today?" upon sunrise, dread of the nighttime, and general confusion and uselessness. Wish me luck. My bouts have been less serious the past few days so I'm hopeful. My doctor, you know the scrumptious one I am married to that looked so cute in his scrubs and pagers tonight when we took him treats at the hospital (seriously so scrumptious!), says that symptoms shouldn't persist beyond 5 1/2 weeks. We are both excited for it.

Until sunrise...