Day Four: Celebrating Gram

On Saturday morning my mom let Gram know that it was probably a good idea to do her hair and dress in something 'a little nicer' for the day.

A few hours before the party began, we finally had to let her know what was happening to that we could transform the house a little and begin decorating.  My sister had made a beautiful photo book with pictures of Gram through the years as well as many sweet, priceless memories the two of us have of her.  You know, things like vacationing with her

and celebrating birthdays together.

She also never missed a graduation (high school, college or post graduate), kept us stocked in groceries all through college, and has taught us to love our heritage and ancestors.

Gram seemed to really enjoy looking at those pictures, many of which she had completely forgotten about, while we prepared for the party.

We kept the celebration rather simple, but did invite as many of her friends and family as we could to come and share their love with her.

Most of my Grandma's living siblings were there, as well as nephews and nieces.

As were all of her daughters.

Jeff Judkins, the BYU Women's Basketball coach, came by.  He and his wife have been long time friends.

Her house was completely full of family and friends.  You could literally FEEL the love.

And while she is definitely someone who doesn't seek attention or celebration of any kind, she was so gracious, and I think she really loved it.  She is so, so deserving.

(With nephew Duane Call and his wife.)

So much of Gram's life is just about giving and helping however she can.  Her list of sisters that she visit teaches is longer than mine.  She has a way of making anyone she's talking to feel special and important.  Family or not, if you wanted to reach out to her and be a part of her life, she would love you right back without reservation.

And, oh, this lady is a hard worker.  She still mops her floor on her hands and knees.  She bottles fruit, tends to her flower garden, and irons her sheets.  She's a lady who has worked hard her entire life, starting as a very young child in Mexico.  I think it's that hard work that has something to do with why she's still with us.  She is constantly pushing herself to stay busy and active, even though her body won't quite allow her to do as much as she'd like. 

Included with the invitation was a card for people to write memories or things they love about Gram.  I'm compiling those into a book for her, and it's been special to read that so many people have the same tender, sweet feelings for Gram that I do.

I'm so grateful that we celebrated her.  I got kind of emotional on Saturday after the party as I thought about how blessed I am to have her as mine.  I want to be like her in so many ways.  I want to work hard, get past difficult times and focus on joy, serve selflessly, and love my family in word and action. She has been so generous and very present in our lives, and it has made all the difference.

Love you Gram. 

Day Three: Thanksgiving Point, Alpine Loop and BYU

Friday was our longest, on-the-go day.  I thought ahead and packed Luke's pajamas, which was good, because when we arrived back at Gram's at about 8:30p.m. he was sound asleep.  He was a champ for napping on the go all day and just squeezing in bits of sleep when he had a chance.

The day started at the farm at Thanksgiving Point.

We met up with my friend, and former Mothers Without Borders co-team leader, Kat. (Why didn't we take a picture together???)

Our kids had fun together looking at all of the farm animals: petting cows, watching baby chicks hatching, feeding ducks, riding horses, and a bunch of other fun farm activities.

Noah was really excited to take a wagon ride around Thanksgiving Point.

We spent a couple of hours there, and while there were MANY interruptions between our collective five children, it was still such a treat to see my dear friend.

By the time we were done there lunchtime was over and, on a regular day, that means it's nap time.  So we drove the Alpine Loop to see Utah's beautiful color and hoping our boys could get some MUCH needed rest.

No pictures of all of the fall beauty (I LOVE Utah in the fall!) though because there was no way we were taking the risk of stopping and waking up those sleeping little boys.  

After coming down Provo Canyon into Provo we headed for BYU campus and met up with K.C.  I remember going back to BYU as a kid and not really understanding why it was such a special place to my parents. 

I completely get it now. 

BYU is where I grew into an adult.  It's where I made some of the dearest friendships that will last a lifetime.  It's also where I got smart spiritually and academically and also managed to squeeze in a lot of fun.  I love that place.

So now that I get it, I'm excited for our little ones to fall in love with that campus just like I did in my growing up years.  Noah says at BYU you get smart and have milkshakes.  I'd say that's a pretty good start.

We visited lots of buildings on campus, which brought back many memories.  We had both left BYU by the time the Hinckley Alumni Center was finished, so we made sure to stop and take a look.  Noah was really excited about the race car in that room.

The Men's Chorus happened to be having practice as we walked through the HFAC, so Nate stopped and reminisced a little with K.C.

We were all getting hungry so we continued our walk down memory lane and went to Gandolfo's, one of our favorite casual Provo eateries.  I'm sure the boys were thrilled that I was talking their picture after they'd all taken a bite of food.

Noah's was pretty happy with his first dinner there.  That hot dog didn't disappoint.

After dinner we talked over to the construction site of the Provo City Center Temple.  It was really impressive to see the progress that's being made there.

And our fun in Provo culminated with, of course, a stop at the BYU Creamery for ice cream.  Noah had been talking about getting a milkshake at BYU for weeks, so we definitely couldn't disappoint!

Seeing all those cute college students on dates at the Creamery made me wish a little that such experiences were a part of our story, but our love story definitely took a different path that began quite a while after we each left BYU.

After dropping off K.C. at his apartment we headed back to Gram's house in Salt Lake.  We were worn out but so, SO happy.  It had been another wonderful, memorable day spent together as a family!

Museum Pictures

This truck was a part of the children's exhibit so that the kids could load up the back with items and then 'drive' it to do service for other people.

Noah waited patiently for a turn, and after enough other kids cleared out I put Luke in too.

This first one is the story of my photo documenting life when it comes to our kids.  How old will they be when they both finally look at the camera???

And the rest are just kind of cute.  I love how Luke is holding on to the steering wheel, looking much older than the ten month old that he is in the picture.

Day 2 in Utah

We started off our first full day in Utah by heading down to Temple Square.  Noah has been talking about seeing the Salt Lake Temple, or 'Gram's Temple', as he calls it, for months and months. He was not disappointed.

It didn't take long to see that two parents each pushing a stroller was efficient for getting around, but really hindered picture taking.  But I came to terms very quickly that this was just the first of many trips our family will take to Temple Square.  So, I'd just have to be happy with any moment I could capture, even though a lot would be left out and forgotten.

Noah has also started calling the Salt Lake Temple 'My Temple', and he made sure his temple got a full inspection.

The time is not far off when I'll be able to share with him the story of this great building and how it took forty years to build.  I love the phrase I was reminded of recently that 'If you let your children touch the temple, it will touch them.'

I'm really not surprised that Noah liked the exhibits and things to see in the Visitor's Center.  He's a take it all in kind of guy and asks lots of questions about EVERYthing.  We laughed when he ran past a statue and Nate said, "Hey Noah who is that?" He turned, looked quickly, and said, "Dat's Adam and Eve," and continued on his way.  He did pause for a few seconds to check out a painting of his namesake ("Dat's Noah!) in the Old Testament section of the Visitor's Center. 

We also visited the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, rode to the 26th floor of the Church Office Building to see the amazing view, and spent time at the Church History Museum.  The Museum has a really great (and free!) section for kids.  One of the exhibits was Nephi's boat.

Noah helped finish off the building of Nephi's boat and then did some fishing off the side.

We could have stayed there for a lot longer, but naps were calling.  We'll definitely be back.

Before leaving we also walked through the new City Creek Mall (AMAZING) and had lunch at the Blue Lemon.  And, despite the lack of pictures of Luke, he WAS there.  I guess he was just such a little gem in the stroller that we didn't want to take him out for a picture.  Sorry buddy.  I do have a few that I'll use in another post.

The boys naps were long, so we weren't sure what to squeeze in before dinnertime.  Nate suggested Cabela's, so we checked it out.  Talk about a fun store.

It seems weird that a retail establishment played a part in our super fun vacation, but it sure did!

Our first stop was the huge aquariums with fresh water fish.


I love when Noah says, "He's a mean guy," referring to one of the big fish, and "It's under the sea!"   I also think this little clip captivates the excitement and energy Noah had during almost the entire trip.  His little legs were constantly on the go and ready to see whatever lie ahead.

And sweet Luke, just continued to be a champ in the stroller -- as long as we kept moving and looking at new things.

We lost Nate in the fly fishing section for a while, so the boys and I took a look at the crazy amount of taxidermy in the store.  If taxidermy can be considered impressive, it sure was.  There are animals of literally every variety, climate and habitat.  Once Nate caught up with us we stopped at another area to feed the fish.

After taking in the rest of the store, we headed back to Gram's for a late dinner and much needed bedtime. Our first full day in Utah was an exhausting success!

The Drive to (and from) Utah

Last week we spent seven super fun days in Utah.  I think it was the most fun, in fact, we've ever had on a family vacation.  The reason for the trip was my sweet grandma's 90th birthday.  But we figured that if we were going to make the long drive, we'd stay and enjoy ourselves for a while too.

The best decision we made was to get on the road early.  We got the boys up and were on our way by 4:30 a.m.  Luke went right back to sleep (awesome!), but Noah didn't want to miss a thing and never did go back to sleep.  I told him he could close his eyes, but he replied, "No mom, I want to see da wights!"  He was a happy traveler, so I guess the early wake up didn't phase him much.  On both trips we only stopped for breakfast and lunch.

When you're traveling with kids it doesn't matter what YOU want to eat.  What's far more important is where is the best play place for your kids to take a break from the drive. So yes, we did eat McDonalds for two meals straight..

There were few wiggles to work out because Noah got to watch movies in the car for the first time.

He was in the zone.

Thank you Mater for getting us across Nevada.  We also put a few new games on the iPad, which he knows are only for 'wong' (long) twips (trips).

Luke was a champ too.  He took his naps on schedule, played with toys, and then 'requested' a few times to have some company in the back seat.  Can you blame him?  Being rear facing is a bore!  It was fun to join both boys back there, most of the time. :-)

I love that Luke is still a bit of a baby, because all it took was resting his head in my hand and he was asleep.  

On the way home we stopped in Reno for lunch and did take a little extra time at Scheels sporting goods store.  Noah had just ridden the ferris wheel at the store in Utah, so we indulged and let him ride it again in Reno.  I think Nate and I had some wiggles to get out too or maybe it was just that we loved everything in that store and couldn't stop walking around.

Oh, we packed in the fun.  Our car reports that from beginning to end of our travels, including driving in Utah, we put on quite a few miles.  It was worth it, and just about every one of those miles was a solid, good time!