Vacation time!

The weekend before school let out I flew to Arizona to attend Tori and Carl's wedding! I couldn't have done it without my friend/visiting teacher Eileen who took me to the airport then put Brielle on the bus, watched the other two all day, got Brielle off the bus, and fed them dinner until Brandon got home. Luckily he was able to trade a weekend with someone so he could be home the rest of the time! My flight was delayed so I missed most of the shower, and didn't get a mani/pedi like I was hoping...but we made it to the tool party and then the lovely sealing and reception on Saturday. It was hot but so very dry it was actually tolerable!

And it was fun to be there with my mom and the rest of the Hanson family!

Loved this picture of Tori and her nephews! Twelve years earlier they were at my reception and now they're all grown up!

When I got back it was the last week of school...Our good friends the Clydes moved away that week and they came to say goodbye to us before they got on the road! 

Jonah and Evie made a Brielle sandwich!

We sure will miss them. Shanna was a great neighbor and friend and wonderful Primary secretary!

I took Lily and Carter to Paulus Farm. We had a great time!

Feeding the goats, donkeys, and pigs

Giant rocking goat ride!

The "Dirt Diner" was a big hit

Many mud pies and other treats were created

A cute tractor swing made from old tires!

On the last half day of school we went to get Brielle's hair trimmed!

Just enough to donate!

Then we finished getting ready to fly to Utah! We had everything ready to go, were just waiting for Brandon to come home from work. I had told our piano teacher that we wouldn't have lessons for a couple weeks, but he forgot and showed up anyway! The girls were good sports about taking it in stride when they didn't plan on having a lesson. Brandon didn't come home until after he left, so it worked out! But by then it was getting late and the traffic was heavy at times. We were parking in long term parking which always adds at least a half hour. We were going to be late and miss our flight! When we were still an hour away I started praying we'd be able to make it somehow. I thought to check the flight status and our flight was delayed just enough so we wouldn't miss it! Phew! 

Waiting for the parking shuttle

Carter loves buses so this was a highlight for him!

We still had to check a bag, which they said was late and had no guarantees to be on our flight. And then one of the security checkpoints was closed so the other one was packed with just a couple lines open. As soon as we got through we sprinted down the terminal! The flight was still boarding and we were able to get on just fine, but my heart rate definitely went up during this adventure!

We finally made it to Salt Lake and Rebecca and Carol picked us up. We slept well at Neil's home and then the next day road bikes/the Frozen convertible to Grandma and Grandpa's new house.

Lily was a pretty good driver once she got the hang of it!

I didn't have any pictures of it, but the kids had a great time playing at the new house with the toys and watching Donald Duck with Grandpa! The whole time we were in Utah the kids' favorite thing was just being together and playing. We had lots of fun activities planned, but really they would've been fine to play at home all day every day!

Kaden's birthday was a fun water party with slip-n-slide, water balloons, water blob, pools, squirt guns, burgers and hot dogs, presents and cake! Happy 8th birthday Kaden!

A trip to the Museum of Curiosity at Thanksgiving point was a lot of fun.

At the bank in Kidopolis

Great building!

What a fun place! And with fun cousins even better!

We visited This is the Place Heritage Park which has really expanded. It is a whole pioneer village now with demonstrations and activities like Nauvoo.

Touring a boarding house

We got to dance in the street with some Pioneers

 

Washing, drying, ironing by hand

Plowing

Pioneer games. Brandon also tried the stilts!

The playground was also very fun! We had a picnic lunch there and had fun on the ziplines and climbing structures.

The kids got to ride some ponies.

Carter wouldn't try it though

Digging for gems. Lily loved this

Panning for Gold. She loved this even more, she could've stayed there all day!

View of the Indian village

Watching Brigham Young's Donuts being freshly made!

What a day!

For our last day, we went bowling and to Tucano's for lunch. Everyone loved the Brazilian rodizio! For dessert we shared chocolate cake and passionfruit mousse. So delicious!

Hamming it up in the Build a Bear store!

We also visited the play area at the mall and it was super fun!

After the kids went to bed we went to see Solo in 3D

It was a fun date night!

At the airport the morning we left. Our flight was an "honor flight" with about 80 veterans and their companions traveling to DC to visit the memorials. They were escorted by a color guard and some bagpipes! It was pretty cool to see that!

The girls conked out on the plane. Carter slept a little too. 

We made it home fine and were so glad we got to visit!