Day 8: The Alpine Slide and Uncle Larry's House

On Day 8, we went to ride the Alpine Slide.  Annette, MeKena, Ashley, Tyler and Geoff came with us.  We had a great time.  We rode down the slide then the kids rode one Kiddie Ride. 

Later that day, we went to visit Uncle Larry's family at their house.  We have a great time because they have lots of animals to see and play with.  This trip we went horse back riding and roasted hot dogs over a camp fire.  The kiddos were sad to go back to Grandma's for bed because they were having such a great time.

Day 7: Grandpa Biggs, Swimming, and Date night.

On Day 7 we had a late start and ran out of time to get our traveling in.  We were able to drive by the house I grew up in and then visit my Dad's grave site.  We were able to show our kids where he is buried and tell them stories about their Grandpa.  They were really good listeners and loved the stories.   It's hard to believe that he has been gone for 10 years.  So much has happened since his passing.  I received my Masters degree and we had our 5 children.  I guess he needed to go to the other side of the veil to get our family started.  We do miss him and love him though.  I just hope he gets to stop and watch over us once in awhile to see how well his grandkids are growing up.  We love you Grandpa!!!!

We ended the day with swimming at Uncle Rob's.  Ashley and Mekena were also wonderful cousins and were kind enough to babysit so the adults could go out on a date night.  It was so nice to enjoy a night out and know the kids were in good hands.  We just wish we lived a little closer, so that we could use their talents more often.

Day 6: Timpanogas Trail and Cave

On Day 6 we decided to do something we haven't done since I was little.  We hiked up to Timpanogas Cave.  Ryan's sister-in-law Annette was nice enough to come along with her two youngest Tyler and MeKena and MeKena's friend.  I was very grateful for there help.  With six teens and adults, each kiddo had someone to look after them and to help drag/carry/persuade them up the hill.  Here are some photos of a great adventure.

Everyone was happy to see the cave entrance and we had about 15-20 minutes rest until our tour began.  The kids loved walking through the cave, even with a chatty tour guide.  Morgan never left the Ranger's side.  She absorbed everything and for the next two days talked of little else.  Jaxen also talked of nothing else the whole hike down.  He just thought it was soooo cool. It was so nice to see/hear them enjoy the tour after listening to them complain and trying to encourage them on the hike up. 

The hike down was another adventure.  It had rained, so there were some rock slides and we had to be very careful.  Joshua and Rachel were tired, so Ryan and I had the privilege of carrying them most of the way down.  Oh well, it was a great work out for me. 

Joshua struggled with the hike up and down.  It was very hard on his legs, but he had a great daddy who helped to carry him most of the way.  If he never hikes up again, we can at least say he did it once.  He is such a cute boy.

Day 5: Good Friends and Temple Square

On Day 5 we were able to see some friends that we knew in Michigan and are now in Utah.  Christy and MacKenzie Smedley.  Morgan was sooo excited to see her old friend.  We met and had lunch at McDonald's so we could visit and play.  The younger four were a little shy, but Morgan and I had a great time.  Thanks Christy for meeting us.

Then afterwards, the whole family enjoyed a drive to Temple Square where we walked around and visited all of the buildings.  There were a few couples coming out and having pictures taken which the girls loved.  They love to see the brides in their beautiful princess dresses and can't wait to get married in the temple in their own beautiful dress.  Here are some pictures at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

Day 3/5: Church and then off to Uncle Rob's for a swim.

On Day 3 we were able to go to church with Grandma Jean Ann and Grandpa Chris and then have a nice Sunday dinner at their house.  It was nice to just sit around, hang out and enjoy the lessons that were taught that day.  Later on, we headed north to Uncle Rob's (Ryan's brother) house to play and swim on Day 4.  The kiddos love visiting their cousins and having some big kids to play with.  In fact, Rachel asked the other day when MeKena and Tyler were coming to visit us in Michigan.  Here are some pictures of the kids having fun swimming and eating.

Day 2 of Summer Vacation

On Day 1 we made it as far as Rawlins, Wyoming.  So we started out at 8am and were on our way.  Here are some pictures from our drive on Day 2.

After being asked over 100 times if we were in Utah yet, Ryan had to take a picture of the wonderful sign that announced our arrival.

Not 5 minutes later the new question was "Are we out of Utah yet?"  What the?????

On our way we stopped at Flaming Gorge.  Here are some pictures of the kiddos in front of the Dam.

We finally arrived in Vernal and had to stop at the temple to take a look.  Here we are happy and excited to be out of the van again.

Then it was off to see some dinosaur bones.  The tour of Dinosaur Monument was closed by the time we arrived, but we did get to explore Dinosaur museum and take our own tour of the Indian Petroglyphs in the area.  The kids loved seeing the writing on the wall.

After seeing the Indians and Dinosaurs, we headed to Grandma Jean Ann's for a good nights rest.