Tim, Tanaya, Ty, and Lucy: Utah Trip 2016

I took the kids out to Utah for two weeks at the end of June. It was my first time flying alone with both kids. We had a layover in Las Vegas where we got stuck on the runway for about two hours. (aka my flying nightmare...besides the plane getting hijacked, I guess). These kids were pretty good, but things started out rough. Luckily, they were back to normal by the next morning at Grandpa Tom and Grandma Sheila's new house!

Lucy even learned how to do stairs. I was so happy her cousins were excited to play with her, because they helped her go up and down and up and down...

After two days in Salem, we drove down to St. George. I hadn't been back for about three years, so it was a great feeling to be "home." I just love being there.

I got to see my house in progress as my dad and Sheila are getting it remodeled to sell, and visit old friends. It was a nice trip, but quick.

Back up north, we celebrated the 4th with a parade and, later, a picnic in the canyon with cousins!

Having a fire in the mountains with marshmallows is one of my favorite things ever (luckily we did it twice in Utah!)

Later that week, we hiked up to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. I'd been there several times, but didn't know you could hike up close!

The kids liked the water at the bottom. Next, we drove up to Sundance Resort for some snacks and relaxing!

Another day, Kristen and the kids and I got lunch and drove up to Kaysville to visit my Grandparents. It's always nice to see them!

We then visited the Hill Air Force Base Museum. It was much cooler than we were expecting! Ty LOVED it, but we didn't get to stay long as they were closing (and announced it every 10 minutes...then every single minute)

Above: Ty with "Wind-lifter" from Disney's Planes Fire and Rescue.
Below: "Sarge" from Disney's Cars.

And don't forget Ty with every other vehicle around Salem. It's a farm town with a lot of new construction, so he had a lot of fun! Below is him with Frank's cousin. Frank is the big red combine harvester on Disney's Cars that chases Lightning and Mater while tractor tipping.

"Mater's cousin:"

and a tipped tractor:

Don't forget all the construction vehicles!

The second weekend we were there, Mindy and Ben's family came up to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. On Friday, we had fun at Thanksgiving Point's Farm Town.

Lucy may have had the most fun of anyone. She got to ride a pony!

Eating at Cafe Rio after. Even Lucy loves it.

Ty and Kash are becoming cute little friends. These two are only three months apart.

For Dad's birthday celebration, Sheila had planned a great party starting with these Knocker Balls:

Next, we played a few active family games on the grass. Below we are playing a relay tic-tac-toe. It was cute because even Ty could participate!

Next we split into three teams and did an "Amazing Race" picture scavenger hunt game. I was on Ben and Kaitlyn's (and Carter's) team (where are those pictures too!?) We drove all over Salem and Santaquin to take pictures with a goat, on a boat in a lake, with a school mascot, etc. It was so fun, and we ended up at the Red Barn in Santaquin for some delicious ice cream!

Dad and my team members.

The pictures below are just of all the fun family time we had.

I love that our family did so many active things together. The Utah weather was pretty amazing for being July, and I think we all enjoyed being outside in the beautiful scenery. Below are pictures from a kickball game we played at a park pretty much on the edge of a mountain. It was beautiful!