Utah...A Week of Best Friends!!!

Who would have ever thought I'd love visiting Utah so much? I don't think I've been there since mine and Richard's honeymoon to Park City. I think this trip was one of my favorite of all time, due to the fact that I got to see so many of my favorite girlfriends in one trip. I just want to build a little community where we can all live next to each other, because man oh man, I have missed these ladies in my life! And my kids have missed their friends, too.

The drive from AZ to Utah really wasn't that bad. My kids and I loaded up with movies, snacks, music, toys, and saw lots of gorgeous scenery along the way. We only had to stop once in Page, so we made pretty good time to Abby and Jeff's house. Melanie had gotten there earlier that day, so it was quite the reunion!!!

Me, Melanie, and Abby

The next day was spent chatting and shopping. We went to the Provo Mall (I think?) and had lunch. We were quite the sight with all 7 of our kids. Wait. I take that back. We were in Utah, we were the norm.

Cadence, Ruby, Annie, and Perry

That afternoon, we all treked up to Angela and John's house in Draper. They were kind enough to host our little girl's reunion at their house. We had such a great time staying there, especially looking at the gorgeous view of the Draper Temple, right in front of their house. We had lots of fun hanging out and getting all caught up with each other's lives. We stayed up late and ate lots of yummy food. We even went out for dinner and dessert one night, thanks to John, who braved babysitting all 10 kids!!!

One of the highlights of my time there was running in the Dirty Dash 5K. Let me just say, I am not a runner. Not even close. But this sounded too fun to pass up. It was a mud obstacle course and race. My poor team mates had to stop and wait for me several times to catch up with them, but I finished! It was so fun!!!

Team Patriots at the finish line!

Angela and I, nice and muddy!

After our race, the kids got to do a Piglet Dash. They went up a huge hill of mud, across the mountain and down a huge inflatable slide. It took some coaxing, but we got Ella, Ruby, Ally, and Max to do it. They had such a blast!

My muddy girls!

The kids had so much fun playing together every day. I just love all these little people and am glad that our kids get along.

The entire group. Abby with her two kids Max and Perry (and one in the oven), Angela with her three kids Allison, Christian, and Logan, me with Ella, Ruby, and Annie, and Melanie with her two kids Ciella and Cadence.

Melanie and Abby left on Sunday, so I went and spent the day with my Dad and Gayle. We went to Provo Canyon and had a picnic, then hung out at their house till after dinner time. Then the girls and I headed back to Angela's for another day. We took the kids to the park and then to Thanksgiving Point to the Dinosaur Museum. It was so fun to spend so much time with such great friends.

After that, it was on to the next friend! Luckily, I have fantastic friends who are willing to let me and my three kids come and crash their houses! We got to Kristi's house in Sandy and within 2 minutes of being there, Ella and Samantha were already hugging each other. Kristi has amazing kids and they all got along so well. And being around Kristi just makes me feel good. She truly is an amazing friend. We got a babysitter one night and went out to dinner. I just never tire of talking to her!

Lucas, Ruby, Samantha, Ella, Tyler, and Cameron. (Annie wouldn't get in the picture.)

Instant friends- Samantha and Ella. We were all in awe of Sammi because she's quite the gymnast, and she's barely 6 years old.

Annie and Cameron- a love hate relationship. He loved to hug her, she hated it!

Here's what you get when you ask Ruby to take a picture. My SD Card was full halfway through my Utah trip, so I missed out on a lot of picture taking. Finally, the night before we left, I went and bought a new one.

We took the kids to the pool one day and went and got frozen yogurt...which I haven't stopped thinking about since! Lemon frozen yogurt with cheesecake pieces. Yum!

One of the days, our friend Jenn from high school, met up with us and we all took the train into SLC to go to the children's museum. It was so good to see Jenn and meet her cute kids! I'm telling you, I have missed all of these wonderful friends from every part of my life! The train was a fun adventure for about 30 seconds, then the kids were whining about how long it was taking...at least mine were! The museum was so much fun, then we went and ate at the Gateway food court. We walked down to the part that has the splash pad and let the kids play there for a while. They were so cute, playing together, doing handstands (Kristi's kids!), and dancing to the music. Jenn was nice enough to take pictures of everyone and send them to me.

Ruby and Megan riding the train.

Annie Mae at the splash pad.

All of the kids together. Ella loved having Lucas around. He's 8 and acted like the perfect older brother to her.

And actual proof that we were together!

Jenn, Kristi, and me.

On the way out of town, we even stopped and had breakfast with Missy, Bryker, and Makenna. She was nice enough to drive to Sandy to meet up with us! I am so fortunate to know so many great friends and have the chance to meet up with them for a few days.

The kids and I drove back to AZ and stayed for two days, then flew back to North Carolina. Annie cried for a long time on the plane, but I totally lucked out and had amazingly kind people all around me that tried to help. I, of course, was in tears. I was so glad to see Richard when we got home, but not excited for the 3 hour drive back home from Raleigh. Next up, we had two weeks to pack up and move!