the rest of our time in utah

Other things we did in Utah included taking the girls to see where we were married in the Mt. Timpanogas temple, playing at some fun parks, eating at some places we have missed, a Pony Express reunion, and visiting temple square.

Monday night was the Pony Express reunion and it was such a treat.  I couldn't believe how many people were able to come.  It was such an incredible place to teach and such a fun time in my life. 

Before we headed to the airport we went to temple square.  The girls have decided that is the temple to be married in because it looks like a castle.  It would have been nice to spend a little more time there but we couldn't find a place to eat and I had the worst headache.  We finally decided it was best to just get to the airport.  Next time we go out we will have to spend more time there because we would have loved a full tour of the conference center and welfare square.  At least the girls got to see the temple! 

It was such a great trip and we were so happy to spend time with friends and family!  Hopefully we will be able to go back out again in the near future!

back to utah

 After we left Wyoming, we headed back to Utah to spend the remainder our trip.  Jeff's sister and her kids drove up to see us and the girls were so over the moon excited to their cousins!  They have been missing them ever since we said goodbye in Nauvoo over the summer.

There is nothing like spending time with family!  That is definitely what we miss living far away!

wyoming

 Our trip to Wyoming was quick and fun.  We stopped in Green River first.  We went to see my good friend Stephanie and her cute family when we got there.  Stephanie was my first friend at church when we moved there and she had her little boy at the same time I had Heidi.  They used to play together when they were babies.  My friend Jaime put together a reunion at her house so I could see some of the teachers I used to work with.  We didn't get a picture until the end when it was just Jaime, Jill, and I left, but it was great to catch up with my teaching friends and let the girls spend time with the
 the kids they played with when they were small.  It was a great night. 

We spent the night in Green River and then we went to Lyman in the morning.  We drove past our old house, stopped and saw my friend Katie, stopped and visited Heidi's first dance teacher, and then a great friend, Amy, made some soup and rolls and had us and my friend Misty and Dannielle over for lunch.  It was a great stop and it was so great to catch up with the great people we met at our time there.  Our street has changed so much and it was weird to see the house we built and thought we would retire in, but talking with people who are still at Jeff's old company gave us the confirmation that we definitely made the right choice when we left.  His new job is less stable in terms of job security, but he is so much happier and less stressed.  We are grateful for our years in Wyoming and for the great people we met there!

snow

 After we left Idaho we went to Wyoming to visit friends.  We found some snow in the Tetons and let the girls play for a little bit.  It was strange to see snow so early in the year, but the girls thought it was really really cool.  It was fun to let them stop and play in the snow in early October!

idaho

 The girls had fun with Melissa and my parents.  They also got to see their great grandma and grandpa Barnard. We also went to visit my aunt Linda and Uncle Steve and we went to my cousin Julie's house and saw my Aunt Teresa and the girls got to play with my cousin's four girls.  It was chilly there the whole time, but it was a nice stop.

bear world

 My parents moved to Idaho about two months ago so we went up to visit them.  The first day we went to Bear World and the girls had an absolute blast.  You drive through the bears and then there is a petting zoo and about four or five little amusement park rides.  The rides were a huge hit with the girls--especially Caimbree.  She was just barely tall enough to ride them all and she was just so thrilled.  The little roller coaster one she would put her hands up.  Savanna was funny because she would scream the whole time and said it was more fun that way.  Every time the ride would turn to face me, Savanna would do her little raised eyebrows.  She is such a hoot.  Another funny part was the little train.  Heidi didn't want to sit in her seat alone but it was my turn with Savanna and Melissa's turn with Caimbree so my dad, who couldn't stand to see Heidi sad, came and sat with her.  The seats were so small there was not much time for Heidi once he sat with her. She wasn't thrilled with the arrangement but was too polite to say anything.  It was funny and the next time she got to ride with Melissa.  It was a fun

 place and the girls could have stayed all day!

fall break trip out west

We were so excited for fall break this year.  Jeff finished his MBA and we wanted to do a big trip to celebrate.  We have been saving our airline points so we could take a trip out west and fall break was the perfect time.  

The girls were so excited to fly on a plane and visit their grandparents and cousins.  The most exciting part was that we didn't tell Jeff's mom we were coming and that made us all anticipate the trip even more!  Before we left the girls couldn't stop speculating and acting out what they thought grandma's reaction would be.  

Our flight left Nashville at 5:30 am which meant we had to wake up at 3 am and leave our house by 3:30 am.  We thought the girls would fall back to sleep when we put them in the car, but they were too excited and stayed awake.  Caimbree was asleep until Jeff got into the garage with her.  She looked at him sleepily and said, "What are we doing in here, dad?"  She is such a funny kid. Once she woke up enough to know we were getting on the plane she was all smiles.  

We made it to our flight and everything went smoothly.  The girls stayed awake the whole time and were excited about everything.  They were perfect angels and colored and read and talked with each other.  

The worst part was when we landed in Salt Lake.  Caimbree fell asleep as the wheels touched the ground and there was no waking her so we hauling 

her to baggage claim and then when we got our luggage we had to navigate the airport with her in our arms.  It took a long time to get the rental car, but we finally did and we were on our way.  Jeff's mom was very surprised and the girls were so excited to see their grandparents.  We stayed the rest of the day and Sunday there and then headed to Wyoming and Idaho for a few days before returning to Utah.

Our flight home went really smoothly too.  We had a layover in Phoenix and the girls met the pilot.  He was so sweet and invited them into the cockpit and showed them how the plane worked and where the horn was.  He was so cute with them and they loved every minute of their little tour.  When we got on the flight to Nashville, Caimbree fell asleep before the plane even took off and slept through half of the flight.  The other two fell asleep an hour before we landed.  Overall, all of the flights went very smoothly and the girls loved being on an airplane!