On the road again

Okay, I don't know why, but coming home seemed so so so much longer than going to SLC. We left around 10:30 on Sunday morning and our first stop was in Green River Utah at the cleanest truck stop I have ever seen. Funny story is that Clayton saw an old co-worker of mine from Franklin Covey in there, but wasn't sure if it was him, so he didn't say anything. A couple of days later, Hank Taggart writes on my facebook page: Am I crazy, or did I see Clayton in a truck stop in Green River, UT? I really liked working with Hank, so it is too bad I was within a few hundred feet of catching up with him and his cute family! Then , it was on to the Slickrock Cafe for lunch in Moab, UT. I heart Moab and my now dusty old mountain bike misses that slickrock! A few other stops and long rides didn't land us in Albuquerque, NM until almost midnight. Oliver finally gave in and fell asleep in the car about an hour outside of Alb. Poor little guy, he had a really difficult time waking up and then an even more difficult time going back to sleep once we arrived in our hotel room. Unfortunately, this lead to a bad night sleep for the little guy which made day number two especially difficult for him. He was still a trooper and even opted for a 50 minute nap on day number two during some enforced quiet time. We arrived home after 11:00 pm on Monday and Oliver was so excited to see all his things...he just wanted to play. He was also happy to see his "black crib" in the words of Oliver and he ended up sleeping until 12:45 pm on Tuesday. Here are some pictures we took along the way.

the obligatory leaving picture with no make-up. Mom, let's make a vow that we will do this the day before we go next time when we both have make-up on. :)

Oliver coming in for a kiss...I loved this picture!

Good bye Gramps, thanks for playing with me!

Goodbye Grammy, I'll miss you!

I discovered I really like clouds. Without out mountains in Dallas, the clouds move through quickly and don't get caught in the valley. I loved seeing these clouds nestled up against the mountain in Spanish Fork, UT.

Clayton really likes the mountains going through the canyon on the way to Price. This was his favorite scenery of the drive.

Here is the same cliff, clouds featured this time.

Oliver wearing Mommy's sunglasses upside down. He thinks he is so cute! So do I! :)

He cleaned off his fingerprints before he gave them back to me; how thoughtful!

Okay, I hate tornadoes, but I have a sick fascination with supercell clouds. My photofinishing software makes these look more ominous than they really are, but still it sends shivers down my spine!

Oliver's view for two days straight. He took this photo.

A late night nap...poor little guy!

Necessity breeds progress. I forgot to bring a sippy cup into the hotel; Oliver now uses big boy cups all the time.

Video of Oliver ordering dinner at Sonic in Mineral Wells. This went on for a few minutes and I just caught the tail end. I actually had to encourage a few things because he was already done...he wanted to be just like his Daddy. :)

Our last day in SLC

We had a great week in SLC, we packed in as much fun as we could, and there is still another day to go. This morning, Clayton got up early and headed down to Orem with my sisters and did a 5K. I wish I had sent the camera with him, I would have loved a picture of the three of them together after or before the run, but I'll just chock that up to another mistake without my camera this vacation. Shortly after Clayton left, my sister-in-law Debbie came by to pick me up for a roller blading lesson. We went to Dewey Blueth park in Sandy and I showed Debbie some tricks on how to stop and turn. She did great and didn't even fall once. Afterwards, we went to breakfast and had some great girl time together.


One of the last things on my Utah to do list, was to take Oliver to the mountains for the first time. I had heard some good things about a short, supposedly easy hike right in Sandy. So Michele & Jerone brought their kids along with Grammy, Gramps and the three of us and we headed up to the Rocky Mouth Trail head which is on about 11300 South and Wasatch Dr. The hike is beautiful and the water fall at the top is breathtaking, but it was too technical for the little kids, either a drop or a river to the side so nerve racking for the parents of the little kids, and I thought I lost my camera with all my vacation pictures. Luckily, we all made it down safely and my Dad helped me find my camera under my seat when we returned to the 4Runner. Here are a couple of pictures we got to remember Oliver's first trip to the mountains.

Afterward we all headed to DQ for some ice cream courtesy of Gramps, yummy! Thanks Dad! Then we said our sad goodbyes to the majority of our family and headed our separate ways. I did get to spend a little more time with Michele & Travis that night when I headed to their house after Oliver went to sleep to watch a movie.

This was a FANTASTIC trip! Thanks to all my family who made our vacation so happy! We love you all!

Our family get together

On Friday night, everyone (minus Jarrett who was not feeling well) came to my parents for dinner. The food was yummy and I think everyone had a great time. After dinner, we all went out back to play. I think this was the most fun family get together I have had in a long time. Here are some random pictures from the evening:

Grammy & Gramps with all the grand children minus Jarret:

back row: Grammy, Preston, Wesley, Gramps

second row: Riley, Alex, Olivia

front row: Emily, Avery, Oliver (doesn't he look picked on), Madi & Layla

Avery showed up with some bling in her ears. You can't tell from this picture, but she is actually really happy about it!

Michele hoola-hooping. She will hate this picture, but I love it. I have a video too that is great, but I won't push my luck! :)

kids playing

Oliver & Daddy doing Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Uncle Jerone & Layla

We really wanted to get a shot of these two cousins together who are only seven weeks apart. Unfortunately, I don't thing Oliver purposely smiled for one picture this day. I love this expression on his face, ummm, smiling...I don't think so.

Oliver is about to make a run for it, but this is cute of Avery

So after about a dozen bad shots, I give up and stand up and then Oliver gives me this smile...I think he was really laughing at me! :)

Oliver & Madi had such a great time playing together. Madi always loved Oliver as a baby, and I think she loves him just as much now...and it's obvious to me that he loves her right back!

Riley with baby Layla

I can't tell you what April was talking about, but you can imagine by her hands! ;)

April, Jerone, Pamela & Michele

Debbie is the real photographer in our family, Clayton just got a couple of shots on the sidelines

Not just another children's museum

Friday we spent some time with Grammy & Gramps at the Discovery Center at Gateway in downtown SLC. Can I just say, wow??? I thought our museum in Dallas was fun, but it doesn't even compare. The museum was well thought out and beautifully designed. I could see kids of many ages being very happy there. It is quite pricey, but if you have that opportunity to go, do! We had so much fun, I say we, because yes, we all played right along side Oliver.

Some of Oliver's favorites were the construction exhibit, a cute farm with a tractor and garden, the water exhibit with little balls that went everywhere and the building blocks with Gramps. Thanks for taking us to the museum Grammy & Gramps, we loved spending that special time with you!

Hey Gramps, those are my cool dude sunglasses you are wearing!

Fun with balls for Oliver. However, all the adults were excited because we always wanted to play Plinko on The Price is Right

We all loved this huge music display. I wish I would have thought to take some video.

I could post all of my pictures here, but I'll spare you some with a collage.

Oliver's favorite exhibit at the Discovery Gateway. He is so into building right now. This was perfect for him!

Playing with the water pump

These huge blocks were so much fun. He and Gramps worked together to build something really cool.

Here is the finished product, all blocks used...only where is Oliver?

Oh look, he found a helicopter

Preschool graduation, Thanksgiving Point Farm, family fun...can it get any better than this?

I forgot to mention in the post for Wednesday about the great lunch I had with my brother and the awesome night we had at the park with his family. Unfortunately I forgot my camera for both occasions. We had so much fun at the park. This was the first time Oliver had seen Riley and Olivia since they were at our house a month and a half ago and he had such a great time. Oliver remembers their time here like it was yesterday. When we arrived at the park, Riley came running to greet us and Olivia wasn't far behind; Oliver went to Riley without any hesitation and the reunion with Olivia was just as sweet. This time Oliver has really gotten to know so much of my family. He has lost most of his stranger anxiety and loves to talk to people, and it only helps that I show him pictures and talk of our family frequently. We had so much fun just hanging out, playing on the playground, playing croquet and swinging. Thanks for making time to have fun with us Richards!

Thursday morning we were able to attend Emily's preschool graduation. She looked so cute in her little graduation cap, and she was sure to wear her gymnastics's medal; I wonder if she has taken it off yet? I know I wouldn't have! :)

The room was packed, everyone there to celebrate their little graduate. Clayton took these pictures from the doorway and they were more than a little grainy.

When we got back to Michele's house, the first thing Oliver wanted to do was go upstairs to the playroom. Michele has an awesome playroom full of toys and Oliver is in heaven every time we go with all the new toys. When I went up I found that the kids had drug out Michele's old cars from when we were young and were having fun.

Oliver was playing with the trucks, no surprise there!

This shot was a little blurry, but I thought it showed how much fun Oliver was having.

Oliver thought this was really funny, he got right up in Emily's face and they just stood there looking at each other.

playing with Emily's headband...he put it on for like a second...all boy!

After Madi got out of school, we packed up the kids and Grammy (Gramps went home) and went to have lunch at jcw's burger house...so good! Oliver loved their chicken, I loved their hamburger and their fries and fry sauce were to die for. Yummy! Next we went over to the Thanksgiving Point Farm where my camera battery died (of course, there is never a warning). My spare was at home, so I didn't get any pictures of the farm either. Sad! Anyway, the kids had fun looking at the animals and then they went on a stagecoach ride and on pony rides. Then it was over to the ice cream parlor to celebrate Emily's graduation. It is not advertised, but kids scoops are only 25 cents and free for under three. That is a pretty sweet deal! After that it was back to Michele's house for a little more playing. Oliver and I were really sad to leave. He loved playing at Aunt Shell's house and I loved spending time with my sister. Thanks for making time to have fun with us Reeves!

After dinner, Aunt April came for a visit. It was fun to see Jarrett, Wesley & Alex interact with Oliver. Thanks for making some time to hang out with us guys! Of course Oliver wanted to play cars.

Here they are with the cars

Jarrett was suffering from allergies and wasn't feel very well, but I thought this picture was cute of him playing with Lightning McQueen.

Here is Wesley on the tiny bike

Now Alex's turn, doesn't she look fierce!

Oliver with his trusty stick, all the way from the Maple Tree in our front yard. It came too and from Utah with us.

The softer side of our little skater boy!

Jarret checking out Oliver's scooter tricycle




Video of Oliver's idea of playing with a skateboard


Oliver & Gramps reading a story before bedtime