A Vacation from our Vacation!

On July 19th, my mom and I packed my tired little girls back into the car and started our long drive toward good ol' Illinois. It was a much more tiring journey on the way back than it was coming in, but somehow we survived. We took as many stretching breaks as we could along the way and crashed at a hotel at the halfway mark. And before long, we were back home.

Once we arrived, we pretty much slept for 2 straight days, and then when we woke up not much changed! We managed to make it through an entire season of Downton Abby, and 2 seasons of Jericho before throwing ourselves out the door for a Sushi run and a date at the movies. I also managed to go out to lunch with my friend Tiffany during this time, thanks to my dear, sweet mother, who watched our kids while we were away. Anyway, our lethargy lasted for nearly 6 days before we finally decided to get up and play a little before my mom had to head back to Utah. But I will post more on that later!

To be continued...

Utah: Part 14 (Wrapping things up in PG)

On the evening of July 16th, I arrived back in Pleasant Grove to say my final goodbyes to the Uda clan before driving back to Illinois.

But before I said my farewells, I was able to help my sister Scarlet make a jewelry holder out of an old mirror. It was a fun little project and now that I've seen it all the way done, I can't wait to make one for myself! :)

Another matter of business to take care of before we left was to get some antibiotics for myself and Brooklyn. (Lily already got some doses of her own while we were in Kaysville.) As it turns out, you can't put 30 people in the same house together and expect no one to get sick. During the course of our month spent in Utah, the Uda gang (myself and kids included) shared, Strep Throat, Hand Foot & Mouth Disease, Conjunctivitis, Stomach Flu, Laryngitis, Adrenal Virus, and Chicken Pocks!

If you don't believe me, take a look at my poor nephew Cam! Doctors originally thought he had Hand Foot and Mouth, but it turned out to be one of the worst cases of Chicken Pox they had ever seen! Poor baby!

Anyway, in the midst of all that, we still had lots of time to play, and were even able to help my sister Rachel pack up and clean her house in preparation to move to Hawaii!

And then, on the night before we left, we got to spend a little quality time with the whole family before our long trek East.

It was amazing to be with all my family again and to see how each of my siblings has grown and created their own little families. So many fun memories were built while we were together and I can't wait until we can do it all over again!

Utah: Part 13 (Wrapping things up in Kaysville)

July 14-16 were our last days in Kaysville, but that didn't mean we had any less fun!

On the 14th, Grandma set up an outdoor movie in her backyard! She had drinks and popcorn for everyone, as well as a comfortable pillow and blanket for each child! It was a beautiful evening to be hanging out outside and the kids loved watching The Little Mermaid under the stars!

 

Earlier that day, Grandpa pulled out his scooter and took us all to the elementary school park near his house! The kids LOVED taking turns on the scooter, which actually surprised me since Lily had seemed so scared of it earlier in the week!

Once we were at the park there was much fun to be had between the swings, slides, rock climbing wall, and rides (complements of Uncle Brian and Grandpa!)

But of course, Lily had the most fun on the non-play equipment. She spent the majority of her time running circles around the playground border before it was time for us to head back home.

The next day we went to church, spent time chatting, and prepared to say our goodbyes on Monday morning. We had so much fun with the Hanks crew and were VERY thankful that each of them took the time to come visit us while we were in Utah! Love you guys!

Utah: Part 12 (More Visitors!)

On July 11th, we woke up bright and early and headed outside to fill up the pool for the kids...

Unfortunately, they couldn't wait for it to fill all the way, and one by one they dived in...fully dressed! They spent a lot of time in the pool together and wore themselves out pretty good in preparation of Brian and Natalie's arrival later on!

But first, I headed back down to Pleasant Grove to have one last lunch with my sisters before they had to get back to work :( We had some really great grub at Cafe Rio and enjoyed our time together before I drove back to Kaysville to hang out with Natalie and her cute kiddos.

 

When I got back, Grandma had the kids all set up for music time before bed! She gave them each a unique instrument and they practiced rhythms while Grandma played the piano and the rest of us sang.  Here is a little sampling of our amazing collective talents:

When we were done with music time, Grandma herded us all into the living room for story time!

She let each child pick a story for her to read and then EVERYONE got to enjoy it together.

Even Auntie Natalie got in on the fun and read to the little kids who were too distracted to sit still with the bigger kids!

Then, when we were done reading books, Auntie Janna shared one last story/song with us all before it was time for bed. Here is a small portion of what she shared with us:

Utah: Part 11 (Back to Kaysville)

By July 9th, we were back in Kaysville enjoying some more rest and relaxation with the Hanks Clan!

Grandma started us out with a nice shopping trip to the mall! The little girls got to try on hats, wave wands at a magic mirror and talk to princesses, and ride around the water fountains in their little strollers. Grandma even spoiled them a little and sent Brooklyn home with a set of Disney Princesses, Lily with a stuffed kitty from the Aristocats and a stuffed puppy from 101 Dalmatians, and Audrey made off with Maximus from Tangled!

And when the girls were all done getting spoiled, they got to play around in the many water features around the mall. Lily especially enjoined the water rainbow, as is evident by the enormous smile on her face!

The next day, Grandma and Janna got to work getting the backyard set up like a water park for all the kiddos to play in.

At first Lily preferred soaking her feet in the storage bin...

While her cousin Audrey enjoyed trying to figure out how to take a ride down the slip n slide with the boogie board!

Then Kevin came out and showed the girls how to get some real speed on the boogie board :)

After that, Lily decided to brave the board and took a thrilling ride into the splash pool.

Turns out, that's all she needed to become inseparable with the new backyard water feature!

Anyway, we let the girls play in the sun and water until nap time and then Janna took Kevin and I for a night (errr...afternoon) out on the town! 

We paid a visit to Boondock's where we ate pizza, hit the batting cages, and did a little bowling...

and of course, there were some arcade games involved. I personally prefer the games where you shoot things, but Kevin and Janna managed to convince me to try a round of dancing before they took over and dominated the game!

Later that night we came home and found that Grandma had set up the house for Karaoke night! (For the kids, not adults.  Thank Goodness!) Here is a little sampling of what we got to listen too:

Lily was a little loud and has a pretty small repertoire of songs, but it was sure fun watching her sing her guts out! (P.S. I think she had to pee!)

Utah: Part 10 (Century Ride)

On July 6th, we drove up to Idaho Falls to meet with the rest of the Hanks family and get a good nights sleep before the big century ride!

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Kevin, his siblings, and his dad, all started riding their bikes...

45 miles later, they stopped at Great Grandma and Grandpa Hanks' house in St. Anthony for a short rest and a hearty breakfast (complements of Grandma Hanks).

While our riders were resting, we (Grandma, Me, Sara, Tyler, Brooklyn, Lily, & Audrey) were exploring the farm. Auntie Janna helped the girls catch a butterfly, which was probably the highlight of their trip, the little girls played with tiny flower windmills, and Brooklyn even got to take a ride in a 4 wheeler with Kevin's cousin Travis! It was tons of fun and it was great to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Hanks again.

But our riders couldn't stall too long or they would get stiff! So they hopped back on their bikes and started peddling onward!

Aunt Kerry even joined them for a short while after they left Great Grandpa's house!

We stayed a while longer and then headed into the middle of nowhere to meet our riders for another water stop. Grandma Hanks had tons of fun things planned for each of the stops, and this one included a battery operated bubble machine! Brooklyn and Audrey played for a little while but then got distracted by the cookies Grandma had, but Lily chased the bubbles the entire time we were there!

We also had a swim stop where Grandma had filled up a kiddy pool in the back of the truck and let the little girls swim in it. Unfortunately, I was too busy trying to convince Lily that the water wouldn't kill her to get any pictures! Never-the-less, it was a nice break before the Hanks crew had to start peddling again!

We met them again at Kilgore Store where the girls played with some funky play dough, ate suckers, and launched rockets. Lily was really into her sucker, but Brooklyn and Audrey went crazy over the rockets and had a blast shooting them off!

When our break was over, we loaded up EVERYONE and drove from Kilgore to Island park (due to a long gravel road that would have killed all the bike tires) to start the ride again. It was a nice drive for everyone in the cab of the truck, but the poor boys in the back got pelted by rain the entire way! It seemed to come out of nowhere, just to pick on them, and it stopped as soon as they got back on their bikes... go figure :)

This time we waited at a waterfall where Grandma had planned a nature treasure hunt. She gave each of the girls their own bucket and let them walk around collecting pine cones and rocks. They absolutely LOVED it and came home with quite a collection!

Meanwhile, our riders were coming down the hill when Brian turned around to tell them all something. He then managed to CRASH... Kevin miraculously swerved around him but Janna ran him over in slow motion and ended up toppling off her bike as well!

Janna's fall was luckily cushioned by Brian, but Brian got some pretty groovy road rash. His arm was pretty bad, but according to him, his backside received the worst of it. Thankfully he chose NOT to prove that to all of us with a little show and tell :)

After mom had Brian all bandaged up, he hopped in the car and we drove to a river where the ride would end, about 10 miles down the road. It was really beautiful and the kids had fun waiting for our riders to finish.

When all was said and done, Brian had two popped tires and some road rash, Craig got a pretty hilarious sunburn, Dad and Janna were pleasantly pooped, and Kevin was on cloud nine!

The little girls FINALLY passed out on the way home and when we got there Brian and Janna took off to ride a few more miles to make up for ones they had missed along the way. In the end, the whole family managed to conquer the entire 100 mile distance and it was a fun memory that we all got to share together!

Stay tuned for more about our adventures in Utah...

Utah: Part 9 (Kaysville Bound)

The morning of July 5th marked the end of the Uda Family Reunion, so Kevin and I packed up our bags and headed north to Kaysville to spend some time with the Hanks family!

It took about 2 seconds for Brooklyn to go flying out the backdoor and onto the trampoline. She had been talking about it for months and wanted to make sure she spent some good quality time with it!

But grandma had another surprise up her sleeve... Down in the basement she had put together a little roller coaster! All the kids loved it, but Lily could hardly be separated from the thing. It was really fun to watch her go again and again :)

After all the chaos of 12 grandchildren at the Uda house, Brooklyn and Lily were happy to have a little downtime reading with grandpa and having the whole house to themselves. But it wasn't long before they started asking where all their Hanks cousins were!

Lily was especially excited to see Audrey, (who is 3 weeks older than her) and once they were together it was a hoot watching them interact and learn new things from each other. But that would all come later, first we had to prepare for the 100 mile bike ride that the Hanks siblings were about to embark on... more to come on that, later!

To be continued...