Salt Lake City Discovery Gateway

Salt Lake City has a great asset - the UTA Trax system - that you can ride to places through the city.  There is even an area of town that is free to get on and off during the day!  We rode it to the Gateway area that has lots of shopping, restaurants, a large water play area, and our favorite part- Discovery Gateway Museum!

Jack LOVED shopping in the "real" grocery store.  He was quite a shopper!  At the "deli" in the back, Jack made sandwiches for other "customers." His menu offered some interesting sandwich combinations - ham/apples, steak/peas, fish/cheese....His time here gave me some great birthday ideas!!

Henry liked all of it, but he enjoyed operating the crane in the construction area.  He thought it was great to hoist "bricks/blocks" for the workers to make buildings. 

Every area was well-equipped with dress up clothes, pretend play items, etc..  On the roof we played in the air traffic control tower and on the helicopter!

We liked this place so much we went twice in one day!  The pass enabled us to go ALL day so we met Uncle Daniel there after work.  Of course Zoe enjoyed her time at the museum too!

Salt Lake City

[Ugh! I knew this was bound to happen, but I spent a LONG time on three posts about SLC and I DELETED them instead of "publishing" them....ahhhh!  Here goes again....]

After a very short plane ride to SLC (Thanks AGAIN Uncle Nate!!) we were thrilled to finally get to meet Baby Zoe Evelyn in person!  We had "talked" with her on Skype but there is nothing like holding a newborn in real life!  The boys weren't quite sure what to do with her, especially Henry.

We tried to take lots of pictures of Zoe while we were in SLC so we would have them to look at when we returned home.  She almost always cooperated!

Leaving on a jet plane....

Our much anticipated cousin Zoe Evelyn made her appearance June 4th and we could hardly wait to get to Salt Lake City to see her.  Jack was so excited to go on an airplane, see Uncle Danie & Aunt Juliel, hold Baby Zoe, etc... Even though he couldn't figure out what it really meant to have a "cousin," he was thrilled about going on a trip!  We made the mistake of telling him about the trip way a little too early.  For weeks he asked if we were leaving, packing, going to the airport, getting on a plane,.....oh the questions! Lesson learned - never tell a young child about an upcoming event until it actually occurs.  Surprises are so much more exciting anyway!

Since we were already flying out to Salt Lake City (Thanks for the tickets and getting us to the airport, Uncle Nate!!!) we thought we would make a stop in Denver to visit my Buck family cousins.  I can't put into words how much fun we had!  The constant laughing, chaos at times, crazy driving, late night talks, games, and so much more made me feel like we were kids at my grandparents enjoying the summer days together! Much thanks to Dave & Meghan for opening their home to us and putting up with a few days of craziness.  I was so thankful Jack & Henry were able to experience just a glimpse of that life! Just wish I hadn't been so busy talking, and had gotten my camera out more!

My dad and his wife Linda also took a road trip West to visit the new granddaughter and met us in Denver.  We were able to go to the great Salt Lake together.  This was my 2nd experience and totally worth the heat and biting bugs.  Floating like that is such an odd but cool experience! (No pictures - hands were busy swatting bugs constantly!)

One of the days we went to the Denver Zoo and had a blast.  There were 5 adults and 8 kids, which doesn't seem like that many but it was a lot to keep up with at a busy zoo!

Henry liked being able to see all the animals, so Grandpa Jeff spent a lot of time picking him up.

Henry and David had the best ride!

Jack's favorite playmates, Grace and Lily

The last evening we had a family cookout, which really made me think of old times with my grandparents.  My cousin Emily's son, Jake, was fantastic entertainment for all the little ones.  I've rarely seen Jack let loose and play like he did that night.  It was such a blessing to see him having so much fun with his cousins.  We are already looking forward to future trips together!

Jake, Grace, Ella, David, Lily and Jack

Those big brown eyes are precious! Such a sweet boy!

You will see this precious Ella in the pages of magazines one day.....

Henry's playmate, Adele

Vinson's Boat

Jake's boss, Ryan and his sweet wife, Carrie, purchased a boat this summer and have been so gracious to let us join them on it a few times.

Jack wasn't super gungho about the whole experience but he talked about it a lot afterwards. He did enjoy sitting with Ryan and looking at the water. 

Ryan & Carrie's little girl Abby is a fish!  She loves the water and is already a pro at getting up and down the ladder.  So cute!

The guys from work were even able to have a "meeting" on the boat one afternoon this summer.  It sure does look like they got a lot accomplished!

We are looking forward to some more boat/lake time before the Vinson's welcome Baby Boy in 6 weeks! 

Girl's Trip

Right before Henry's birthday, my amazing husband and fantastic mother-in-law made it possible for me to go with two college friends to Destin for a few days!  The original plan was to get to spend some quality time with our dear friend Kristen, who is a missionary on furlough from Papua New Guinea.  Kristen was due with baby # 3 at the time and was much closer to her due date than she knew, so she stayed home and we were forced to go to the beach anyway! We missed you Kiks & Becky!

We spent the week shopping and watching Jenny try on clothes. We didn't convince her to buy this Marc Jacobs dress, even though it looked fabulous!  

There was lots of laughter  - this will be us in 30 years - and good times together.

These are sweet friendships that stand the test of time. I'm so thankful that the Lord led me to Bryan College and that I have had the privilege to get to share life with these women. 

Definitely ready for the next Friend Retreat - September 2010!

Henry's Birthday

We began our summer celebrating Henry's first birthday.  Uncle Russell & Aunt Susan have recently purchased a new home and were so kind to invite everyone to celebrate at their house.

Uncle Nathan's birthday is the day after Henry's so we did a super fun joint gathering!   Unfortunately I forgot to tell the girl that did the cake, so it was totally decorated for a one year old!  Sorry Nate!

Long overdue....

Can't believe that August is here! In the month of July, we enjoyed a visit from Aunt Hannah, made a long visit out West, spent time with cousin Amanda, celebrated birthdays and random other events of life. Look for some new picture posts soon.......maybe even during naptime today....and then for some fun fall blogging to begin!