Last weekend my wonderful sisters and darling niece flew down for visit. It was so much fun having them here! We spent most of our time just hanging out and talking. Chet said we were like hens because we were "clucking" so much! Here is a recap of our fabulous weekend:
The first order of business was lunch. I took them to a very popular place here called Flying Star Cafe. They have lots of yummy food but their breakfasts are to die for! However none of us got breakfast, either way it was delicious!
Friday morning after I took the kids to school I came home and got Jann so that she could go for a run. That meant Linz got some quality time with Aubry before her morning nap. Isn't she the cutest baby?!
Chillaxin with Auntie Lindsay
When Jann got back from running we put Aubry down for a nap and headed out to the pool for some relaxation time. It was so nice to just sit with them and relax. Usually the pool is filled with kids and the dog so it isn't very relaxing. When Aubry finally woke up we were still sitting pool side so Jann brought her down so she could swim too. Jann forgot Aubry's bathing suit but we figured she would be fine with just a swimmie. She loved it!!!
Aubzy and Auntie Lindsay skinny dippin' Swimmin'
That night we took them all to dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant in Corrales called Casa Vieja. It's a little tiny hole in the wall that is inside an old church (from like the 1800's). And supposedly the church is haunted by the priests that are buried in the walls! How creepy is that?! It's a good thing their food is amazing or I don't think I would eat there. ;)
In the courtyard at Casa Viaja
They are famous for their green chili chicken enchiladas. They are huge! So Chet and I split one and Jann and Lindsay split one.
The great debate: Red or Green
Dessert! A fresh doughnut plate! Seriously the best things I have EVER eaten!!!
Dinner was amazing!
After dinner we headed home to put the kiddos to bed. After all the kids were sleeping the adults headed out to the hot tub for a little more relaxing.
Saturday was much like Friday in that we spent lots of time by the pool and eating lots of yummy food.
You can't enjoy sitting in the sun without some liquid refreshment. Hard to tell we are sisters. ;)
Love my sisters!
Auntie Linz and Harris
Linz attempting to throw Liv
Jann getting a tan while reading on dad's her Kindle
When we were done swimming we got ready to go to dinner at Tucanos for Chet's birthday. One of Chet's birthday presents was a gaming table with ping pong, air hockey, and pool. So while some of us were getting ready the others played some games.
Some serious competition. Just look at the concentration on their faces! ;)
Dinner was so yummy. I love Tucanos!
Awwwww
During dinner Aubry grabbed the lemon from Chet's water glass and started sucking on it. She didn't quite know what to think of it. But it was sure cute to watch.
Tucanos is right in the heart of downtown so on the walk back to the car Linz wanted to stop and look at one of the fresco's on the side of the building.
On the way home from dinner Jann was dying to go see the Rio Grande. She didn't think that seeing it from the freeway was good enough so we drove to a park that has a walking path to it. It was a pleasant walk except for the mosquitos that were eating us alive!
Halfway down the path it ended and was just sand so to make sure we were headed the right way Chet pulled out his iPhone and checked the GPS.
Multitasking
We made it!
(I know, I should have put pink on)
It was a fun and relaxing weekend and I am so grateful that my sisters would take time out of their busy schedules to come down here and see us. Thanks guys! Love you!
We recently went home to Utah to spend 16 days with our family. We played a lot, laughed a lot, ate a lot and relaxed a lot. It was sooo nice!
We had a very smooth drive getting there. It went by so fast! I think it went by so fast because of all the cool stuff that there is to see along the way. Our first major sighting was Chimney Rock. There is a road that you can take to get closer to it but we were anxious to get to Utah so we just stopped at the trail head to take a quick picture.
Chimney Rock
We saw several more places that we wanted to go see (Ship Rock and Angel Peak) but didn't stop at any until we got to Wilson Arch in Moab. (I have always wanted to go to Moab but it just not at the top of the list.) We did get out and attempt to climb up to Wilson Arch but we all had flip flops on which made it difficult on the slick rocks. I think that we will have to move it up the list and go back and do some hiking when we aren't in flip flops.
Wilson Arch
When we got to my sisters house we had some yummy Cafe Rio for dinner and then went for a walk at the nature preserve behind their house. When we got to the end of the path the kids wanted to throw rocks into the creek. They did that for a while until I showed them the culvert that went under the trail on one side and come out on the other. Then they started playing "Pooh Sticks". The littles thought it was so fun to see which branch would come out first.
Pooh Sticks
On Tuesday Chet had to go to work all week in Vail so the kids and I stayed at Lindsay's at night and Jann's during the day. It worked out great. We were able to spend lots of time with everyone that way.
Chet in Vail.
He actually did work very hard while he was there. Meetings from 7 am to 9 pm except on the last day when they got to play.
On Friday Chet left Vail and met us at the SLC airport and we headed to Disneyland! We had so much fun there because my dad came and so did my sister and her family. The cousins were so excited to do all the rides together. I was just happy to be with my favorite people at my favorite place. :)
The cute cousins waiting for Buzz
Everyones favorite ride Tower of Terror.
I love this picture! They all look like they are having so much fun.
Big Thunder with the Bigs. LOVE these kids!
We got to take the Littles on Small World while everyone else went on Space Mountain. They loved it! Aubry "danced" through the whole ride.
Sunday we were at the park by ourselves. It was a lovely day and we got to do all of our favorites.
My favorite ride, Splash Mountain. This was Liv's first time in the front. She was soaked before we even got to the big hill. She said it was scary but AWESOME!
Big Thunder is probably Liv and Harris favorite ride in Disneyland. Liv thinks it is funny to scream as loud as she can on this ride. I'm not sure why but it is pretty funny.
They had this cute photo spot outside of Toy Story Mania
On Saturday we took a break from Disneyland to go to Sea World. It was about 20 degrees cooler there than at Disneyland. It was so nice!
The Bay at the back of Sea World.
I know that I have said this before but Harris LOVES Shamu. He lights up when he gets to see him. I love to watch Harris watch Shamu. It brings tears to my eyes because of the joy it brings him. I hope that he always feels that way!
I have also said before that Harris' favorite show is River Monsters. He is fascinated by the enormous fish that the host, Jeremy Wade, catches. Needless to say, besides watching Shamu, the new Rivers section was Harris favorite part of Seaworld. The tank has 8' alligator gar, 6' red tailed catfish and will soon have arapaima. All of which have been featured on River monsters. We just sat and watched them all for about 30 minutes. The best part of that was when a little 3' alligator gar tried to take a bite of one of the giant silver dollars right in front of us! Harris thought that was great because we could see the gar's giant teeth.
The fish at the top is one of the giant Alligator Gar. You can't tell from this picture but that gar is between 8 and 9 feet long! The black fish with the white stripe actually has a red tail and thus is called a Red Tail Catfish, and he is about 5 or 6 feet long.
We ended our day at Seaworld with another Shamu show, it was a great way to end a wonderful day.
After a very fun weekend with my family in Cali we headed back to Utah to be with Chet's family. It was a lot of fun for the kids because their cousins from Arkansas came to Utah to visit as well. We spent most of our time swimming in Papa and Grandma Wendy's pool but we did make time for a trip to the Dinosaur Museum and bowling at the new Jack and Jill's in Lehi. Chels and I even sneaked away for a little Anniversary Sale shopping. :)
Liv has always loved to dance with her Papa. It's not exactly dancing. It's mostly Chet Sr. holding Liv while he twirls and tosses her around. On this trip Liv discovered that they could dance in the pool. It is really cute to watch them although Papa is usually exhausted by the end of their "session".
Papa and Liv "dancing" in the pool.
Harris "dancing" with Papa, Liv and uncle James waiting for their turn.
We had a great time at the Dinosaur Museum. I mean who wouldn't have fun seeing giants, damming a flood and digging for fossils.
Liv is apparently going to be eaten by the Carcaradon Megaldon while Harris sits idly by...
All the cousins and uncle James trying to stop the floods.
On our last day in Utah we took some family pictures with Chet's family. Which was our second attempt because on the first attempt Harris got really sick and was throwing up most of the night. Fortunately he got better and we were able to get some cute pics. Besides posed shots Wendy wanted wanted some candids as well. She decided that a water balloon fight with 200 water balloons was the perfect way to get those candids. Everybody had so much fun. Harris got Chet smack in the face and Liv, being the only girl, took quite a few shots as well. It was a blast to watch.
This pose was Chet's idea. He said it was like Splash Mountain. It's kinda silly but it turned out pretty cute.
Uncle Nate got Liv good with the water from the balloons that popped in the bucket.
We had a great time in Utah and Cali with all of our family. I am so grateful that Chet is able to provide us with the ability to travel often. It makes living far away from everyone a little easier knowing that it won't be long until we get to see them again.
We had a good long weekend and started our celebrating on Saturday. We had our friends, the Lindell's, come over for some swimming and bar-be-quing. We had a great time in the pool and an even better time playing Apples to Apples. I don't think I have ever laughed that hard playing that game! JEW!!! ;)
When it finally started getting dark we decided that we didn't want to go face the crowds at the high school to see the fireworks so, we sent Chet and Jac to buy some at the store. The kids had a great time with the sparklers and watching the store bought fireworks. Disney however decided that the fireworks were not fun and tried to attack each and every one we lit! She was crazy running around them and barking and biting at them. She even got so close sometimes that she burned her fur in spots! Chet finally had to hold her to keep her from catching on fire. It was a fun day.
Aiden, Harris, Boston, Liv, Jackson and Maddie watching the fireworks in the courtyard.
Disney getting the fireworks. Crazy dog!
Chet trying to keep her from the fireworks. Can you tell she still wants to get them?
On Sunday we actually didn't do anything! Chet didn't really want to do anything because it was Sunday. So really it was just another day. We did get to see some amazing fireworks from the deck while we read scriptures. Here in NM you can do the big fireworks like at Disneyland, just not in the city. (which we can see all of from our deck) Well, apparently people don't obey that law because we saw hundreds going off and heard sirens until about 11:30. It was awesome! (except the sirens part)
Monday we got up bright and early and headed fishing at Fenton Lake. It was a pretty long drive, 2 hours, but the scenery was amazing. Very different from Utah canyons. I was a little car sick by the time we got there from looking at everything as we drove. When we finally got to the lake we got set up and sat...and sat...and sat. We didn't catch a thing! The kids were so disappointed we decided to try the fishery that was another 3 miles up the road. But alas we didn't catch a thing there either. We did get to see a muskrat though. That was pretty cool. We finally gave up and headed home for a nice cool dip in the pool. Can I just say that I LOVE having a pool!! We spent the next 3 hours swimming before the kids were exhausted and ready for dinner and to watch Snow White as a family. It was a fabulous day!
Nobody having any luck.
The muskrat. He looked like a small beaver but with a skinny tail instead of a flat one.
The kids love it when Chet throws them around in the pool. Harris has mastered the front and back flips. Its a little more difficult with Liv who is super tall. But man Chet is going to have some buff arms by the end of the summer! ;)
Finishing an awesome weekend with a dip in the hot tub. (can you see Harris has raccoon eyes from his goggles?)
Chet's parents have an awesome swimming pool in their back yard! Today was the first day we got to go swimming in it. The kids had a blast! We look forward to a summer filled with lots of pool time and bonding with the grandparents! :)
