We made it Utah! The drive was pretty good overall (one potty stop on the side of the road, one exploding diaper -luckily during a rest stop, complaints of "bed sores" from the car seats, pit stops that lasted WAY too long, and the usual poking and teasing in the backseat). We are REALLY glad we did it over two days instead of all in one; we would not have survived that I'm afraid. We had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend at Adam's parents' home and have now migrated a few minutes up the street to my parents' place and Adam has returned to Fresno. If we were there today, it would be time to take out the garbage cans as tomorrow is garbage day. My girls LOVE the garbage truck and every week for the past year, they have run out the door to wave at the garbage man and he picks up our trash. He has seen them in their PJ's, nothing but diapers, cute hair, messy hair, and all of these with smiles on their faces. He has watched our garden grow and our family expand. Last week as we waved and he yelled out to us "see you next week" I thought I should chase after him to let him know we won't be there for the next month, just so he's not disappointed. In spite of our weekly "greetings," I didn't feel I knew him well enough to announce that my house would be alone all day and so I kept the info privy. Perhaps we make more out the event than he does but in our house, with three little girls,the simple pleasures are the best... even when they involve a garbage truck!
(I will post pictures of the beginning of our Utah adventure as soon as I figure out how to use a MAC. I have a memory card full already!)
We had the privilege of being invited to my sweet cousin Danina's home for lunch with her and her husband, Brandon. We had such a wonderful visit and a delightful day! They recently moved to the family student housing at the Univ. of Utah. Where else is there student housing where there are possibly more childen than students? In good ol' Utah, that's where! There was an awesome playground in the courtyard of their complex (their ward is made up of just the people in their "court" -amazing!) It was a blast from the past for me to go up there; it doesn't seem like all that long ago that we were living near there. What a flood of great memories! We enjoyed our lunch and popsicles as well as our share of rides down the slides and then we headed off to "Heritage Park" to see the "This is the Place" Monument and pioneer village. It was FREE Family Fun Day, that's right, FREE -from train rides, to pony rides, to pizza and ice cream, everything was FREE -HOORAY! We explored and tried out many pioneer activities, even chores (I'm glad we still don't have to wash our laundry by hand) ! In trying to explain the pioneers to Alexis on the way there, I told her they lived a long time ago. She asked if they were like dinosaurs. I giggled and said no but that they weren't alive anymore. When we arrived, I pointed out an "actress" in pioneer clothing to show her what they used to wear. Alexis responded, "Guess that pioneer didn't die yet!" The next "pioneer" she saw prompted her to comment, half under her breath, "looks like that one didn't die yet either!" as if to suggest she knew better than I did. I wonder what she thought about that place after all. We had a great day! Thanks Brandon and Danina! 
