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I’m finally home after my three-week summer vacation to Utah. What a fabulous way to end the summer. We used to alternate going home for summer and Christmas, but the past few years it’s worked out better to stick with the summer. I have gotten to where I gauge my summer based on this vacation and just as summer was starting to drag for me bang! I got an adrenaline rush and ran off with the girls, leaving Jared to fend for himself for two weeks. It’s okay though, I’m sure it was just as hard for me to spend one full travel day with the girls as it was for him to be home alone for two weeks. So here are the highlights from our Utah vacation (this is long, but I'm okay with that since this is a record for our family).

American Fork

We first stayed with my sister & fam in American Fork (better known as A.F. to the natives). Carrie is way fun to be around. We laugh lots, I seek her opinion regarding all of my problems, and it’s so easy to relax and kick back at her place. We were there for a few days and here’s what went down:

*Adam had French dip sandwiches ready when we arrived – how awesome is that for a few starving and frazzled travelers.

* The girl cousins all slept in the basement where they created the highly exclusive C.A.F (Cousins and Friends) club.

* I nearly became a popsicle in the night due to the fact that we keep our house in Texas at a crisp, comfortable 81 degrees in the summer and my sister keeps her house, well, colder than that.

* Meg was teething and kept waking me up and Jared wasn’t there to do binky duty or early-morning bottle duty.

* Jump On It with all the cousins.

Nicole

* Late night chats, good eats (Leah & Brita were particularly excited about the Lucky Charms) and awesome hosts – thanks Carrie & Adam!

St. George

The girls and I jumped in the blue rent-a-Jeep (which I want to purchase as my next vehicle by the way) and headed for St. George with a leisurely stop in Beaver to get an ice cream cone at the “cheese & dairy store” as I like to call it. I always look forward to hanging out with mom and dad. Walking into their house always feels just like home to me. I’m pretty sure I ate an entire loaf of banana bread within the first 24 hours I was there. They go to tons of effort to make our time together memorable and I love them! There were several highlights of this leg of the trip as well, not to mention the take-your-breath-away heat:

* Mamma Mia! with mom – we were the only ones laughing in the theater most of the time (and I’m pretty sure I was the only one singing, but I was too loud to be able to tell for sure).

* Going to the splash pad in an attempt to beat the heat.

* The makeshift easel granny set up so the cousins could paint on the patio.

* Tuacahn Musical Theater for The Sound of Music

* Dinosaur Tracks Museum followed by Letterboxing and Rock Wall Climbing (okay, the climbing was at the park...the photo angle gives it away)

* Leah’s traditional urinary tract infection – I’m getting to know the docs at the InstaCare’s pretty well by now.

* The girls hanging out and bonding with their cousins

* Sleepovers at the cousins condo (except the one when Brita missed me so much that Doug rescued her and brought her back to me after 11pm one night).

* Spending yet another anniversary with me and hubby in different states. Good thing mom reminded me it was my anniversary so I could call and remind Jared. Too funny.

Doug and his family were also visiting, but they came from Belgium so my effort to get me and my girls to St. George (all by my lonesome) was drab in comparison. I’ll try harder next time. Anyway, when Doug comes to town (a.k.a. the States), there are certain traditions that must be carried on:

* Fishing in Pine Valley

Here's mom & dad with Leah in the background standing next to her fishing pole where she watched & waited for nearly two hours to NOT catch a fish. At the end of the day she said it was still lots of fun even though she didn't catch anything.

* Nielsen’s Custard

* Late-night videos (it must be a violation of some rule to start a movie anytime before 10pm)

* Lots of butt swats and loud rough housing (I’m thanking my lucky stars right now that no one’s eye got put out).

West Jordan

After Doug loaded up the Jeep for us, the girls and I made our way back to Salt Lake County to spend some time with Jared’s fam. His family is so large (as in many AND tall) that we have to prep and test the girls as to everyone’s names each year before we visit. Despite all of our efforts, the girls still tend to interchange Amber & Amy. We stay with Lon & Mozelle who live downstairs and Eric & Kathleen who live upstairs. It’s always lively when we our gang pops in, resulting in more mouths to feed, more toys scattered about and just more bodies & noise (Eric’s already loud enough on his own). We always feel so comfortable there and I love to plop on a sofa (either upstairs and/or down) and have a good chat with whoever is around. The girls love instant access to their cousins and grandparents and there is always plenty going on. Chad & Julianne came from Kanab as well, so it was an awesome party! With such a crowd there are always lots of highlights:

*Jared, Eric & Chad took the older kids camping in the Uintahs. This camping trip has highlights in itself…

--They backpacked more than a mile in. Eric had weighed everyone’s packs and Leah’s came in at an amazing TWO pounds. Eric assumed she’d be able to keep up with everyone, but lo and behold, her love of nature (and her love of distraction) left her at the end of the line, only to be encouraged by all the other hikers “Come on Two Pounder! Come on Two Pounder!”

--Roasting hot dogs and marshmallows

Brita, Brooke and Alyse

--On one of their hikes, Leah was singing “Climb Every Mountain, Climb Every Stream, Climb Every Rainbow” for about thirty minutes straight. Brita couldn’t help but be annoyed by the incorrect lyrics. Her frustration only increased after telling Leah (in her condescending, yet loving voice) “It’s not Climb Every Rainbow Leah!” to be told, “Brita! It’s okay! I can sing it however I want! (Leah singing): Climb Every Mountain, Climb Every Stream, Climb Every Rainbow….you get the idea).

Anne, Cade, Brita and Leah in the "bear" cave

--All of the kids loved the campfire stories that their dads shared about growing up, missions, camping etc.

* When the guys & kids were camping, Kathleen, Julianne, Amber, Amy & I went to Archibald’s for girl’s night (later we visited Allison to share our fudge – we hoped it would help speed up the recovery from her recent foot surgery). Why are girl's nights so fun and, yet sound so boring to others when I share the details? And why is pretty much everything funny on girls’ night?

* Playing Ticket to Ride every night. When I was contemplating one of my first moves everyone assured me that there is no wrong thing I could do, however when I made my move all of the veterans of the game gasped. Even though it was Jared’s first time playing, the opponents were so hard nosed they wouldn’t cut him some slack and let him build a tunnel when he wanted to. We loved the game so much that we borrowed it and took it along with us to our next stop.

Amy, Julianne, Chad, Jared, Amber, Eric

Heber

For the past several years my family has stayed in Midway and it’s something I always look forward to. This year we tried a new location in the mountains above Heber. Even though it was somewhat of an experience getting up the mountain, it was so beautiful and restful. Get all of us together in such close quarters and there’s always lots to remember:

* My cousin Bryan and his family (Andrea, Will & Henry) came up for a day to visit. I haven’t seen Bryan in years and I had never met his wife (they’ve been married for seven years). Having been out of the loop for so long, it was great to reconnect with him.

* Park City – While mom and dad watched Meg, the rest of us went down the Alpine Slide (I did an excellent job of hiding my fear of the tram). Brita, Creig, Nicole, Sarah and Anna jumped on the trampoline and Leah opted for the wicked Carousel. We stopped in at the way overpriced fast-food type joint (only it takes a long time to get your food there) that’s right by all the attractions. Brita’s hot dog only cost $5 and it was really satisfying to pay eight bucks for a taco salad that had a hair in it.

* The hot tub at the cabin was the kids favorite thing to do. They got in that thing at least three or four times a day. Jared and I sat in it late one night so we could look at the stars, only we couldn’t figure out how to turn off the light on the deck so there was a nice bright light shining in our faces.

* Leah’s horses. One of the bedrooms was kind of a cowboy theme and Leah never let the stick horses and cowboy hat out of her sight. Doug taught Leah how to gallop on one of the stick horses which was a treat in itself. Since every horse needs a name, Leah named them Jacob and Louis (Louis was a girl if you’re wondering). She explained to Jared that one of them likes to run and the other one just likes to walk. She mapped out a photo shoot for herself and the horses so all I had to do was follow her around and take the photos she had planned. She’s been telling people that her favorite part of the cabin was riding two horses (she doesn’t seem to think it’s important to disclose the fact that they are in fact stick horses).

* Lots of good food, which contributed to my gaining every pound I had lost on weight watchers over the previous six weeks.

* Being together (but missing Carrie, Adam & Chandler) and watching our girls reconnect with cousins and family.

Meg’s highlights of the trip included being held, played with and doted on every waking minute. I could tell she was confused at first by all the new faces, but towards the end it almost seemed like she expected to have some new face grab her out of my arms and play with her. She was held and fed and loved by everybody and Isabel bathed her more than I did. Creig made sure she wasn’t neglected. If Meg would cry at all, Creig would seek me out and every time he’d say the same thing, “Rachelle, Meg’s crying. Will you please help her?”

Little Meg got so much attention that it’s impossible for me to get anything done now that we’re home. If it even looks like I’m going to leave the room she starts to whimper, and if I actually do have the nerve to step out of her sight you’d think she was being tortured by the way she screams. We’re adjusting however and she’s just so adorable that it’s not that big of a deal to get down on the floor and play with her.

Now that we're home it almost seems like we didn't even have a vacation. The girls are back to making their "freezicles" (freezing water in cups & bowls), the house has got that lived-in look again (otherwise known as messy), and the fridge & pantry are finally stocked. But the memories of our vacation are already sweet and I miss everyone. I know a lot of people went to a lot of effort, work, and sacrifice to accommodate us and to be together. I'm grateful to belong to families that believe in making family the priority.