Utah Trip Part 1

 Our trip to Utah started off as an adventure. Our layover in Chicago was extended because of a late flight and so we spent a few hours at the Midway Airport and didn't leave until 9:00pm! Fortunately both our kids fell asleep for a couple hours on the flight to Utah, but it was a rough start to vacation that we didn't arrive at my parents house until 1:00am Sunday morning, which felt like 3:00am to us.

Waiting for our plane on Southwest

Funny to see pay phones at the Chicago airport....haven't seen these in a while! This is actually where we ate our dinner since the airport was so crowded that night.

We enjoyed spending time and Grandma and Grandpa's house. We went to church together and then enjoyed family dinner and bubbles outside.

Melody and Victoria flew in from AZ and spent the weekend with us in Utah as well. It was so fun to catch up. Kristilyn, Melody, and I were able to hang out most of Monday and Tuesday. How I wish we all lived closer so we could do it more often! I was sad to realize after the fact that we didn't get any pictures of the three of us together.

Had so much fun with Grandma! Bubbles on Sunday afternoon

Ethan loved playing with his cousins, and of course the nerf guns were a lot of fun too

Ethan and John got along well and actually played together this time

Good times with cousins in an awesome sandbox in the backyard

Lydia and Victoria are only two weeks apart. I'm so glad they got a chance to play together for the weekend.

As you can see, Lydia didn't want to cooperate and stay in the picture. :)

Lydia was so funny about doing this at the most random times! Love this girl!

So glad Melody and Victoria came for a visit!

Saying our goodbyes before Melody headed to the airport

Keith and Kim missed the family dinner because they were coming back from a funeral, but we were still able to visit them and spend some time with them at their house. I think we even all tried to do some cartwheels. :)

Enjoying time with Keith and Kim in their backyard

Talisa playing with Lydia

Cousins!

Thanks to Keith and Kim for the fun evening!

My parents were great about watching the kids while we had a date night and another morning so we could attend the temple together. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Date night at Hale Center Theatre

One day we went to Salt Lake and visited Temple Square. There is always so much to do and see there. We enjoyed touring the Conference Center, seeing the visitor centers, and just walking around the beautiful grounds.

Our tour of the Conference Center

Chelsey, Mik, and Samara also joined us

We visited my parents at their Family History mission in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and they graciously treated us to lunch with them that day. We just wish we could have spent more time with them.

Cousin hugs are the best!

Ethan and I watching some Meet the Mormons videos at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Our family at one of our favorite places -- the Salt Lake Temple --where we were married for time and all eternity

North Visitor's Center at the Christus Statue

A fun picture of Ethan next to City Creek in Salt Lake

We were very grateful after a long day to find Lydia's shoe hanging here for us to find after losing it that morning

While we were in Salt Lake we also visited Grandpa Richards and Colleen. We had a fun time there and enjoyed talking with them for a little while.

Playing in Grandpa Richards toy cabinet with some of the same toys Jason played with as a little boy

We enjoyed talking and visiting at Grandpa Richards. Ethan was proud that he put this puzzle together all by himself.

Our family with Grandpa Derrill and Colleen Richards

 Ethan loved playing at Grandma's house. Grandma had so many different and new toys that Ethan would just play quietly in his room for an hour after he woke up in the mornings. My mom is always so good to spend time with the grandchildren and is constantly teaching them...even first thing in the morning! I love to see my children with my parents. In this case, Grandma had some felt storyboard figures and was telling stories with them.

I'm grateful my mom still uses her talent to teach with my children

I love this picture of my mom with Lydia. Jason's mom says Lydia looks a lot like her.

This covers the first part of our trip. Stay tuned for Part 2...whenever I get the chance to finish it. :)

Catching up- June

Here are a few fun things we did in June before we left to Utah for vacation.

 You can't tell, but there are buffalo behind Ethan. We went to Big Bone Lick State Park with some friends and the park keeps a small herd of buffalo there.

 This is a picture of Ethan on a rocky river bed not far from our house. He loves throwing rocks into the river when we're down there. The next one is a picture of Lydia and me at the same place.

First trip on Anderson's Ferry

Having fun on the volleyball court at our favorite park....that's about the only place you find sand around here

Ethan sat on this bench and said, "Take a picture of me." Ok, I will. :)

We visited Krohn's Conservatory and tried to catch butterflies on our white cards. Afterwards we ate a picnic lunch at Eden Park in Cincinnati.

We didn't have any butterflies land on us until right before we were about to leave.

Ethan "swimming" on his own for the first time. He loves his new puddle jumper.

Ethan loved this book so much he memorized it after a couple of reads and then would retell it. Super cute!

First and only week of swimming lessons. He did ok but doesn't like to put his face in the water. I don't blame him, neither do I! I think we'll try again next year.

 Ethan can sometimes write his name if he really tries. Here is one time that I captured. And of course a silly face to go with it. :)

Ethan had fun with a bag of bows that were handed down to us for Lydia. :)

Fun times at the park

 This girl loves to play with the iPad, but she's kind of rough with it, so she doesn't get it often.

Lydia 16 months

Memorial Day Weekend -- Trip to Kirtland, OH

For Memorial Day Weekend, Jason took a day off work so we could take a little trip. Early Friday morning we drove 2 hrs to Columbus, Ohio to the Center of Science and Industry (COSI). It's a neat museum with a great Kid Space. Ethan and Lydia easily played in the children's area for two hours and after a picnic lunch watching the construction workers outside, we all went and saw some of the other exhibits. Ethan was fascinated by the Gadgets exhibit and played for a long time with the ball cannon.

Ethan loves trucks and was happy to sit in one his own size

Lydia loves to walk around and push herself around on cars

Ethan loved trying out all the various percussion instruments lining the sidewalk to the museum

Ethan just laughed and laughed to see thing fly up the wind tunnel

He spent a lot of time here at the ball cannon

Lydia loved trying to catch the balls suspended in air

Ethan was hanging on the other side of the fulcrum to lift the Honda Civic off the ground

Lydia likes putting the balls into this machine that would launch them out the top again.

Ethan was really interested in this wind tunnel and so we finally consented to let him try it with Dad, but then he was so scared he wouldn't stand under the wind.

We left close to 4:00 and drove another 2 hours to our hotel near Kirtland, which is really where Ethan wanted to go since we left in the morning. :) It was bedtime by the time we got there and fortunately the kids slept pretty well through the night.

Saturday we went to the historic sights at Kirtland. Lydia had a hard time with the long tour, but we enjoyed seeing and learning more about what we're reading about in the Doctrine and Covenants.

Kirtland Log Mill and Ashery

Newell K. Whitney Store

Kirtland Temple

We enjoyed our tour of the Kirtland Temple as well. I volunteered to play "The Spirit of God" on a piano inside as part of the tour. It was a neat experience. We let Ethan and Lydia walk around the temple grounds afterwards and caught a few cute pictures of them as well. After our tour we drove home, stopping in Columbus for dinner on our way. We were grateful the kids traveled well.

She has quite the personality :)

Ethan 3 1/2 yr  & Lydia 15 months

On Memorial Day we went to a ward activity at a park where they had a 5K and then potluck breakfast. Jason ended up getting 1st place in his category, although he didn't have much competition. :) We stayed and played frisbee and played on the playground at the park. Later in the afternoon we got all ready to swim at our community pool only to find that it was broken and didn't open as scheduled. Jason was a trooper and ran through the sprinklers a few times with Ethan and Lydia instead.

Ethan trying to cover his face from getting wet

Ethan and Lydia recently started thinking it was fun to hold hands in the car. One afternoon Lydia held Ethan's hand until she fell asleep and then Ethan started getting mad because "Lydia won't hold my hand anymore." I love these two cuties!

Holding hands