Other Fun in SLC

The trip to SLC wasn't very long but we sure worked hard to fit in as much as possible.  It stinks to be in SLC and not have enough time to see everyone we want for as long as we want.

After everything was cleaned up from the shower, we headed back to our hotel so our neices and nephews could go swimming.

P-dawg and his Dr. P

The kids had a lot of fun swimming.  The Amos family - Kimberly, Tyler, and Kaitlyn along with the Millars - Alex, Tawny, Payton, Jaxton, and Lola all got to enjoy the pool plus my mom! 

Here's Peter helping Lola swim.

 Tyler!  (I wish I had more pics of everyone but it's hard to get a good picture of people when you are at an indoor pool.)

The big kids hanging out by the pool.  Casen and Shannon came over and hung out for awhile too!

 It was a full, fun Saturday - that's for sure!

 SUNDAY...Happy Father's Day! - We got up and headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Blank's for another visit with them, my mom, and the Amos.  Then we went with the Amos's to do a little last minute Father's Day shopping.  After the shopping, I was able to finally able to quench one of my cravings - Old Spaghetti Factory.  It was so yummy!  Here's Peter, Ty, and Kimberly at the restaurant.

 Kaity and Ty outside by the fireplace.  It was chilly and rainy. (A refreshing break from HOT Dallas)

 After lunch we headed over for a visit with Peter's Grandma and Korben.  Then we went back to the hotel and fed the ducks outside with Alex and his family.  I haven't fed ducks forever - it was a lot of fun for all of us - even Peter.  I've got to remember this for a family activity idea...  Peter found the duck that was talented enough to catch the bread mid-air!

 Payton was brave and got up close with this goose and fed him out of his hand.

 Alex with the proof that he can catch a duck if he wants.

 The whole group - Alex, Jaxton, Lola, Payton, Tawny, and Peter

 After the ducks we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Blanks to celebrate Father's Day.  It was great to visit with the aunts/uncles/cousins on that side.

Monday - we didn't have long until we needed to head to the airport but we made the best of it.  We went to breakfast with Alex and his family and then headed to a park for some short fun on a playground.

Peter and Lola at breakfast

 Uncle Peter was a lot of fun at the park - here he is pushing Payton on the swings.

 Jaxton

 It was harder to leave SLC this time than it's been in a long time.  This trip was a reminder of how many people there are in that city that we love and are important parts of our lives.  Now we just need to figure out how to make sure this baby gets to know these special people too even though we live so far away.

Baby Shower

We headed to SLC over Father's Day weekend because my mom and Kimberly were throwing a baby shower for me (and Peter).  Our trip to SLC was short. We arrived late Friday night, had Saturday and Sunday in town and then left around lunch on Monday.  I had some free tickets left from all my work travel on Southwest so we decided to put up with all the stops that you have to do when flying out of Dallas on Southwest in order to not have to pay for flights.  UGH - I was so miserable on the planes and time just crept by.  We had to fly from Dallas to Oklahoma City to Phoenix and finally SLC.  My back hurt the whole time (Peter ended up putting his hand behind my back nearly the whole way to help) and then on one of the legs I had this man sitting next to me that acted oblivious to how uncomfortable the poor pregnant woman was next to him.  He took the armrest, spread his legs into my leg space, and rather than get up once we landed so I could stand up as well, he stayed seated until the plane had emptied out to where we were (2nd to last row).  I was SOOOO close to telling him off but I held my tongue.  Dude was just a jerk.  Anyway, note to self - flying at 29 weeks = MISERY.

Saturday was the shower.  It was just fantastic.  Grandpa and Grandma Blank had their house and yard looking perfect, my mom went all out on the food, and Kimberly did an amazing job on the games and decorations.  They all put so much effort and time into the shower, I am a lucky and loved girl.

Here's the food table - (I love that my mom made Chicken Salad Croissants because we also had those at our wedding reception so I now think they are a staple at these major moments in our lives.)

This is the gift table.  I thought it looked so cute against the backdrop of the "barn door" of the shed.

Everyone enjoyed the food and then after we were stuffed, we played some games.

Kimberly was the master of ceremonies.

Brittney and Shannon playing the "blow up balloons and stuff them up a shirt to create a pregnant belly" game. 

Kaitlyn

Alisa rocked the timed "match the baby socks" game!

Madison playing the "find the baby safety pins in a bucket of rice" game.

Alisa playing the same game, surrounded by Brittney, Tammy, Maryn, and Aja

After all the game fun, we opened presents.  I was amazed at how many presents there were - everyone was so generous (and did a great job of getting little things that we could take back in the extra suitcases we brought.)  This is me and the super cute quilt that my mom made for the baby.

My fantastic Grandma and Grandpa Blank - they are so special to me,

Sharee and baby Quaid, Morgan 

 Group shot of everyone watching the sock matching game.  I love how focused they all are on the game.  I have some competitive friends and family!

 

Mom and Kimberly thought of everything!  Here's mom (and Rebecca) taking notes of what everyone gave me so I could write thank you notes.

Felicia and Morgan carrying the diaper cake that Kimberly made.  She is so dang creative and talented!

Cute baby clothes!  (Man, I look so pregnant!)

Cousins!  Kimberly and Rebecca

Aja

Morgan and Mariah (nieces on Peter's side)

Shannon!

Tricia, Jenna, Rebecca, Tammy, and Grandma

Maryn, Lori, and Kaitlyn

LeeAnn and Brittney

Madison and Felicia (nieces on Peter's side)

Cousin Brandy

Brinley, Kearsten, Grandma, and Megan

Peter's mom - Donna and Alisa (friend from High School)

Part of the group (I did not like being the center of attention especially during the opening of presents). Note Dorothy and Tawny in the back (I wish I had a better picture of the both of them)

It really was a great afternoon.  The weather was perfect, the party was fun, and so many people came!  I was touched by the turnout and the love I felt.  When I was thanking everyone for coming I had such a pregnant woman moment and got choked up.  So through my tears I thanked everyone for coming, their support, and for being so excited about this baby coming to Peter and I.  It means so much to me especially since it's been so long since we have lived in Utah.  I only wish I had multiple days instead of just a few hours to spend reconnecting and catching up with all these important people in my life. 

Thanksgiving in SLC

For Thanksgiving we went to SLC, Utah this year. It has been a long time since we went to SLC for Thanksgiving. We went from Monday night (technically due to a bunch of flight delays, we landed early Tuesday morning) to Monday so we had plenty of time to visit everyone we wanted without feeling like we were being rushed from place to place trying to fit everyone in.

Here are some of the fun things we did while we were there!

We hung out with Alex and went to breakfast, played some pool and shuffleboard at Trolley Square, drove through a snowstorm to get to his house, hung out at his house (a bunch), and played a never-ending game of Monopoly on the Wii.

We visited with my mom and took her out to lunch at Crown Burger and then to watch the movie Burlesque (with Julianne Hough)!

We visited with Peter's Grandma at her apartment.

We visited with the Foote family a few times and had yummy dinners, played games, and enjoyed each other's company!

On Thanksgiving we stopped first at Grandma Nelson's house to visit her and to have a slice of pie. :) YUMMY!!! Peter enjoyed her Pumpkin and I enjoyed the chocolate. We then headed to Alex's and helped make Thanksgiving dinner there. We had SO MUCH FOOD! I could have been overstuffed just on the snack food/appetizers that were out before the main meal. After dinner, the adults played games. It was a great Thanksgiving because all of Peter's siblings were there.

I made my traditional rolls. They always turn out amazing (thanks to Michal Thomas for the best recipe EVER!).

Let's eat!

Mariah

Felisha

Payton, Lola, and Jaxton

Uncle Peter and Jaxton

Uncle Peter and Lola

Playing UNO after dinner.

Another fun thing we did was go bowling with Peter's siblings and their kids - - AND GRANDMA! We stopped first at Chuck-a-rama for lunch where I was disappointed in how the memory of Chuck-a-rama was far better than the actual food. Then we went bowling (all except Grandma) and had a fun afternoon.

Here are all the neices and nephews (only one not there was Harleigh)

Top Row: Mariah, Morgan?, Felicia
Second Row: Korben, Madison?, Payton
Front Row: Jaxton and Lola

Here's the siblings with Grandma: Peter, Alex, Gram, Aja and Mark

Before our time was over we got to have lunch at Grandma Nelson's house and visited with Grandma and Grandpa Blank.

It was a fun week where we accomplished everything we wanted inspite of the cold/snowy weather. (Reminder to self - getting a hotel, while more expensive, really is worth it.)

Here's a couple pictures of the snow. We had wanted to go visit the lights on Temple Square but we were certainly not prepared to walk around in weather like this so driving by in the car was as close as we got.