September Trip to Utah Part One: Shannon's Wedding

We had a quick trip to Utah for our friend Shannon's wedding.  But first... a little tennis lesson...

Eating my face?

No, giving me a kiss.

Playing at Dallas Love Field Airport.  It's pretty great since being remodeled!

Now that she's old enough that she has to have her own seat, I let her have the window seat.

Max and Peter sat behind us which meant we were on man-to-man defense.

She's really into pretending to be a doctor lately

Woo - - look at those gorgeous mountains!

They didn't sleep on the plane, but they slept in the rental car once we got to SLC.

When we got to my Aunt Tammy's, Maxwell went out with Maryn to pick some tomatoes.

Maryn came with us to the store in the morning.  The kids were really excited to see her.

We dropped the kids off at the zoo with Aunt Aja during the wedding.

Shannon and her groom Colt got married in the same little chapel up at Fort Douglas that Peter and I got married in 13 years ago.  We hadn't been back since the day we were married.  They have switched the room around.  The back of the room now was the front of the room then.

We have a picture in front of these stained glass windows.  They were one of the reasons that I loved this chapel.

Pretending to ring the chapel bell that we ran 13 years ago.

It was fun to revisit so many of those memories from 13 years ago while celebrating a dear friend starting on her own journey in the same place.

The kids were having a great time at the zoo with Aja and her family so we spent a little more kid-free time enjoying some Cafe Rio and then drove up into the canyon to look at the fall colors.

Look at those colors!

I've been working to lose weight for about 5 months and I went shopping to find a dress for this wedding that I would feel good wearing.  I love it!

The kids had an amazing time with Aja and she sure spoiled them.

Maxwell and Korben got along great

Korben, Maxwell, Emmalyn, Ken, and Harleigh

Emmalyn took a few minutes to warm up (she was upset when we didn't go into the zoo with them) but then she was okay.

Cotton Candy, Ice cream, Pizza, oh my!!

They loved riding the train

Love that sweet profile and those baby fingers

Since it was a short trip where we got to see very little family, it was really nice that Aja was able to help watch the kids during the wedding so that they got some time together.

After the zoo we took the kids to the wedding reception with us

My cute family all dressed up and enjoying this fun night.

Maxwell was super happy to see Shannon

Family pic

Sibling pic

Maxwell was waiting all evening to get some time with Shannon.  It was super sweet.  We love her and are excited for her and Colt!

Memorial Day - Hamilton Springs Pool

After the vineyard, we met back up with Michelle and her family over at one of their friend's homes for a BBQ.  Lindsey, Brandon, and Jackson also came - it was fun to see them as well.

Peter entertaining the kids (I bet lots of you never thought you'd see pictures like this!)

The next morning we played for a little bit before we hit the road for our big adventure.  Max really liked playing with the kitchen.

Playing outside with Kenna and Natalie

We all (Michelle's family plus Lindsey and Jackson) went to visit the place we had tried to go the day before - Hamilton Pool Preserve.  It wasn't far from Michelle's house and was amazing!  I am so glad we went.  

There were lots of wild flowers!

Max and Peter hiking down to the pool

We have arrived!  Who knew there were places this lovely in Texas?  It felt like we were back in California.

Lindsey and Jackson

Because of the recent rains, we got to enjoy the waterfall but weren't able to actually swim in the natural pool because the bacteria levels were high.

Tried to get a picture of Max but he only "smiled" at daddy.  We need to work on his CHEESE face. :)

Natalie, Michelle, Richard, and Kenna

Our family!

At times it was pretty rocky and uneven, made me nervous with Max!

Looking out at the beach, the right side, from the back

Looking at the left side from the back

The view from the beach

Since we couldn't swim, we had fun throwing rocks into the water.  Richard was super skilled at this.  Max and the little kids liked it!  (I didn't like watching his balance waver each time he threw a rock and almost fell into the unsafe water... Imagine what a wreck I am going to be when he gets older and does more "dangerous" things!)

His stance after he threw the rock

After the pool, we went back and packed up our stuff at Michelle's.  It was time to go but we made one last stop and went to a burger place for lunch.  It was yummmmmy!

When Peter was getting into the car after lunch, something caught my eye and I had him turnaround - yup...he had split his shorts!  Too funny.  It meant that when we stopped before getting on the freeway for snacks, I was the only option to go inside.  :)

Thanks Michelle and Co for a great holiday weekend!!!

(One memory about Memorial Day...it always reminds me of my mom, even when she was still alive.  Each Memorial Day she would go with her parents to visit and clean the graves of our relatives.  I went a few times and it was a special day to ride in the car with Grandma and Grandpa and stop at the grocery store and pick out some candy.  It's hurts now to think about because now when they go, they are also going to her grave.)