On the plane. Here we go! 3 weeks of traveling
Brent drew out the itinerary here on this SWA napkin. The plan Fly: Nashville to SLC Utah via Houston and Albuquerque. Drive: SLC, Utah to Calgary, Alberta. Calgary, Alberta to Bend OR. Bend OR. to SLC, Utah. Fly SLC, UT to Nashville TN, via Phoenix. Buckle up!!
We arrived in SLC in the early afternoon, picked up our "traveling home" from the car rental place ( a lovely Toyota Sienna). We enjoyed a new van. It was quite a step up from our nearly 14 year old van. Sad that a rental which is sure to have only the basics, was a step up, but it was. :-) We went straight to the mall so that I could go to a "Deseret Book" before our long trip. We met up with Andrea and Jeff and the kids in the mall. The kids got a quick taste of "Hot dog on a stick" lemonade, and Brent and I split a Gyro (yummm) We hit a few more spots on our way to the park to meet up with the rest of the family.
The kids had a great time visiting with cousins and aunties and uncles. Above they are getting a loving picture with their Auntie Anne.
I had to have a picture with my little sister 'Drea. Drea is pregnant with baby #3 in less then 3 years!! I love my crazy sister!
Alex was tickled beyond belief to have someone to play baseball with. He loves to play catch and hit a ball around. Auntie Jodilyn is a big ball player and a wonderful Auntie!
Amber and Katie hit it off right away, they sure enjoyed playing together and my girls (both Tori and Katie) wanted to know when they were going to see Amber and Ashley again! They SO enjoyed playing with these little cousins. Tori is my nurturing girl, so she just wanted to play Mommy all the time.
They also LOVED to play with Natalie and Brandon. Katie and Natalie are very close in age, so they hit it off right away too. Tho neither of them could remember the other's name they wanted to be together all the time too. Katie would say "mom, when is that girl coming?" "what girl Katie" "You know her name, what is it?" "Natalie?" "yes, Natalie, when is Natalie coming" Too cute.
I love cousin bonds, some how, no matter how long it is between visits, cousins reconnect and love each other. This is Liza and Jessica. Jessica is actually Alex's age, and Brandon is Tori's age, but gender apparently plays a larger role then age does, because Brandon chose Alex as a playmate and Jessica chose Liza. Interesting how that works.
Cousins again... Left to right, Brandon, Natalie, Tori/ Katie, Amber.
Here is Brent with his little sister Anne. We sure love Anne, it's always fun to get together with her and revisit all the games and fun little phrases that she is known for.
Thanks goes to Arbra for coordinating a picnic for Dad's birthday. Yummy dinner of KFC and Costco Cake (yumm)! A good time was had by all.
Even "Pacco"(as we affectionately named him), the random boy from the playground, who's parents watched near by as he joined in our mini family reunion, enjoyed a serving of KFC, and Cake too. LOL Thanks for the entertainment kid!