Utah Trip: Summer 2014: Fun with the Hiatts!

Even on trips where Kevin can't make it, I always make sure to try and divide our time evenly between both our families. He was supposed to take two weeks off and fly down to meet us around this time, but work went nuts and he was asked to stay. Huge bummer but that didn't change our plans. We headed over to Grandma Hiatt's and settled in.

Lots of beds, but couldn't talk them out of sharing!

Cousin time at the splash park!

Kyan and Tyson are best buds and Ky really misses him!

My nieces Harley and Jazlyn

Jazzy and Sadey

The ice cream truck rolled around at Grandma Hiatt's, too!

We can always count on Devin to grill us some yummy steaks and potatoes. Kev was bummed he missed out.

Had to hit up Kyan's favorite Chinese buffet. Tucker insisted his dragon was hungry. He didn't eat much.

Kev set my sis on a secret mission and she set up appointments for me to get a mani and pedi for the wedding. It was awesome and I went ALONE. Heaven.

Devin, Julie, and I took the kids to see Planes; Fire and Rescue. Good times!

Puzzles with Great-Grandma Snow. She lives with Kevin's mom and we are always happy to spend time with her!

My in-laws have a hot tub and that's always a hit. Ky got in alone and practiced his "swimming" moves.

We went to the Pioneer Day breakfast and parade with all the cousins. It made me miss Utah!

Zombie cousins.

Uintah U'ettes Drill Team

Parade swag rocks.

Wouldn't be a Vernal parade without lots o' farm equipment!

We spent a lot of time playing in Grandma's backyard on the "park." We (still) don't have grass in the ND yard so the boys were loving it. 

I'd mentioned to my MIL that we had mixed up ice cream at my sister's so we did it again!

Ready for some ice cream!

Grandma got the tape out!

A few days before my brother's wedding, my MIL asked me to pencil her in for lunch the day of the rehearsal. I said ok and we met up at Club XS around noon. The boys and I walked in and saw Kevin sitting at the table with his parents and brother. There was a lot of screaming and running and hugs! He was able to fly in for the rehearsal and wedding and didn't tell me but asked his mom to keep the secret. She did a great job! He only stayed about 48 hours but made it for the important stuff so that's all that mattered! 

We stayed with the in-laws for a few more days after the wedding. They loaded us up with a cooler full of home-grown beef and sent us on our way back to ND. They rock!

Utah Trip: Summer 2014: Fun with the Kirks!

We loaded up the car in Logan and drove down through SLC so I could drop my rings off at the jeweler for an inspection, replating, and cleaning. We pulled into my mom's and not five minutes later we heard the ice cream truck! Score!

Grandma has a small storage room off the kitchen and it's home to lots of toys. The tea set is a favorite.

The boys were happy to be there over July 24 which means parades and fireworks in Utah! We only got some sparklers but they were pretty happy with those.

My rings were super shiny and sparkly once I got them back!

Childproof cap? Could have fooled me...

Kyan decided on this trip that he was way too big for happy meals and now orders adult-sized meals when we eat out.

I am the least-accomplished seamstress on the planet. I don't even like to sew buttons back on clothing and that's fairly easy. My friend Beca was pregnant with a girl and due at the end of the summer and I was determined to make a receiving blanket....the most daring item in my sewing repertoire. It only turned out this nice because my mom was there every "stitch" of the way!

P.S. Beca said she loved it, but I think she was just being kind.

Kevin and I had been discussing trading in the Tucson for quite awhile. It was a great car, lots of upgrades, and pretty much brand-spanking new, but we were packed in like sardines, especially on long trips like these. We had researched and researched and researched some more, and we were pretty sure we wanted a GMC Yukon XL. We priced a LOT of them up here in ND but it always turned out to be more than we wanted to pay, or we wouldn't get what we needed on our trade, or it was a color we didn't want to settle on....etc. Just for fun I started browsing while I was in Vernal and found one listed at the right price. I took a test drive and just for fun I had the dealership run the numbers for me and was more than pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Kev gave me the go-ahead and I ended up with the car I had been coveting! It is older than the Tucson but still just as nice and we are MUCH more comfortable on the road.

Vernal trips always include a trip to Cafe Rio with awesome friends! I met Jenny and Beca for dinner and then we went to Beca's and chatted for a few hours. I love catching up with old friends!

Getting sick on vacations and trips: the bane of my existence. Jaxon had pneumonia in Vernal a month before, and now Tucker had strep. Again. Really?!

We spent a lot of time at mom's just playing on the trampoline, running through the sprinklers, playing games, and watching movies. It was super duper fun! After a week there, we packed up our things for the third (!) time and headed over the Kev's moms for some more fun!

Jessica's Bridal Shower

My mom, sister, and I decided to throw a bridal shower for Jessica, my brother John's fiance. My mom sent out the invitations to the aunts, cousins, and grandmas and basically left the rest of the planning up to me and my sis, Cam! We settled on a "time of day" theme. My mom assigned each guest a time of day to find a gift for; 6 AM, breakfast, 12 PM, lunch, etc. So fun!

My brilliant sister suggested we have an assortment of favors instead of just one so we shopped and shopped and decided on four different items in multiples of five so guests could choose what they liked: hand soap, mini Bath and Body Works candles, cute little magnetic notepads with a pen, and trendy little glass milk jars filled with Hershey's Kisses, Hugs, and Dove Promises; perfect wedding candy! Cam and I made the tags with inexpensive little cardboard tags, Sharpies, and twine from Michael's. What I wouldn't give for a store like that in Williston...

We played a Candy Match game, a "What's in Your Purse?" game, and a questionairre about Jessica.

Game prizes.

We served a light luncheon of fresh fruit salad, homemade chicken salad on croissants, homemade brownies and lemon bars and kept the decor simple...aka...we used Mom's beautiful house and got some balloons. In retrospect, I wish I would have decorated more but oh, well.

This punch was fabulous! The recipe can be found here!

Opening the gift from me. I got 6 AM so I gave her the cutest white espresso cup set for four, a box of her favorite coffee for her Keurig, and a cute little coffee hand towel. Should have taken a pic but forgot!

My Aunt Becky, Aunt Cindy, and my cousin Chelsee

My mom assigned herself 10 PM. She gave Jessica pillows, lovely vintage pillowcases of her grandmother's and lingerie, of course!

My Grandma Huber, Aunt Cristy, my mom, Aunt Paula

That's the shower. It was a simple, fun, and light-hearted way for Jessica to meet more of John's female relatives and vice versa! Totally excited to have another sister!