This summer we had planned to go spend some time with Robert and Ruth in Georgia, and Dave and Jenny in Virginia Beach. That was planned to last all of one week.
Well... our trip ended up being a bit longer than that. I decided pretty last minute (a few weeks before leaving) that I couldn't stay away from Utah. We planned to go for Christmas, but that wasn't going to fill my needs now. So we booked tickets to head to Utah, so that I could to my cousin's wedding in Alberta during my trip to Utah. At first I was thinking I would just take Aveya and we could go and come back over a few days. But then push came to shove (cheaper airline tickets, a desire for my kids to strengthen relationships with their cousins... etc) we decided that me and the kids should fly to Utah for three weeks and then fly directly from SLC to Atlanta where Jonathan would meet us and drive us to our originally planned vacation (to Robert and Ruths, and then to Dave and Jenny's). As we were in Utah, Jonathan found out about an opportunity to go to a work conference in Rhode Island that started on the day we planned to drive home from Virginia. What the heck, why not add another 5 days to our trip...
Our trip ended up being 5 weeks. It was long! But we had a good time. There were some highs and lows and everything in between. We had some unexpected expenses (Jonathan had a tire blowout on the way to Georgia and ended up replacing all 4 tires, even though we took the van to a shop and got an all clear that things looked good... yeah... we probably won't be back to that shop. We also had a crazy adventure getting to Utah, our flight was canceled due to storms, and Frontier couldn't fly us out for another 4 days or something crazy, so we spent all day trying to find a flight to Utah that day.... that was a lot of money, but we made it!) Even with all the crazy, we saw blessings, and recognize that we have been taken care of more than we probably realize.
blah blah blah... here our the pics!
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A picture from our 24 hour trip to Utah. After we found a flight, we found a free indoor playground close to the Airport. That killed some time and energy! Both of those things were needed.
(We woke up at 3:00 AM to make our 6:00 flight, which was canceled, and after all was said and done, rolled into my sister's house at 2:00 AM Utah time, we had been up, and traveling for over 24 hours... blah!) |
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| Aveya with her cousin Ezio, he's only a month older than her :) |
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| the kids shared a bed the entire trip. They did surprisingly well. |
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| The kids with the Brown family |
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| Jonathan spent a weekend backpacking with a friend! From what he told me, he had a good time! |
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| The cute newlyweds! The wedding was beautiful!! |
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| I wanted to make it a point to spend some one on one time with each individual family in Utah. This is Corbin and his cousin River. They played really nicely. Which is saying something, because he would rather hang out on my lap while I visit, then be with kids his own age. (Shaylee was Cambria's constant friend in Utah. She often came with us on whatever adventure we went on. It was sweet!) |
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| The Lawlors have to squeeze games in whenever they can. I'm glad I could play with my cousins too! |
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| We stayed with my Grandma and Grandpa when we were in Canada. They have momentoes from all their travels around the globe. Shaylee's listening to the ocean. (I believe this shell was found in Fiji) |
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| Every time I go up to Alberta, I have to make sure to stop and visit Danae's grave. Cambria is named after her and Aveya was born on her birthday. I believe they will always have a special connection with her. |
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| I also tried to get out of the house and do fun things this trip! (I took my inspiration from you, Erica!) This is BYU duck pond. Word from the wise, if you want to see ducks eat the bread you offer, go somewhere else. haha! They had no interest in the food we brought! |
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| The kids loved watching the ducks anyway! |
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| my 8 year old nephew. Sometimes he looks 12. NBD |
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| These two... there's one cousin who is right with them in age, but he wasn't there. I can only imagine the mischief they will get into as they get older :) |
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| Merek LOVES babies, and he's so sweet with them. He doesn't talk much, but he's very clear that he wants to hold the baby. :) |
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| Springville splash pad! |
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| Corbin actually played in the water. I think this is a first. For real! He gets really nervous around water that sprays... or that sits in a pool... just water in general, unless it's in the bathtub. |
I didn't take too many pictures in Utah, there were so many cameras flashing all the time. I figured I would just get their pictures. But I never do... sigh...
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| The boys were matching. this wasn't intentional. Neither one are great picture takers, so this is the best we got. |
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Robert works at a fire station. I'm so glad we got to check out the fire trucks! Corbin loves fire trucks!
Georgia Kershaws with Indiana Kershaws :) |
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| Michelle is so proud of her photo bomb ;) |
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| I love this pic haha! |
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| photo proof that he actually got out and got wet! |
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| Holding hands. This gives me hope that their relationship will be good once they learn how to control their big emotions. |
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| This girl, and water. She loves it! Sand is good too |
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| Uncle Dave is so great with kids! So is Jenny, I just don't have any pics with her. |
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| Cambria and Kami. They hit it off real quick. Kami has dress-ups and princess stuff... Cambria was all over that! |
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| at the aquarium. Proof that I actually went on this vacation... I don't often remember to get in the picture. #momproblems |
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| Cambria was excited to catch a fish until it started squirming. Then she didn't want to get too close. |
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| This is our posed solar eclipse picture. You don't need to know that we watched the eclipse out the side of a mall parking lot. You also don't need to know that this pic was taken in the shade... much after the eclipse ended... |
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| pedicures with the girls! I love my last summer hurrah toes! |
