Home Sick

We had so much fun in Utah and we were so sad to leave. I think Abe and I are both a little more homesick coming back this time. Especially because the weather was so perfect there and we came home to a heat wave and 70% humidity and still no A/C.

For the first part of our trip Abe went to Southern Utah with his brother and 4 of his nephews. Unfortunately he didn't take our camera so I don't have any pictures of that but they had a blast. I stayed with my cute sister Lissa for the first night and had a little girl time in her new house and then I was at my parents house for the rest of the time. We decided to be crafty and bought some fabric to make me a hooter hider and two car seat tent covers while I was staying there. My other cute sister Melinda came by one day to help with our projects.

Abe came home about 4 days after I arrived and we got to spend a little time with his family. His parents were kind enough to take us and most of his siblings and grandchildren out to lunch at the Olive Garden. It is always fun to see how much the kids have grown. Some of the younger ones don't even remember us, I have to admit, it makes me a little sad.

After lunch with the Ford's we got to go to the hospital to visit Abe's cute little sister Aliese and her sweet 1 day old baby Ethan. They were both doing great and Ethan reminded me how tiny newborns are. After that we visited Abe's Grandma in the very same hospital. The Ford family had a big party before I got to Utah and unfortunately Grandma Ford slipped and fell down a step and fractured her hip. We were so sad that she was in the hospital but she definitely seemed to be in good spirits and they even had her up and walking on her leg already a little. So hopefully she won't have to be there too long.

We were happy to have my best friend Brooke and her cute family visiting from Las Vegas at the same time. Brooke's birthday was July 1st and they had a party for her up at her uncles house that we went to. It was a lot of fun to see all of her family. I practically lived at their house when we were little.

Brooke is also pregnant right now so it was extra fun to be together while we are both big in the belly. She is due in September with her second boy.

This is her cute little girl Ava who will soon be out numbered by her brothers. Luckily she is pretty tuff and can definitely hold her ground.

Abe helped the men grill and we had fun mingling and eating.

I have no idea what we were talking about in this picture but it must have been something I thought was funny and something Abe didn't approve of... =)

Brooke and I with our pregnant bellies. She has the cutest maternity clothes. I felt frumpy pretty much everyday that I was around her because she always looked so cute. This was the day that we went with both of our mom's and one of my sisters to see the new twilight movie. I have to admit I can finally say that I liked this one. I absolutely hated the first two movies but this one was pretty good and I actually just saw it again with my friend Bonnie last night.

One night we went to see our friends and had dinner with them. It just so happens that all 3 of us are pregnant at the same time as well. Liz in the center has already had her baby since this picture and she had another cute little girl. Cass is due in a matter of a few weeks with her second cute boy. I on the other hand have a long way to go yet.

We did a lot of other fun things while we were in Utah that I don't have pictures for like going to some of our favorite places to eat and visiting our other sweet new nephew Tallon Abraham Ford. Yes, they named him after Abe and we were so honored. He was born 6 weeks early and got to come home from the hospital just before we left. So the last day we were there we went over and spent a little time with him and the proud parents. Remember how I said that baby Ethan reminded me how tiny new borns are? Well baby Tallon let me know how small our babies are probably going to be at first. He is so little and sweet!

We also went on a very memorable drive up the Alpine loop with my parents one evening. We saw more wildlife on this drive than I have ever seen in Utah. I felt like we were driving though Yellow Stone. We saw 2 full sized deer right off the bat then up the canyon a little further the tiniest baby deer jump out and ran a little ways right in front of our car. He was small enough to still have his spots. It was so cute! We drove a little further and saw a huge Bull Moose off the side of the road. We stopped the car and watched him jump a fence and run up the side of the mountain. Just as we started the car up again and turned the corner we ran into the rest of the moose family. There was a baby moose and a momma moose right in the middle of the road. We stopped and watched them run away. I am glad we ran into that couple while we were in the car and not on foot. You don't ever mess with a wild animal mother and her babies! Shortly after that there was a small flood flowing over the road that luckily my mom's 4 wheel drive made it through. We eventually made it to the purpose of our excursion, Cascade Springs. It is a beautiful place with tons of small waterfalls and flowers. Since my mom and I can't really hike this was the perfect mountain retreat because it is all paved walkways and it is so pretty. While we were walking around I nearly stepped right on a snake that slithered away from my foot. It really creeped me out. Yuck! After that we drove down the other side and ended up at Sundance were we enjoyed some smoothies and walked around for a bit before we drove home. Abe and I really have a love for the mountains so it was refreshing to be there in the cool fresh air.

It was a great trip and I am super excited to be back there in only 3 short months for another visit! To all our family and friends in Utah, we miss you already and loved spending time with you! Thanks for a great trip!