Summer Trip to Utah and Coloado

We just returned from three weeks in Utah and Colorado. I have to admit that I was VERY reluctant to get on an airplane with three children all by myself, especially with Greta who hadn't even reached her two month mark. Our flight to Utah left from Chicago. We thought it would be brilliant to drive up to Chicago and spend the day at some of our favorite attractions before we needed to leave the next morning on our 6am flight. We were delayed leaving. (I frantically cleaned the house all day while packing and holding a crying baby. I made sure our house was in its best condition for showings. ) We didn't make it to Chicago until 11:30pm. By the time we bathed Elsa and Ava and got them to bed it was past midnight. With only four hours of sleep, the girls easily woke up. Their adrenaline and excitement to see their grandparents overcame any fatigue they felt. Greta slept for most of the flight. Thankfully, it went better than expected. I was still teary-eyed once we arrived. I was exhausted and knew the marathon was just beginning.

Once in Utah, we had so much fun seeing grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, friends, etc. It was never dull. We definitely kept busy. The girls couldn't take it all in fast enough. Once we arrived, they spent the first day playing at Grandma and Grandpa H's in the creek, jumping on the trampoline, and playing in the fort. They didn't fall asleep until 8pm, which is 10pm in Indiana. That was the earliest they went to bed for the next three weeks. Within one week, Elsa and Ava went to a birthday party for their cousin Will, hit golf balls with Grandma and Grandpa H, rode horses with Grandma and Grandpa P, saw baby Emery, went swimming multiple times, visited Hogle Zoo, and played non-stop.

Glenwood Springs,COLORADO
The next week we spent in Colorado hiking, river rafting, caving, and swimming. Elsa says her favorite activity was the river rafting and Ava will tell you the caves were her favorite although she didn't like it when the tour guide turned off all the lights and it was pitch black. That was a little scary. She'll also tell you that she was first afraid of the rapids while river rafting, but then she "got brave" and had fun. I was impressed that Elsa and Ava did so well hiking. They loved the challenge of going higher and higher. I saw their competitive nature surface, especially with Elsa. She had to keep up with the boy cousins and was disappointed if we held her back. Ava enjoyed jumping off of every rock on the way down. Most of all, I enjoyed seeing them have so much fun with their cousins. It is sad we don't live closer.

Park City, UTAH

The last few days of our vacation were spent at a business school reunion in Park City. In one house (a large one), we had fourteen adults and 23 kids all under the age of 7. Not one fight - with the kids that is. :) Now that is pulling off the impossible. It was impressive that we could get so many families together. Five of the seven families all had a child under 1 year, and two of those were newborns. Families traveled from Boston, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Dallas, and So. California. It was such a fun gathering that we didn't want it to end. Thanks again to Wes and Nicole for making it happen.

Greta's Baby Blessing
We ended our travels with Greta's baby blessing. It meant so much to us to have so many family members able to join us for this special occasion. I had my parents, Amber and Nate (Michael and Madison), Danielle and Bob (Andrew, Austin, Alex, & Ashley), and Brandon and Whitney and their new darling baby, Emery. Then we had Brian's parents, Grandma Roylance, Melissa and Michael (Thomas, Joshua, Benjamin, and Jack) and Mindy and Corey (Jonathan, Abby, Will, and Sarah). My friend Juliet came with her family and the Fetzers, friends from school joined us too. It was so fun to have so many people surround and support us. Greta cried throughout the whole blessing which was distracting for Brian, but he did a great job. Then we enjoyed a large gathering at Grandma and Grandpa H's. Thanks for opening your home to all of us. We haven't even been back for a week and I've already heard at least three or four times, "We want to go back to Utah." Not for a while. Brian used all of his vacation time until the end of the year. Now we are home and trying to prepare for the fews days we have to get back on schedule for school to start on Monday.