Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Finale

Here's what I know you've all been waiting for...the final week of our Utah adventure.  Brace yourselves, this one's a long one.

On Tuesday we drove up to Park City with Valerie for a fun over night escape.  We started out at the outlet malls where we didn't end up buying a single thing!

Next we checked into our hotel before heading to Main Street.  We enjoyed walking up and down the street, perusing all the fun shops and galleries.  Anna thought it was fun to get her picture taken with every single statue we saw.


Before we stopped for dinner, Spencer decided to burn off some of Anna's energy by running her up a gigantic set of stairs.


After our pizza dinner and a yummy ice cream stop, we ran into our friends The Clegg's!  They used to live in New York but moved back to Utah and had been in Texas for the summer.  It was such a small miracle that we saw them and were able to chat for awhile.

Back at the hotel that evening, Grandma and Daddy took Anna down to the pool while pregnant Mommy rested.

The next morning we started out with a little bit of a hike at Deer Valley.  It was a literal nightmare for me since the trail was almost straight up at times.  Everyone else took pitty on me and we cut it short.

Next we hit the Park City Mountain Resort.  We were all either too cheap, short or pregnant to do the alpine slide but we did find a gigantic inflatible world that was perfect for Anna.  She climbed, bounced and slid to her little hearts content!


After a great lunch at Kneaders, we headed home.

On Thursday, Spencer and I started the day by visiting "our" temple to do some initiatories.  We don't get much chance to do them in New York and it was great to be back at the temple where it all began!

Later that evening, we gathered with some friends from our singles ward for a fun BBQ.  Most of us are married with kids now and it was great to see everyone and catch up.


While we adults had fun yakking for hours on end, Anna loved running around and playing with her "new friends".


Friday morning, we headed to Idaho with Henry to visit the many Youngstroms who live there.

It is apparently obligatory that you stop at the Hill AFB airplane museum when you are heading north.  So, we did.


We finally made it to Rigby and immediately went for a tour of the Yellowstone Log Homes lumber mill.  The lumber company was started by Spencer's grandfather and evolved into the log home business.  His uncles and many cousins run it today.


This is Uncle Jay standing next to a metal design Spencer's grandpa displayed at the state fair.


Next, we headed for a look at the Youngstrom barn.  It was built by Spencer's grandfather's brothers.  Some in the family are convinced that a drawing of the barn appears on the Idaho drivers license.  Then there are others who aren't quite sure!

In any case, it was still pretty neat to see.  And even though it was definitely worn and old, the architecture was very cool.  The roof looked like the hull of a boat flipped upside down.


After getting settled in at David and Tammy's we headed for a fun dinner at Craigo's with the family.  It was definitely a blast from the past, even if it was different from how I remember it.


The next day we were treated to a tour of the cemetary and the many houses formally occupied by the Youngstrom ancestors.



The house where Spencer's grandmother grew up.

And of course we couldn't leave before stopping by the falls.


Sunday was a restful day of church.  We definitely needed a break!

On Monday, we spent the morning packing up and then had a lunch at Five Guys with the family before we headed to the airport.

Whew!  Can you believe it's done?  It was definitely a long, eventful trip but we were so thankful for the chance to see so much of our families and friends.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Week Two

Week Two was a little more hectic.  But unfortunately I didn't take pictures of half of what we did!

Wednesday morning, Anna and I drove to the airport to pick up Spencer.  We were so glad to finally have our husband and daddy with us!  That afternoon, we went over to my aunt and uncle's house for lunch and some catching up.  After lots of chit-chat we packed up all our stuff and were delivered to Spencer's mom's house for the remainder of our stay.

Thursday was slower with a trip to the nail shop for manicures and a great Mexican dinner out.

On Friday we decided to go to This Is The Place.  They were having a special Civil War program that day so Anna was able to walk around the different buildings signing up for the military, visiting the doctor, getting her rations, and more.


Coloring her little ditty bag.


Checking out the animals on the way to get her rations.


Receiving her pay.


On her way to the bank, she couldn't help but taking a nibble of her hard tack.  She gnawed on that thing for quite awhile.  Apparently it didn't taste too bad!


Trading her pay stub for the real payment...taffy!


I forgot to mention that the main purpose of our trip was to attend Spencer's brother's wedding.  So, after we finished with our adventure at This Is The Place, we quickly drove out to Magna for the rehearsal.  Later that evening, we all joined up at Spencer's aunt's house for a rehearsal dinner.

Saturday was of course the wedding but it didn't start until four.  So before we had to be there, we decided to go buy out the distribution center and Deseret Book.  Always a necessity when you're in Utah!  After lunch at Normandie, we headed home to clean up and get dressed. 

The wedding went smoothly but unfortunately, the in-between time and reception not so much!   Thankfully, I had Amy's car for the weekend so Anna and I were able to escape for a little while and then leave early.

After church on Sunday, Anna decided to put her new apron to good use and help Grandma make dinner.


On Monday, we beat the heat by swimming in Spencer's aunt's pool.  Anna is such a little water bug and she loved every minute.

Later that evening, Spencer and I left Anna with Grandma and took the Alpine Loop (which included taking a wrong turn and going 20 minutes out of our way) to Sundance for an anniversary celebration.  We filled up on some great barbecue before enjoying a fun production of Big River.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Week One

20 of 31 days.  That's how much of our August was spent in Utah.  We were there for such a long time that I'll have to split this up into three posts. 

Here's a little rundown of Week One.

Anna and I flew into Salt Lake on Wednesday the 4th.  We were met by Chad and immediately wisked away to a delightful lunch at Cafe Rio!  The rest of the day was spent getting settled in.  We tried to go to the Highland splash park that evening but we must have brought our New York weather with us because we were rained out.  The day ended with a trip through the JCWs drive in.

The next day included a walk around BYU (and purchase of chocolate covered cinnamon bears!) and a lunch at Kneaders.  Can you tell I was making it a point to hit all of my favorite Utah eateries?

Friday was a great day to hit Gardner Village.  We started with lunch then on to the pony rides and petting zoo.


This was Anna's first time on a pony and she had such a good time.  She stood at the gate, waiting for her turn saying, "Can I ride the pony, plllleeease?"


After that adventure, we headed over to peruse the shops.  In one cute little store, Anna found a soft looking seat to look over a ballerina music box.


We ended the day with a great dinner at Texas Roadhouse.

On Saturday we grabbed some donuts and chocolate milk and headed to the Highland Fling parade.  I didn't get any pictures of the parade but I did get some of Anna enjoying our breakfast!

They also threw TONS of candy at the parade so this little girl was in heaven!  After the parade, we headed to the vendor stalls.  I found a steal of a mini apron for Anna that she was excited to put to good use.  Later that day, Amy and I snuck away to get some pampering pedicures.

Anna hit a wall on Sunday and started the day with a major tantrum.  But, she snapped out if it pretty quick when she realized that Uncle Chad was headed to church without her.  She was definitely not going to miss her chance to go to nursery with Uncle Chad and Aunt Amy!

Monday was a delightful Pajama Day.   We lazed around the house, finally getting cleaned up just in time to have dinner with Grandma Valerie at Zupas. 

Tuesday I drove out to Eagle Mountain to get my hair chopped off.  I didn't take any before and after pics but trust me, it was a BIG change and I love it!

It was a pretty low-key week and I did a lot of this:


Oh, so heavenly!

Stayed tuned....