Utah

Be prepared for a long post! We just got back from 10 days in Utah visiting friends and family. We fit in as much as we could and the time passed way too quickly! Cole took his first steps while we were visiting, and has progressed up to about 5 in a row, but still isn't really showing any interest in walking. Maybe he'll be like Addie and won't do it until he knows he's good at it and will just take off!

The Drive!

I'll just say that the fact we were on our way to Utah and I knew that I would be flying back with the kids made the ride more bearable! Considering the amount of time we spent in the car, and only stopping once Addie & Cole did great. Thank goodness for the portable DVD player. I was just hopping that they would have spent more time sleeping and of course once we arrived Cole thought that it should be time to play not sleep!

Addie & Cole

Addison and Cole were long over due for some new pictures. And now that I have some blank walls to fill I was really wanting them :) Kimmie took them for us again, the overcast sky gave us great lighting but after about 15 minutes we were in a down pour, we got some great shots though and I think that I have the cutest kids ever!

Michelle's Baby Shower

One of our main reasons for coming up this weekend was so that I could throw Michelle a baby shower. She is having twin girls this fall. I am so excited for her and Brian and know that they will be great parents! With both of us living out of state I was just happy that it worked so well for us to both be in town. It was so fun to see old friends and get some good girl talk! It felt like old times when I found Laure and Lyndsey still talking in my parents driveway at midnight - an hour after I had gone in to put Cole to sleep! I'm just happy that some things never change and am so thankful for those friendships that pick up right where they left off no matter how much time has passed.

The Aquarium

We went to the aquarium with Cliff, Amber, Sydney & CJ. Addie has many friends and family members that she still talks about constantly and tells me how much she misses them. These guys are no exception! Addie had her list of people that she wanted to see in Utah and for a few days before we left kept repeating it to me! We had a fun time - our favorite parts: the eels & the penguins!

Party Time!

10 days late - but Cole got a proper 1st birthday party. Grandma Cutler of course started out spoiling him before the party even started! Tricia is taking a cake decorating class and was nice enough to make Cole his own little cake to dig into. He was a little timid at first and preferred to dig in where the 1 was! He hated the clean up though! He had many helpers while he opened presents and we all had a great time. Thanks to everyone that came, it was so nice to be surrounded by those we love.

1st Haircuts

Addie has talked about aunt Kristene cutting her hair for weeks now. Luckily Braden & Grant had also been begging for a haircut so after the birthday party we headed over to Grant & Kristene's for Addie & Cole's first haircuts. Cole went first and sat pretty still the whole time. As long as Kristene would let him hold the clippers ever so often he was happy. Addie did pretty well too but had a hard time sitting still and keeping her head down - she wanted to keep looking in the mirror. Addie had been asking to get her hair colored (why does my 3 year old act like she is 15!) and Kristene being the great aunt that she is was happy to oblige! I was a little surprised when I saw the two of them mixing color together but figured that a few highlights couldn't really hurt! Now if only Addie would let me take her picture! This is the best "after" shot I could get.

Orem Fest

I LOVE fireworks and Orem Fest had become a tradition for our little family. I was so happy when I found out that it would fall on the same weekend we were in town. We spent the evening with the Oldhams with dinner at Tepanyaki first. The cold weather was quite the change from the 110 degrees we are used to, but thanks to Charlie for sharing her winter gear with Addie! We ran into a bunch of our old neighbors right before the fireworks. Cole loved the fireworks and sat still just staring at them the entire time.

Sunday Dinner

This is one of the things that I've missed the most. We were more than happy to fit in two - one with each family. Addie was a great helper to Grandma Beck. She fell asleep on the way up to my parents so we put her on the couch. Anna wouldn't leave her alone - is was so cute she kept going over to her, would stare at her for a minute and then lean down and kiss her. One of Cole's favorite things is popcorn, so he was in heaven sitting in the middle of everyone with a big bowl of it. Dinner was great with both families and it felt a little like Thanksgiving after - I was stuffed!

Packing Up

About a week before we left I got a call from Marie, who I used to work with at Nu Skin. She was putting on a big Nu Skin distributor event, knew that I was coming into town, and wanted to know if there was anyway I would stay longer and help her out! She didn't have to ask twice & the fact that she was flying Cole, Addie and me back was icing on the cake! That meant that Dave would have to head back by himself - which I did feel bad about. As we packed up the car Addie and Cole sat on the steps sharing a bag of Doritos. I love what good little buddies they have become!

Hogle Zoo

We went to the zoo with my mom, Kimmie & Anna. Addie & Cole loved the animals and we had a great time. We took a ride on the carousel - which they absolutely loved - but the fact that I had to drag Addie from it screaming once the ride ended made me second guess my decision to ride!

Bean Museum

We had planned on going to Seven Peaks, but with the cold weather we thought (at least the adults, Addie was still begging to go!) an indoor activity would be more appropriate. Addie & Anna ran around together and Cole wanted to keep up. I couldn't get any of them to hold still long enough for any good pictures. We had a fun time and Addie soon forgot that Seven Peaks had been the original plan!

The Rest of the Week

The kids, me and my mom met up with Jen, her twins and her mom for lunch. It was fun to catch up and see her cute girls. I just wish I would have taken pictures.

I have to admit that I felt a little guilty with the amount of "me" time I took once Dave headed home. With the number of willing grandparents ready to babysit I took advantage. I went to dinner with some of the girls from my old ward. I was shocked when I got in the car and it was already 10pm, but had such a great time that I figured that it was worth it! We tried some new places, which were great - Pizzeria 712 for dinner & The Chocolate for dessert. I would recommend both - State Street in Orem.

The rest of the week I consider "me time" also just because I loved my old job and it was fun to be back. It was a strange feeling to be without my kids from 7:30am-11pm everyday and I was sad each night when they would both be sleeping when I got home. I didn't take any pictures the rest of the trip, but did steal some off of my mom's camera. The kids had a great time hanging out with grandma & grandpa and were sad to leave when it came time.

Going Home

Luckily I loved my old job, which is probably why I was so willing to help out again but I haven't quite figured out how to recuperate from the long hours now that I have kids! Sundays after an event used to be my day to crash - sleep in, church, a nap, Sunday dinner at the parents and to bed early! I didn't have to do anything! I didn't want Dave to spend Father's Day alone but that meant no crashing after the event ended, just craziness. You gotta love that feeling when you have had to run all the way to your gate, just so you don't miss the flight and then get to be the last ones to board especially when you are traveling by yourself with 2 kids. It was amusing watching all the faces as we climbed on board! Luckily Addie and Cole were awesome, we had a whole row to ourselves and Cole made friends with the couple across the isle. Other than Addie bursting into tears for a minute because she wanted to go back to Utah and Cole screaming for the last two minutes things went pretty well. And seeing Dave when we got off the plane made it all worth it! It's so nice to be our little family again.