Moab

Stephen and I decided to take a little family vacation to Moab last weekend with the boys. He had a free night stay at the hotel, so we thought why not take the kids; we've never been to Moab, and right now is one of the perfect times to go. The boys were excited to go on vacation and stay in a hotel and go swimming in the pool. It was an almost four hour drive in the rain down there. The boys did great in the car, but they went bonkers as soon as we got to the hotel. I was expecting this since it was their first time, but holy cow! Don't let this picture fool you.

Friday morning we headed to Arches National Park, and it was a perfect day--the sun was shining, blue skies, and low 70s. We did most of the really easy hikes for the sake of the boys and myself. I don't think we hiked any further than a mile at a time.

Our first stop was Balanced Rock. I'm not going to lie, I think the Idaho version of  "Balanced Rock" is way better than this one, but it was still neat regardless. The boys were anxious to get out of the car to explore and climb the rocks.

Our next stop were The Windows and Double Arches. These were pretty cool, but you had to climb pretty high to get underneath them, and of course, Zander had to try. Stephen followed him up while I stayed behind with Lucas; it was too steep for the two of us.

We found some lizards in the bushes!

Our last stop in the park was the Delicate Arch Viewpoint. We didn't want to hike with two toddlers to the arch itself because it's kind of steep with a narrow trail and a drop off, so we saw it from afar.

Once we got back in the car the boys fell asleep, so Stephen and I took a drive down Potash Road across from the park so the boys could nap for a bit. On our way back we stopped to see some dinosaur footprints which the boys loved.

We finally made it back to the hotel for some lunch and a swim. I honestly think going swimming was the highlight of the trip for the boys. It's all they talked about and asked about every 10 minutes until we got in the pool. It was an outdoor pool so I thought it'd be too cold for me, and I wasn't even sure if my "swimsuit" was going to fit me, but it did so I got in. We had a great time, but it made for an exhausting day.

the next day was our drive home, but we stopped at a dinosaur museum to see some more dino tracks and try to tire the boys out so they'd sleep in the car. We got up too early and the museum wasn't open yet, so we took another scenic drive and stopped to let the boys explore until  we could go back to the museum.

 That is sandstone that Lucas is trying to take a bite out of.

Finally we got to see the dinosaurs!

 We let the kids play for a while before eating lunch and heading home. We stopped in the gift shop and let the boys pick out one thing to take home. Lucas got a bucket of little dinosaurs, and Zander chose a triceratops mask. I'm glad we make time every now and then to spoil ourselves and go on vacation. These are what our childhoods are made up of. We sure made some good memories!

Logan Trip

For Christmas this year mom and dad got the four siblings that live in Twin and I  an overnight stay at the Old Rock Church Bed and Breakfast in Logan along with a ticket to see the Slapstick Sonata.

We started off meeting dad in Snowville Friday afternoon to drop off the boys for the weekend. They were so excited to get to stay the night with their cousins, and of course, just to see Grandma and Grandpa. On our our way home Stephen and I cruised around some neighborhoods in Davis County to see what the houses and neighborhoods looked like before making a decision on where to move to in the next month. Then we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner to celebrate my birthday.

The next morning we worked on the house before meeting up with everyone else at Maddox for lunch. Tim and KoLei did their own thing that day, so we really only saw them at the show that night. Joseph and Brad came up together, then Adam and Lynnette and Mo and Angela Tomlinson all met up at the restaurant. After lunch Joseph, Brad, and I went bowling before checking in at the B&B. We had a friendly competition to see which couple could score the highest. Of course Stephen and I won. We had a blast! We checked in before meeting for dinner. We ate at a neat pizzeria, then went to the show. The show itself was pretty funny and the acrobatics were amazing. I think this group was from the Czech Republic or Sweden. We went out for ice cream for a late night treat before hitting the sack. When we got back we all ended up sitting and chatting in Joseph and Trish's room until 2:00 in the morning.

Sunday morning we went into Logan Canyon and hiked up to the Wind Caves. No one had any idea how long  or hard the trail was. Me and Tim and our spouses only made it about 2/3 of the way up before turning around. Turns out it was about a 3.5 mile hike up the mountain. I really tried to make it, but I started to get lightheaded and dizzy and I didn't want to over do it being pregnant. I was a little disappointed I didn't make it, because the  caves looked pretty cool. We had lunch before parting ways. The boys were going to go to Franklin to visit Grandma's grave. I really wanted to go, but I was not doing so well after that hike, so Stephen and I decided to go home. It was so much fun getting together with my siblings. We haven't had any time like that in years! I just wished everyone could've been there; we missed Becky and Scott.

Mom and Dad watched all 16 grand kids that weekend, and even took them to church. It sounded like they all had fun and everyone survived the weekend. Our boys got to stay an extra two days. Grandpa Pettingill is having heart surgery  down here tomorrow, so Dad brought the boys with Grandpa today. As happy as they were to see me, they didn't want to get out of the car and go home, they wanted to stay with grandma and grandpa. I don't blame them, but it is good to have them home. I kind of missed them.    

IT'S A GIRL!!!

I had my 20 week ultrasound last week, and was elated to find out we are having a little girl. I had a feeling...but it was so fun to hear. She was all huddled into a little ball at the very bottom, so I was worried we might not get to find out the gender, but she squirmed just enough for us to get a look. She is as healthy as can be, and we couldn't be happier!