Utah, We Love Thee (Part 1)

There are perks to being the kind of citizens who can classify themselves as "unemployed." Who needs a salary? We prefer a wide-open summer vacation and the chance to spend nearly a month in the wide-open spaces of . . . UTAH! [For Ben's sake, I will clarify that he DID spend several days locked in a bedroom with his laptop "doing research"].

3 1/2 weeks in Utah = Lots of pictures. Here, the Griffin half:

This is the view from my parents' backyard. It's even more stunning in real life. I think I had forgotten how much I love being able to see far distances and open space. I love the trees in MA, but they (along with the buildings and houses being so close together) can make you claustrophobic after a while. Utah's vistas were good for my soul.

Ellis was mostly miserable for the first half of the trip because he missed his walker. He desperately wants to walk or crawl but is not willing to put forth any effort in learning. This resulted in Ellis being held most of the time. And his heightened stranger anxiety meant I got to be the lucky one to hold him! After a while, he started getting used to the idea of not being held. This is one of his only happy moments in the exersaucer.

Grandpa Dave set up the super-sized slip & slide. Isaac helped Henry to be brave.

Isaac, the role model for all things daring

Henry, who will protect his eyes from getting water in them at all costs

I love the mountains, especially for hiking and views like this (Silver Lake).

The hiking team (Grandma and Grandpa took the picture)

Henry filled his pockets and hands with rocks to throw in the lake.

Uncles Tanner and Brady indoctrinated Henry with Ninja Turtle knowledge and nunchucking skills. We all had a full-fledged Turtles night, watching the first movie and eating Dominoes pizza. It was a fun (albeit eerie) trip down memory lane. We opted out of watching all three movies in one night after the first one got over. Go ninja, go ninja, go!

Henry, Ivan, and Isaac riding the Front Runner!

Henry and Isaac riding the rails

This was outside the train museum at Union Station.

I love this pictures of all the boys with Grandpa Dave.

We miss our family so much! The whole trip seems like a dream. In his prayers, Henry has replaced "please bless that we can get more toys" with "please bless that we can get a better house." He wants a house "like the ones in Utah," and "all the houses in Utah are garage houses." We'll see -- maybe someday!