Utah or Bust!

Wait, why are we going to New Mexico. Did I forget to mention that...

Jeremiah got a job!!!!

He started work at Carpenter Law in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 12 and loves it so far, although I don't love that he's gone from 7am-7pm (or later) every day.

On our way to New Mexico, we made a stop in Utah. Not only because 99% of our possessions were in storage there, but because we wanted to see our friends and family before we headed on south. It'd been 9 months since we moved away from Utah, and I was really missing so many people and places.

Jeremiah drove the Penske truck and we rotated the boys in and out, leaving me with two kiddos in the Trailblazer. For some reason, Aubrey was wide awake the whole way there. She was on her own little adventure and was easily entertained with snacks and toys and books. And the DVD player, my little lifesaver! Roman, though, was out like a light right after lunch. I sort of expected (hoped?) Aubrey would be the one to pass out and Roman would stay awake, he's a little more self-entertaining, but it all worked out and we survived.

This is what I saw during most of our trip. Stupid Penske. It couldn't go that fast, although when playing the alphabet game, having a "k" in the title sure helped!

During our stay in Utah, we spent a lot of time with Jeremiah's family, including his mom (we stayed with her, so of course we saw her a lot) and Steve and Melanie and their kids, Taylor and Natalie, who my kids adore. We did what's becoming something of a tradition and went to Jack and Jill's in Lehi. Usually we go bowling, but we opted for the arcade and laser tag. I LOVE laser tag, but I feel a lot better about myself if I don't look at my statistics afterwards. I always feel like I did really well and then find out that my boys fared better then I did. Sad, right? But it's so much fun.

Yes, this is the dancing game. They had no idea what they were doing but they had a blast anyway.

Don't be fooled, Aubrey has no coordination with this game. She throws the balls overhand and I'm really glad the game is not made of breakable material.

We also made some time to spend with Hayden's BFF from Utah, Will. Hayden adores Will and talks about him all the time, even though they were only BFFs for a few months before we moved to Washington. When Hayden said goodbye to Will the day we left Utah, he cried, Will cried, and I cried. It was a terrible day and I felt guilty about separating these two. Luckily they picked up right where they left off. They spend the afternoon talking about video games and cartoons and went to the park and wrestled and chased each other. It was great to see Hayden with a friend who really understood him and got along with him so well.
 

See the pained look on Will's face? They recruited other little kids and made these huge trains down the slide. For some reason Will was always on bottom and being smooshed by the others. Tough kid.

We spent some time with Kory and Ana Lee, too. She's finally starting to show her pregnancy and she looked great. We had dinner at their new condo on Sunday and I was so jealous. It was gorgeous, although next to the Boulders (for those who know what that is) but Kory and Ana Lee have some great decorations and I got the idea for this menu from her. What can I say, I love my sister in law and I sure love my baby brother!

I also got to spend some time with Christina, my sister from another mother - I know, doesn't rhyme, but you know what I mean. We took the kids to Arctic Circle and ran some errands. I always have fun with her and I can always be so honest with her about things. Stina is one of the things I miss about Utah. I certainly don't have friends like her in New Mexico (yet...maybe ever...unless she moves here? Eh???)

Unfortunately, my visits were limited. With car troubles ($1100 in repairs will put a damper on any vacation) and crazy schedules I didn't get to see Destiny, my aunt Wendy, and my dear friend Heather. I am making it a point to see all three next time we come, so girls, clear you calendar...although I'm not really sure when we'll be there next. My vacation felt incomplete and I felt a deep sadness as I left Utah knowing I hadn't seen everyone I wanted to see.

Our visit wouldn't be the same without a visit to Park City. I needed some serious retail therapy and I love their outlets, although they are usually quite busy and I hate shopping in a store where we are packed in like sardines (so why, oh why, do I put up with Black Friday every year?!). We got some great steals from Gap, Old Navy, and American Eagle.

We then met up with Steve and Melanie and their kids for the Alpine Slides. Thanks to a go-kart accident when I was younger I am not so brave when it comes to four-wheel adventures without seatbelts and airbags. So I opted out and stayed down at the end of the course with Aubrey while the Hayden rode down with Jeremiah and Roman went down with Steven. I must seriously trust these boys because they are known for their adventurous streak and they were taking my babies down with them. And apparently taking the ski lift up stop Hayden from trying to lean over to see everything there was to see. I guess he gave Melanie a bit of a panic attack :) Seeing how much fun they had I think that next time we go I will put on a brave face and go down *slowly* with Aubrey in tow.

While we waited for the boys to come down (it took about 45 minutes for them to reach the top, wait in line, and come back down) Aubrey went on a little train and a merry-go-round. She is getting braver, because a year ago she would cry at just the sight of one of these moving obstacles. Now she cheers and begs to go on them. My baby is growing up!

We finally said our sad goodbyes to Utah and made our way to New Mexico. I cried as I passed the familiar landmarks of Provo and Orem, cried as I passed Mapleton (goodbye Heather!), cried as I passed Spanish Fork (bye Stina!) and cried at everything I was going to miss. Part of my heart will always be in Utah, for some reason I always feel drawn to it, and I can't wait to return for a vacation soon.

I didn't think it would happen, but Aubrey fell asleep (finally!) and I had a peaceful two hours while Hayden read a book.

We stayed in Moab overnight before trekking onto New Mexico. As long as I've lived in Utah I'd never been to Moab. I didn't even get to see the famous scenery but I loved the city and we ate at a great little pizza buffet restaurant that didn't seem to mind we had tired, cranky kids.

We finally made it into New Mexico, but I suppose I should gather those photos and made a new post out of that one :)