Trip to Utah

I took a quick weekend trip to Utah a couple weeks ago and I decided I'd better document the mini vacay. 

It started a little rough. I was a mess on my way to the airport. I left about 30 minutes later than I'd hoped. I went several miles down a "local traffic only" highway. I finally decided to be a law abiding citizen and take a detour, but Wisconsin is the WORST for marking detours. I've lived in several states and I can say for sure that Wisconsin road construction is the biggest mess.

Anyway, we made it 40 minutes before take off. The little airport I fly out of is such a breeze, the limited time was not a problem at all. I even carried everything on.

Yup, I carried on EVERYTHING in that photo. I love buying one ticket and taking two people cross country.

Lots of exciting things happened while I was in Utah. First, my baby brother('s wife) had a baby. It's crazy to me that in less than four years of marriage he and his wife have as many kids as Ben and I (after nine years). My parents and I took a Sunday drive "up North" to see him (I grew up in a painfully small town and anytime you went to the big cities on I-15 you just called it "goin' up North").

My parents gave all their children a list of inheritance items. Most are family heirlooms. We were to go through and choose our top ten. I've been really vocal (for like three years) about all the paintings they have. I want all the paintings! My grandma and several great-greats were wonderful painters. Looking at some of the old pioneer stuff was so cool. I guess it never really dawned on me that creating your own artwork was the only feasible way to decorate your walls. As for overall artwork, my little brother probably got the best piece (it's a charcoal painting that's nearly 100 years old). But my top two were the ones that meant the most to me.

My older brother got a cool piece of history in his painting. This is the homestead of my great-great grandparents, painted by my g-g-grandmother.

For some reason I wasn't really as drawn to that painting as I was to this chair.

I know that's a pretty horrible picture of it (I took the pictures to send to Ben, so he could approve or disapprove of my choices). My great-great grandparents (from another line on my father's side) owned the first home (which was really a hotel) in the town I grew up in (it's complicated, because technically I grew up on a farm seven miles outside of that town, so I consider myself both a Delta girl and a Sutherland girl). Anyway, this chair was a piece of furniture in that hotel. It's likely more than 100 years old and is rumored to have been made by my great-great grandfather himself. I don't know why that back story is so fascinating to me, but it is. I've always taken a lot of pride in the small little community of my upbringing and the dedication my ancestors had while building it. 

Coraline loved having me all to herself for several days. But I noticed she also loved getting special smiles from her cousins, so I think she did miss Reid and Nell a little bit, but only a little bit. The girl has never gotten so much attention from me in her life! She was loving it. 

I always blame Ben for our children's inability to open their eyes while they smile for a picture, but maybe they get it from my mom! Coraline might break the chain though, that girl's got big eyes!

I had wonderful grandparents growing up, I really did. But I've never seen anyone take as much joy in grandparenting as my mom does. She loves watching her grandkids play together, and she spoils them all with way too many goodies (accompanied with zero discipline, the perfect combination). The cousins spent a whole day playing on this water slide. The weather was perfect for just sitting outside and watching them. 

As for the three family members I left behind. Ben had a day and a half to himself. Ben's parents (and two of his sisters and a nephew) came up for our little town's parade. It's my favorite parade. After that Reid and Nell went down to Illinois for a fun weekend. Ben sent me a few pictures of their little getaway. 

^^^ This is my new favorite picture of Nell. I just love that strut!

Honestly, I feel bad saying it, but I didn't even miss them. The whole trip was just a really, really nice break from our normal routine. I came home super late on Tuesday night and woke right up to our old schedule. It was a rough first day back. I can't believe how quickly I forgot all the energy that goes into caring for three small children.