AND we're back

The beginning of the trip. Nora doing a REALLY happy dance.
You have to zoom in on the face. It makes me laugh...

Wow, was that a vacation. We just got back on Monday night from over three weeks of playing around and relaxing in Utah. Originally, we had planned on staying out there for two weeks, but when we found out that Paul's company gave them the 4th and the 5th off (meaning we only had to take one extra vacation day than we were planning), it was a no-brainer. We drove, which was interesting with three little kids, but we made it. On the way out, we ended up driving through the night- 22 straight hours in the car. I think we were excited to get there! Pulling through Laramie, Wyoming in the middle of the night through thick fog was interesting. I think angels must have been on the road that night, as we literally threaded the needle through several deer (which we couldn't see until they were right in front of us). We felt incredibly blessed!

Most of the drive looked like this. Yes, I'm the bad mom who
doesn't strictly enforce buckles on twenty-two hour car drives.

We spent the first half with Paul's family in Provo. We made sure to get some BYU stuff for the kids; shameless indoctrination, I know. We celebrated the fourth of July there, which was a lot of fun. We did hikes, a jaunt up to Thanksgiving Point and to "This is the Place" monument, and we got to see the Kennecott copper mine with cousins. We got together with friends and family, and overall just had a grand time. The last half of the trip with my family was equally fun- a few days at a giant cabin with everyone minus David,  a temple trip with my siblings, a day trip jet skiing on the lake, and several days to just play around with cousins. I have way too many pictures, I have no idea where to start. Time to start sifting through. I'm sure I have several posts worth!