Our annual two week trip to visit Chris' family in Utah and Idaho was so much fun! We laughed and played and ate and talked every single minute of our time together. The pictures below captured the highlights:
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| Waiting patiently..... |
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| ...and no so patiently for our plane to arrive |
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| Ah, that's better! Snacks and cartoons.... |
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| The best mexican on earth! First stop after leaving the airport! |
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| Nick getting his head skinned by his Grandpa |
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| Grandma Jen getting out the surprises! |
Thankfully, it didn't take us long at all to make it to our final destination, Grandma and Grandpa's house in Preston, Idaho! The kids settled right in, finding what would become their main source of food for the next week....gumballs!
All the cousins arrived the next day....and the party started!
"Grandma, where's the ice cream??"
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| All the big kids took turns cooking dinner...Lisa's meatballs were killer! And so were her girls! Hannah and Belle came to party with the Smiths for the first time and we LOVE them! You better come EVERY SINGLE YEAR or your Aunt Jenn will be so upset! xoxo |
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| Carson "Harry Potter" accompanied the girls. I think he loved playing Taylor Swift... |
The talent show is always amazing and hilarious and highly entertaining. This year Livi and her cousins sang and danced together and she played her piano pieces from her recital, too. Nick worked his dad over with some karate and then got a lil gangsta and showed the cousins how a real man moves.......
The Smiths celebrate the Fourth in a big way! It started with the 2nd Annual "Eye of the Liger" run in which Carson maintained his place at 1st, who knows who was second and third, but Preston smoked his Aunt Jenn for 4th place. I told him I would "get him" next year.....hopefully I can break something before then and pull up "injured!" Olivia also put up a good fight, finishing the race like a champ with all the girls! After a big pancake breakfast back at the house, we all headed to the softball diamond so Team Smith could whoop up on each other! Nick had been waiting for this game for months and was ready to go before anyone else! Even more of the Smith clan (cousins, etc.) met us at the park to play, too. Uncle Ronnie
had to remind Nick that the "Utes stink" by giving him a pig nose and snorting him around the field!
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| Team Smith 2010 |
A big barbeque and Grandpa's famous front yard waterslide finished off a perfect day! The kids have a blast sliding down this thing. Bummer my camera battery died during the fun!
Bright and early the next morning, we were off to Bear Lake. The sun was shining and beautiful, but the water was a mere 50 degrees! That didn't stop the kids though, they played for hours and had so much fun!
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| Beautiful Bear Lake from our condo |
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| Jack and Ben...buried alive! |
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| This kid loves the beach! |
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| Grandma and Nicky |
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| Cousins |
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| Chris and his sis... total t-r-o-u-b-l-e! |
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Ben...writing to his tooth fairy one night before bed...
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After a few days at the lake, we headed back to Preston of a couple more days of swimming, bowling, ice cream and night games! Chris and I were in charge of the games this year.....
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| Cell Phone Scavenger Hunt CHAMPS |
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| Rock the Chocolate |
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| Elephant Walk |
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| Colorful Dragon |
The next morning we said our good-byes until next July! Thanks for all the fun memories, Jen and Randall! You guys sure know how to throw a party! xoxoxo
Chris flew home that afternoon but the kids and I stayed in Salt Lake with Chris' sister and her family for another week. None of it was documented, but we sure had a great time! Raging Waters, Toy Story 2, swimming, Uncle Pete's bbq, Monk, seeing Uncle John and Crown Burger kept us so busy! Thanks, Malens, for having us! You guys can party, too!
The kids and I flew home together, so tired after weeks of staying up until Midnight and lots of sugar! We had Quiznos for lunch in Denver and did a little shopping to kill time. Nick was thrilled when he found this for me in one of the shops:
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"Mom! This is just what you need! It is so soft and cuddly. I will come
back here and get this for you for Mother's Day, Mom!"
We made it home without safe and sound and were excited to see Dad and old Charlie! Trips are so fun but it is always nice to come home!
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The Smiths celebrate the Fourth in a big way! It started with the 2nd Annual "Eye of the Liger" run in which Carson maintained his place at 1st, who knows who was second and third, but Preston smoked his Aunt Jenn for 4th place. I told him I would "get him" next year.....hopefully I can break something before then and pull up "injured!" Olivia also put up a good fight, finishing the race like a champ with all the girls! After a big pancake breakfast back at the house, we all headed to the softball diamond so Team Smith could whoop up on each other! Nick had been waiting for this game for months and was ready to go before anyone else! Even more of the Smith clan (cousins, etc.) met us at the park to play, too. Uncle Ronnie had to remind Nick that the "Utes stink" by giving him a pig nose and snorting him around the field!
