We stayed with Tyler's sister and family in Spanish Fork, UT and spent the next week hanging out with Tyler's family. I was able to go to the Payson Temple by myself one morning. The temple was gorgeous and I was so happy that I got to go.
We drove up to Salt Lake one day to be with Andrew and his family while he went through the temple for the first time. Uncle Justin was awesome enough to stay with all the kids on the temple grounds. Abby, and the other older cousins, were able to do baptisms in the Salt Lake temple for their own family names. They said it was awesome. We took pictures after the session.
Here's a picture of all the family and friends who came to support Andrew. And we also had a picture taken of our family right outside the Salt Lake temple.
We went out for lunch afterwards at a Spaghetti Warehouse. It was at Trolley's Square in Salt Lake and there was this cool caboose in the middle of the shopping center, so we of course had to have a picture. I also grabbed a picture of the cousins while we waited to be seated in the restaurant. Andrew got his mission call to the San Fernando Valley mission, Spanish speaking.
We did some shopping while we were in Utah and Tyler wanted to check out the Scheel's store which is a Outdoors/Sporting Goods store. The girls liked all the statues and had to have pictures.
The bear statue right inside the store was also a huge hit. I guess the girls decided to show us their bear claws in this picture.
We spent one evening with the cousins at a park where the kids could play and the dads could fish. I took pictures of the kids while they explored the area like this bridge that crossed the river and of the kids playing on the playground.
They also played a game of Red Rover, so I grabbed some pictures during that time. The kids loved having their name called and running to the other side. Luckily no one got hurt.
Lucy, Taryn, and Anson are all within 6 months of age and they love playing together. They are the easiest to take pictures of since they still don't mind being bothered by me when I ask them to "smile!"
We decided to hike the Y on the mountain since my kids hadn't done it before. I don't think I've hiked the Y since I was there in college. We grabbed a quick photo at the entrance to the trail before we set off.
There are around 10 legs going back and forth as you hike up the trail. We took our time, stopped in the shade at each turn and even looked for some geocache spots along the way. Those stops made the trip more bearable, especially for the young ones.
Those rest spots were also the best times for me to grab pictures of the cousins together.
We finally made it to the Y! I waited at the mid-point while everyone climbed the last steps to the top of the Y, so I could get this picture of all of them at the top with part of the Y between us.
Once I also made it to the top, I took some pictures of the valley behind them as we rested on the benches and had snacks.
Everyone made it without too many complaints. I had Tiffany take a picture of me and Tyler together too. It was so sunny to look at the camera, but the view across the valley towards Utah Lake was breathtaking.
We had just visited with Audrey Kasallis's sister in El Paso when they were in Texas right before we left town. They live in Springville, the next town over from where we were staying, so we met up with them at a splash park for all the kids to play together. Here's the picture I took to remember our time together with our new friends.
We had a birthday celebration for Aunt Tara, which was the last time we all were together with Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons during that week. The kids entertained us with their acrobats and musical numbers.
We took this picture of all the grandkids together with Grandma and Grandpa since Andrew would be leaving on his mission within the next month. Aubrey had a fun time using Andrew as her "horse." She loved being able to see over everyone.
We headed off the next day for the rest of our family vacation. We stopped in Las Vegas on our way to California. We spent a couple hours that evening walking around the strip. One of our necessary stops is always the M&M store. The girls really wanted their pictures next to the two girl M&Ms, green and brown.
We have a picture of the girls by this photo spot from a couple of years ago too, but the bright colors make it a perfect spot to take pictures every time.
Since Grandma and Grandpa Black had just been in Las Vegas before we saw them at the family reunion, they had mentioned the Statue of Liberty made out of licorice. So that became an adventure for us to find, which we did in the New York, New York hotel. We also passed through the Hershey's store and found this cute new photo spot.
Our other necessary stop on the strip is always the Bellagio hotel. We usually are going through Las Vegas in the winter time, so it was fun to see how the hotel was decorated during the summer. Their usual Christmas display was full of other beautiful flower displays like this huge plate made from flowers.
We walked through the Planet Hollywood Mall as well to see the indoor rainstorm, which is one of our favorites. We found a fountain light show outside the V Theater in the mall as well, which was new to us.
With all the walking we did, the girls were champs, not complaining very much. They knew we were headed to California for the remainder of our vacation, but they had no idea what was to come. We had kept the details of our vacation and the planned vacation stops a secret. This was just the beginning...
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