Welcome to the final installment of blog posts about our summer road trip! After this, I should finally be done! (Check out the other posts
here)
We started out the second week of our road trip with... more driving! The wee ones and I, along with my parents and siblings, piled into two cars and caravanned to Wyoming, so my dad could share his roots with my girls. Our first stop was the Lyman cemetery where many generations of my dad's family are buried. Like their mom, my girls love browsing cemeteries, so we spent a good amount of time there and took tons of pictures with some of the interesting and important headstones we came across. We then found a local park where we ate a picnic lunch under the trees. It was heavenly. After our lunch break, we took the long way home so we could drive through the Wasatch National Forest. The drive was incredibly beautiful. We stopped in the forest to play in the Provo River Falls then headed back to my parents house for dinner.
The next day, Saturday, included more driving! My sister and I loaded the kiddos into the car yet again and went up to Salt Lake City where we enjoyed the farmers market I use to frequent when I was a SLC resident. Boy, that farmers market has grown in the past 8 years! We then walked around temple square and the church history museum with my nephew Bo in tow. The girls loved spending more time with their cousin.
Sunday was truly a day of rest! After so much running around, we were excited to just go to church and enjoy a quiet day at home.
Monday, we attempted another picnic at Vivian Park. This time we managed to avoid getting rained out and the wee ones enjoyed the chance to play in the ice cold waters of the Provo River.
Tuesday we spent the afternoon at Bridal Veil Falls. The wee ones, particularly Man Cub, could not get enough of playing in the water. It was frigid but he could not care less. He loved splashing in the water and chewing on rocks. Such a boy! Tuesday evening, the kiddos and I went to the ranch that my sister works at, where I did Sunshine and Man Cub's much delayed photo sessions. I've already
blogged about our evening at the ranch... it was so spectacular, it needed a post of it's own!
Wednesday was our last day in Utah, and it was also Pioneer Day! One of my main goals in planning this road trip was to be in Utah on Pioneer Day so my girls could enjoy a Pioneer Day celebration and we were not disappointed! We went to an awesome Pioneer Day extravaganza in Provo where the girls sawed logs, had their hair braided like pioneer girls, made rag dolls and toured a small pioneer village. It was so much fun and almost everything was free of charge. And the girls looked adorable in their little pioneer bonnets.
Thursday our road trip came to an end when we headed home to Arizona. The drive home was harder on me, the sole driver, than the trip up had been but we still had a good time! Once again, the wee ones were amazing travellers. I really could not have asked for better behaved children on this trip! They've got me wondering what other road trips we can take... San Francisco? Oregon? The East Coast? Pretty much, if we can drive there, I am ready to go!
I am so glad we were able to take this fun road trip over the summer. The girls will often reminisce over the fun times we had while driving our 2507 miles in 13 days. I hope that these memories will stick with them for years to come!
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My wee ones in front of my great-great grandparents grave |
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With my brother at the Provo River Falls |
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We love to see the temple! And we were blessed to see so many different ones on our road trip |
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Some cousin cuddles on the grounds of the Salt Lake Temple |
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Beebs (and Sunshine) both love the dancing exhibit in the Church History Museum's children's area |
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Man Cub liked fishing near Nephi's boat |
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Somehow, the ice cold water of the Provo River didn't bother my desert dwelling kiddos one bit |
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Aunt-T and Beebs... are you loving Beebs' bandaid as much as I am? Ü |
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Papa, Nana and their favourite granddaughters |
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Nana and a few of her lovely ladies |
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All worn out after splashing around in the river |
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The view as we were packing up after our picnic at Vivian Park |
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Horsey rides from Papa before we left for the Falls |
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Rough housing with Uncle Coo before heading to the Falls |
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The Diva, I mean, Beebs |
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Splashing around at Bridal Veil Falls |
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My cutie girls in their pioneer bonnets from Nana |
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Sunshine and Papa sawing wood |
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Me and Man Cub attempting to help Beebs saw wood |
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Showing off the fruits of her labour |
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And the result of Beebs' handiwork |
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Our wood pieces after having them branded |
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Man Cub and Papa touring the pioneer village |
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The girls showing off their rag dolls |