Summer Part I: SLC

I am typing this blogpost on my Mother-in-law's computer in Hemet, CA. We are on to part three of our summer adventure and I have yet to blog about part one!!! Forgive me, loyal readers :) While on vacation I tend to spend less time on the computer than during my normal life because we are able to spend time with family and friends that we don't get to see very often. It has already been a trip that has reunited, rejuvenated, and reinvigorated. Time with loved ones tends to do that for me and we've had a wonderful trip so far with family welcoming us into their homes and driving us all around and taking time off work to just hang out with the baby on the rug.

So here is a picture summary of our time in SLC from July 8-14:

Last few moments in Bmore before we boarded the plane for SLC



Pool time at my sister-in-law, Whitney's, dad's house



Alyse was "scared" of my bro for the first 48 hours of our visit, so he decided to try to win her over with some pool ballet twirls. That must have been what broke the ice because when we said good-bye to him yesterday after spending time with them in St. George (part two of the summer) he gave her multiple kisses without her pushing him away or crying :)


My nephew, Yale, was worn out and snoozed almost the whole time we were swimming!


The cousins together (Yale, Hannah, and Alyse)


Papa Scott


Yale post-church napping on his mommy


Alyse post-church with Grandma Karen


We call Aunt Steph the Baby Whisperer because she is such a natural with both Alyse and Yale-- if they are fussy or anxious, she knows just what to do!



I loved seeing my Niece Hannah this visit--she is just more and more grown up every time I see her! She was really sweet with both babies and even spent the night with us one night.


One of my favorite things was all the time family got to spend experiencing this amazing little baby...just getting down with her on the floor and watching from her level how she observes and tests out new toys and people and rooms is so fun.



More pool time in my parents' fun infant pool--complete with floating and hanging toys (I think after living in an apartment where we couldn't take the hose and baby pool out into our backyard (because we didn't have a backyard, or baby pool, or hose!) made all this pool time that much more fun. So far, we've been swimming three times in big pools and twice in baby pools and Alyse is definitely getting more adventurous kicking her legs, etc. Watch out Michael Phelps-- here comes the next great swimmer to come out of Bmore!





I even squeezed in a Girls' Night Out with some old friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in a long time...my favorite part was that it felt just like we'd seen each other the week before. I love these ladies!!!


We also got to visit with Brandon's little bro, Sean, and the brothers even got to go on a hike together one day (although they could only go up half way because there is still so much snow in the mountains!). Sean took some great pics of the hike and put them on facebook for anyone who is interested. I love visiting with Sean and especially seeing he and Brandon hang out together-- it's like getting a glimpse into Brandon's childhood when I see them interact :)

As always, our time with my Mom and Scott went too quickly, but it was filled with lots of quality time and, as always, they were so welcoming in hosting us. We can't wait for them to visit us in Chicago!!!