Great Grandparents and Temple Square

Another Utah highlight was visiting Brad's grandparents (and the kids' great-grandparents!). It was the first time in a long time that we've been over there with just our little family for a quiet visit, and it was lovely! Mimi and Papa as they are called, have an exciting basket of toys that kept the boys busy - and of course the enjoyed trying out Mimi's wheelchair (a temporary fixture as she recovers from foot surgery).

We had some good long family history discussions, which really has me fascinated right now. They have some family books I would love to sit down and spend a few hours with, and we found out some really interesting things about Grandpa and Grandma Goodrich, as well as their heritage. One ancestor in particular is George Washington Taggart, who was the first to join the Mormon church on Grandpa's side... back in the 1800's when Joseph Smith was alive. We learned that he and his young wife moved to Nauvoo, where she died when their first child was one year old. He worked on building the original Nauvoo Temple and would bring his baby daughter with him in a wheelbarrow while he worked. He also served in the Mormon Battalion, and played the fife as an officer. He remarried and eventually made his way to Salt Lake City, where he also worked on the Salt Lake Temple. I have always loved Temple Square - it was one of my favorite summer trips as a child, and of course now that Brad and I were married there. But knowing the personal stories of one of our ancestors who actually worked on it makes it even more meaningful to visit. I really want to learn all I can about our family heritage (on both sides) to pass down to my children - I think it really helps to feel more grounded and to find meaning in life when we feel connected to the earth through generations past.

Anyway, we sure loved the visit!


And of course we went to the Salt Lake Temple to walk around for a bit on our way back up to Morgan.

Dinosaur Park and Riverton

During our second week in Utah, after Owen started feeling a little better, we met up with some friends at the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. You might recognize these friends from many of my blog posts while we lived in Pittsfield - they moved there about the same time as we did and their son Stew was Eli's bestest friend while we were out there. Amy was such a blessing to me as well while we lived there... her daughter was born there just one month after Owen. We spent many a wintery day at one or the other's house just nursing our babies and letting the big brothers play until they were exhausted. We also went on a sleigh ride in Vermont, and walked on a frozen lake together! Through a serious of unexpected events they actually ended up moving back to Utah before we even left MA... so we haven't seen them in an entire year! It was so fun to meet up at the Dino park - the perfect place for all 3 of our Dino crazy boys! Stew even wore the same shirt as Eli and Owen (unplanned), and since it was raining, we had the ENTIRE place to ourselves!

Outside we got to see dinosaur replicas and listen to "roaring" sounds coming from the bushes, as well as "dig" for dinosaur bones in the sand. Inside we saw real dinosaur fossils, and the electronically animated T-rex and Triceratops. The kids were all pretty scared of the moving dinos at first, but after they warmed up it was hard to tear them away. Eli STILL talks about it and constantly wants to re-create the scene saying he's the T-rex and I'm the mommy Triceratops and I have to protect my baby (Owen). Lol.







Very soon after the Dino Park (maybe the next day) we met up with the Woodwards again closer to their home - at IKEA! Eli and Stew played in the children's area while Amy and I did some shopping. Then we went over to their house for lunch and got to see some of the neat animals they have there. They are living with Amy's parents while her husband finishes up some schooling, and the home and land out there in Riverton is gorgeous! You can see the new Draper Temple across the valley from their backyard. The kids were ecstatic to be able to feed the ducks, see a real horse, and a beehive! It was a wonderful day! We sure appreciated being cheered up after that long drawn out yucky sickness.... and we remembered again how much we love and miss our Woodward friends... I hope we can reconnect more often!

A Few More Family Hi-Lights!

Heidi's high school graduation! We are so proud of her and so glad that we could be there for the event! She heads off to UVU in Provo this fall to study nursing.

Snuggling in and reading a good book are the best ways to spend an evening!
Chrisopther's baby blessing. In our church when babies are born we have a naming and blessing ceremony for them... usually held at church. Aubrey was able to arrange to have it at her house with just the family and a member of the bishopric. We did the same thing with Owen's since we had his blessing in Utah with family while we were living in Massachusetts. It makes for a lovely and peaceful ceremony. Little Christopher Erlank Slabbert looked so handsome in his little white suit too! My mom and I were able to pick it up for him when we were out shopping the day before. We so appreciate them arranging to have the blessing while we were in town... it was an honor for Brad to be able to join in the blessing circle for his nephew. It certainly helps us to feel loved and connected when we can be involved in the special events, even though we can't be there for the day to day stuff... we love you guys!



After the blessing we had a little bbq in the park area at Aubrey's house. Eli had a ton of fun spraying down the fence, cars, and ants with a spray bottle he found. He and Grandpa K. watched bees, and ants and Grandpa taught him all about ant colonies.





Even little Grable (my Chihuahua from high school who is now 17 years old) made the trip, though she had to stay pretty close to my mom!

Baby Jace and Benson Cousins!

Another hi-light of our trip was meeting Skyler and Ashley's new baby - Jace! He was born about 41/2 hours before Christopher - the day after Brad's birthday! He is such an adorable little guy - very mellow and so alert. I like to say he has the " wise old man look" and I mean it in the most adorable way! He just has this look about him that seems like he knows so much more than he can tell you. Here he is with his papa:


And with his beautiful mommy:


And enjoying the sling from his Auntie! Look, hands free to text! =)



The one rare moment Brad got to hold him without Owen collapsing in jealous tears (he was asleep):
We also got to see a little more of baby Trevan, Scott and Jen's little guy. He is six months old and has grown like a weed since we last saw him! He is a happy and cuddly little boy, and oh SO cute!!! We love him and can't wait for him to be running around next time we visit (he started scooting a bit while we were there, so I'm sure it won't be too far in the future for him)!


The boys had some of their most fun times with their cousin Kenadee this trip! Eli was especially grateful for her company during Owen's illness. The two of them have very complementary personalities, and played so well together! They could alternate between digging in the dirt, "cooking" up food with their play dishes, and reading books together. They could also run around Grandma and Grandpa's house playing "dinosaur" (Skyler, Brad and Grandpa took turns in this role) and SCREAM like nobody's business! It was a great time, and we were all glad that Eli and Kena weren't scared of eachother anymore =).



The "masked monsters." The kids all wanted to have one on, then they each kept getting scared of the other ones and crying about it... it was hilarious! They also loved beating on their dads and Grandpa with the swim noodles!
Hiding from "dinosaurs" in the front hedges! This was a FAVORITE activity whether it was warm or FREEZING outside... no one ever wanted to quit and come in! Thank goodness for Brad and Skyler who seemed to have just as much fun scaring and chasing the kids as the kids had being scared and chased!
Getting cozy at Steph's, the local burger and ice cream shop in Morgan. Are we going to have some "kissin' cousins" on our hands?
Brad and Skyler roasting hot dogs! Finally a warm enough day to be outside!
Kids throwing endless sticks into the firepit!
Brad and Kris showing off their "guns."