Utah in August

 We headed to Utah on a Friday morning and made it to Grammy Bee's house in good time. Stockton immediately started making "traps" with music stands, yarn, plastic displays, and stools. He was very proud of his creations. 

(UGHHH darn blogger...these pictures uploaded backwards -_-)

Claire likes to carry around her blankie and multiple stuffed animals, and sometimes her milk sippy, and it's amusing to watch her try to juggle it all, especially when she tries to stand up. 

Stockton did an amazing job at the aquarium so he earned a toy at the gift shop, and he chose this funny penguin slide where the penguins are transported up the moving stairs and then slide down to the bottom of the stairs again. Everyone was extremely entertained haha. 

Claire grabbed this stuffed octopus in the gift shop while I was helping Stockton choose something and she refused to let go of it haha. Her name is Inky and it has become a beloved comfort to Claire.

Stockton loved the coin slide, of course. 

This sea turtle was NOT interested in hosting us

The penguins were up close and personal and the kids were so excited! It was so fun to have Stockton enjoy stopping and looking at a few exhibits here and there instead of just blasting through. We saw some real progress in this outing! 

The night we got there we did our traditional Hires picnic at Liberty park, now with the electric scooters. Fun night! 

The next day (Saturday) Mimi took Natalie to see Mary Poppins the musical with my cousin Eve, aunt Jennifer, and Grammy Bee, so that's why the other kids and I and PopPop went to the aquarium. Natalie was a great sport about not getting to go to the aquarium and I was proud of her for that. She had a great time at the musical! Very fun girl outing. 

Sunday we left for Panaca and then came back to Salt Lake on Tuesday. 

Wednesday was lake day! We picked up lunch on the way and had sand toys and the new loveseat camp chair in tow. We went to the same beach as last time and it was much less crowded. School had started in Utah so there were a few young families and one older couple enjoying the lake, and it was delightful. 

Claire in her absolute HAPPY place!

We came home, changed out of wet clothes, and drove over to Provo to meet Kristy for dinner. We picked up Blaze pizza and ate at this beautiful park. Before I had time to even say anything, Jack went STRAIGHT into the fountain haha and Stockton wasn't far behind. Claire had fun too!

The next day, Thursday, we went to Ruby Snap for our favorite cookies. Here are three views of the best cookie on the planet: lemon blueberry chia with glaze and delicately moist interior. Soooo good. 

When PopPop got home from work it was zoo time! Stockton had been waiting the WHOLE trip for this, so he was pretty stoked. And then he found a fire hydrant, which is his newest obsession, so he was extra thrilled. 

I had good chat time with my parents, good food, and good fun with the kids. I'm glad we made it happen to come! Traveling with kids as a single mom is challenging but we did our best and had a great time. This trip was pretty identical to our July Utah trip (except for the Panaca excursion) and will probably be similar to future trips too. 

We stopped at Walmart in Rawlins for a break on the way home, and the kids chose some fun activities to finish out our car ride. Austin had an impression before we left that I needed to be careful when stopping at gas stations and always make sure my children were close to me, so I always tried to go to gas stations where I knew from previous trips that there was a family restroom that we could all go in together, or stop at Walmarts where there is usually a family restroom at the back of the store. 

It was fun to be reunited with Austin of course, but this was the first trip since we adopted Mario and I missed him so much too! That night after we went to bed Mar came over and slept on the floor next to me instead of his usual spot in his dog bed. It was very sweet. He benefited from not having Claire feed him constantly haha, he was looking really lean and fit when we got home. 

I found these pictures that Jack drew when I was cleaning out the car, and I thought they were so cute of him and Stockton and Natalie.