The rest of the vacation...

This was a great vacation! Mainly because I actually had a chance to relax and enjoy the down time. And... I got to read a book. A real book, one with more than 30 pages and there were no rhymes!!

Anyways... before we left we were just checking to make sure that we had everything packed. I was getting shoes for all the boys, Church shoes, Tennis shoes, and sandals. Well, I could only find one Tommy shoe. The husband and I searched all over the house, really top to bottom! So we just left it and finished packing up. {more on this later...}

We were able to spend time with both my family and the husbands family. And it was nice to make some good memories. Before we went to Provo for a BBQ, we stopped at the Orem Cemetery. The husband was able to help a friend make Benji's headstone but hadn't seen it finished. So to celebrate Memorial Day we went up to the Cemetery to pay our respects to Benji. A great brother, and brother-in-law! I wish everyone could have had the opportunity to meet a great man. Memorial Day was a good one.

The boys at Benji's headstone. {we love and miss you Benji}

Later that week we were able to go to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Pointe {Why do they put an 'e' at the end of Pointe??} The boys had a great time looking at all the dinosaurs.

James standing next to the leg of a Brontosaurus.
All 4 of the boys weigh as much as a ???? {totally forget what kind of dinosaur} but it was a heavy one.

James and his dad looking at the effects of erosion....or boys playing in the mud, take your pick.

For those that don't recognize my kids without injuries on there face. Apparently Tim had the truck that James wanted... this was the end result of that. {look at those beautiful blue eyes}

The favorite souvenir to the places that we go. The boys love getting smooshed pennies. {and I love that they get something for 51 cents}

We were able to spend some time with some of the husbands friends that we hadn't seen in a while. And sad for us there were many friends that we didn't get a chance to see. {Joseph & Amy, and Cayde & Brianna we love you both and sorry we missed you.}

Oh... remember the Tommy shoe? Yeah well we found the other one. Tommy packed it. So with one she and home in Arizona, and the other one is with us in Utah. So Tommy got a new pair of shoes out of the trip, but don't worry, not only can he run faster, and jump higher, he can also kick harder.... I love the power of shoes!!

We have a great system to keeping the sanity on the long drive that we have. We make the trip in two days. We have a FABULOUS person to stay with in Vegas. My wonderful Aunt Connie. The boys just love her. We were able to spend a day with her and we had a really good time. We were able to go to the Natural History Museum, and then to lunch. We thought about going out for dinner but in the end just decided to put some steaks on the grill. That ended up being the best thing. The boys got to play in her warm pool {the hot tub} and I think there was more water outside of the hot tub by the time they were done. Aunt Connie is dating and has a great boyfriend that was great with the boys. It was really nice to just hang out with her.

Tommy being a safari tour guide. I think he might need a smaller hat.
See.... The husband did help make our kids. Tim looks so much like him.

Ok, this is a cute picture of Tommy but really I put it in to show you all how tan I am {vain I know but there you have it}

The way cute husband.

Proof to the boys that they do have a mom. Usually I'm taking the pictures, so it's nice to get pictures of me every now and then {kinda a perk to having an Aunt who is a photographer}

Aunt Connie with the boys.... Do you see Tommy. I'm not sure what he is doing but I thought it was so funny.

The rest of the drive home was uneventful, and because we left so early, we made it back about 4:00 in the afternoon. {plenty of time to get some laundry started}

This was a really fun trip and probably the last for a little awhile to see the family. I'll fill you in later on that one.

Here's to the missing {but not really} Tommy shoe.