to Utah to Utah

Yes, we went to Utah again. We like to make our seasonal trip back to see family. We have our usual routine, but we decided to do some different things this time to mix it up a bit. Lots of things about this trip were different...

First, let's not forget the AGONIZING trips there and back. Wait, yes, let's forget them so I have it in me to do it again. Grace has always been a world-class traveler. She loves the airport, taking her shoes off at security, putting her back pack through the scanner, the plane, the seat, the movie, the drink from the airline attendant, everything. Harriet HATES EVERYTHING ABOUT TRAVELING. She screamed all the way there and all the way back. Poor thing, though, she had a double ear-infection on the way there and I didn't know any different because she never gets them and I thought she was just her usual unhappy traveling self. So, yes, our trip started with a trip to urgent care - nothing changes.
We spent lots of time with grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and cousins and a few friends. (sorry if you're reading this and got skipped this time friend... we still love you...)
After all the birthday celebrations, we got out and did a few things. We spent time at some of our usual hang-outs - the zoo, mo-Deb's work, and the Training Table, but we added lots of new things. We went to the aquarium in Sandy, took Traxx with Grandma and Grandpa Chapman to the museum of Church History (spent most of our time in the Children's exhibit), and Grace and I went skiing at Alta. Grace had a rough day on the tow-line at Alta. When I say "day", I mean 30 minutes. It wasn't her happiest moment, but she and I made it up and down a few times together and then we went back to the deck at the lodge to enjoy the ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL 60 degree day. The drive up and down Little Cottonwood Canyon on that day made everything else worth it. And, she says, she will try skiing again with daddy.

A few notable things about this time spent with family was that Sean finally decided that he likes his cousins. Up 'til now, he has never enjoyed spending time with Grace and Hattie, but this time, they TOTALLY played together and had the most fun. This made things even harder to leave - to know that they could be good friends and play more often... At least he likes us now.

We also got to spend more time with Aunt Jess. Since she is living at home again for a minute, we got to see her every morning when she got ready for work and sometimes at night. We usually don't get to see much of her, so we were thankful for seeing her every day. The kids got to know her much better.

Grace went to see her dentist, Uncle Randy, to find out that she has 4 CAVITIES in her teeth! Yikes! I feel like the worst mom ever. We're getting 2 of them fixed tomorrow here in MA.We tried to do a few Easter things too. We took a few pics of the kids in their Easter outfits and did an Easter Egg hunt with Mo-Deb. Grace dyed Easter eggs with Aunt Em and mailed them home to herself. All but one were broken when they got here.

On our last day in SLC, we had a late flight, so we had time for a quick outing in the morning. We went to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum and went to the Sesame Street exhibit. That was SO much fun, and a great way to end our trip. We said good-bye to the ALMOST 70 degree weather (I know it got colder this weekend) and came back to MA where it is only 30-40 degrees. Spring can't come soon enough for me man.

Probably the hardest and saddest good-bye though, was Grace's good-bye to Grandpa Earl. She really really really loves him. She wanted to take him home on the plane.As always, we are so thankful for everyone who took time to spend with us and made our trip so much fun. We'll be back in July for lots of Chapman Family Reunion Fun! :-)