On September 24th, we flew to Utah for a week long vacation. This vacation was in the plans for over a year, as the Meadors were planning a family reunion at Altamonte. The reunion was at the tail end of the week, so we were able to see some other friends, family, and sites.
This was Colby's second flight, and he was very curious about it all.
We were on the same flight as Jerry and Bev, which was fun. And we had someone to take out group pic, haha.
Once we landed, we headed to Cafe Rio for some deliciousness. I forgot how good that place was!
We had originally planned to go straight to the Robinsons to spend time with Aunt Lori, Uncle Dean, and Grandpa, but they were driving back from Wyoming where they attended the Star Valley temple open house. So, we took a drive over to Park City and allowed the kids to nap on the way. We really debated taking Brooke on the Alpine Slide, but it was SUPER cold, and I wasn't sure if that would terrify her.
We opted for a stop at a coffee shop for some cocoa and gummy bears (haha), and walked around instead.
I forgot how beautiful Utah is! For the last 10 years, we have lived in places with no mountains, so being back near them was a fun change of scenery. And the leaves!! Fall is such a gorgeous time in Utah, especially up in the canyons.
We arrived at the Robinsons late Saturday evening, so we skipped church on Sunday to hang out with Grandpa before we were heading to Kevin's friend Scott Kimball's house for a BBQ.
This was such a precious time for me because I hadn't seen my Grandpa since before Nana passed away. Colby was only a few weeks old when she passed, so I wasn't able to go to the funeral. I have always been close to them, and it was really good to be able to give him a big hug. I had talked to Brooke about how special it was that she knew two of her Great Grandpas, and I think she knew it was special because she was actually super compliant for pictures.
Grandpa offered to take a picture of our family, and I told him which button to push. I heard him holding down the button, and I said something like "I think you just have to push it once", and he said that he was. I just kinda laughed and when I looked at my phone, he had taken like 90 pictures. Love him :)
Although I wish I would have spent more time with him, we saw him the next few mornings and evenings before we headed to the reunion. These are a few pictures from Scott's house...
Colby thought he was big stuff! We really enjoyed time with Scott, his family, and the Tomlinson family as well. (Both friends from Kevin's hometown.)
Monday we decided to take the kids to hike the Y. It is really pathetic that neither Kevin or I hiked the Y during our BYU years...so we decided that we would make up for it by taking the kids. After about 10 minutes on the trail, Brooke asked if I could hold her. I told her no (of course), and she really did great and hardly complained.
It was much hotter than expected, so we took a long break and let Colby unzip, haha. He was especially hot being in the carrier.
It took about an hour to get to the bottom of the (HUGE) Y, so we figured that was far enough. Colby was getting pretty cranky.
We took our pictures to document the feat, then headed down the mountain.
Colby was asleep in about 5 minutes, which was great.
We then headed over to the Creamery to celebrate. We picked a table near the wall with the Y on it to show Brooke how we had hiked all the way up the mountain. She was so proud of herself, and she looks so grown-up in this picture! For the next few days, as we were driving and would see the Y, we would point it out to her and remind her that we hiked there. It was harder than expected, but really fun, and i'm glad to say we finally hiked it!
Then we walked to campus, and made sure we took a picture with the Y in the back. We took a similar picture the first time we took Brooke to campus as a 10 month old.
And we had to stop at "the spot" where I used to meet Kevin after his class and before mine. That spot was part of our love story, and we got to take our little loves back to it.
As we headed back to Aunt Lori's for a family dinner, we picked up some fresh corn and pears. Brooke couldn't believe the size of the corn! She even helped shuck the corn with my cousin Amy's little boys. My cousin Parker, and Amy and her family all joined us for dinner as well.
On Tuesday, we headed to This is the Place Monument, where we met up with the Peacocks and Jerry and Bev. It was another beautiful day in Utah, and these little girls were excited to run around and play together.
The girls milked a fake cow, which Brooke thought was peeing on her, haha.
Colby loved the petting zoo.
And the sunflowers...
We were able to go inside the Gardner village and cabin that belonged to one of Bev's ancestors. It was a special experience to hear her talk about that cabin, but unfortunately the little ones didn't fully appreciate the stories. But at least we have a picture to prove that they were there!
We had a little bit of time before meeting up for dinner with Kevin's Aunt Valerie and cousin Sean, so we headed over to temple square. Colby was asleep, so I sent Kevin to walk about City Creek with Brooke. Once I realized that we were going to be totally rushed for time, I woke Colby up and headed out to find Kevin. We quickly walked to Temple Square and headed straight to the Visitor's Center to see the Christus stature. It was seriously a highlight of the trip for me. I was holding Brooke's hand as we walked up the circle ramp to the second floor, and we could hear the loud voice saying "This is My Beloved Son, hear him." I felt like I was on the verge of tears, and I think Brooke was a little nervous as we rounded the corner and saw the giant status. She didn't want to go close to it, so we sat on the benches and just looked at it for a few minutes. When I asked her if she wanted to go closer, she did. As I held her little hand, I felt the Spirit so strongly. I pointed at the nail prints in the Savior's feet, and she wanted to touch them. I'm sure that's probably discouraged, but I let her do it anyway. She asked me why He had those nail prints, and I reminded her about the bad guys that killed Jesus. I was totally crying by this point, and she kept looking at my face and was so concerned. She kept asking me why they did that, and I told her that they didn't know that He was the Savior. Brooke finally asked me why I was crying, and I told her that I was sad that they would do that to Jesus, but that it was all part of His plan for us to live with Him again. He loved us, which is why he would suffer and die for us. She seemed to get it, but she kept asking me over and over to tell her the story about the Savior again. Hearing her little voice tell me the story was such an amazing moment. I love my little girl and hope that I can teach her all the important things that she needs to know and that she will develop her own testimony one day!
When we arrived back at the Robinsons that night, Uncle Dean was in his office tying flies for his upcoming fishing tip (which Kevin ended up going on for a few hours since it was close to where the reunion was). Brooke was super intrigued, and really fell in love with Uncle Dean.
It was so fun to spend time with my Aunt and Uncle. They have always been so kind to me, and even let me live with them for the 5 months between when I decided not to go on my mission, and when Kevin and I were married. They are seriously the best, and I love them so much. It always feels like home when I'm with them, and I hope it won't be so long before we see each other again.
Then it was time to head to the reunion. We packed up Wednesday morning, and it was such a beautiful drive to Altamonte. It took about 2 hours to get there, I think, and it was literally in the middle of nowhere. Which is why we had to eat at Burger King (yuck!).
Altamonte was perfect!! It is a huge cabin that can sleep up to 80 people, with a huge kitchen, a pool outside, a game room, a large grassy area to play on, volleyball courts, basketball courts, rock climbing, etc. Kevin's grandparents, their four children, and all of their grandchildren and great grandchildren were ALL in attendance. It was pretty amazing that we could all be there, and it meant a ton to Bob and Bobbi, also know as Grandma and Grandpa GG to the great grandkids,
It seriously is such a blessing that Colby was able to spend time with two great grandpas in the same week.
We also did family pictures while we were all together, and this is me trying to convince Brooke that I would only take ONE picture with her, haha. She knows better :)
But of course she would pose with Kinley.
The WHOLE gang!
In front of the lodge, they had a little pond with a row boat. Since Brooke is obsessed with Tangled, this was the perfect opportunity to pretend that she was Rapnuzel floating on the water with Flynn Ryder.
All of the Meador boys...
Colby feeding Papa.
We had a "sock hop" on Friday night, and a few of Kevin's cousins pushed Bob and Bobbi around. It was pretty tender.
Bob with Michael (Katelin's son), and Colby.
Auntie Mel Mel and the girls.
Giving Auntie some snuggles!
The pool was not heated, so it was really chilly! Brooke swam for a bit, then spent hours watching Daddy and his cousins playing SpikeBall. Colby was napping, so I was able to just sit outside and enjoy the company and the beauty of the afternoon.
One last picture before we headed out on Saturday. We all really enjoyed the time spent together as a family, and I'm grateful for all the coordinating that went into the reunion being a success. We had spreadsheets for room assignments, meal assignments, food assignments, etc, and it all turned out great.
On the way back to the airport, we stopped at the Robinsons to say our goodbyes, and Kimberly met us there since she was in town for her MBA reunion. Perfect timing! We seriously were blessed with how many people we were able to see. I missed out on seeing some Utah friends, but hopefully next trip!
Then it was time to head to the airport. This expression cracked me up!
The kids did great again on the flight, and when we landed, Aubrey wanted to hold Colby's hand all the way to the baggage claim. She has a soft spot for him, and I love it!
