Summer in fast foward

So I got back to Texas from Idaho, and 3 weeks later we were on a plane headed to Utah!

 What? That's right. While I was gone partying it up in Idaho Ryan  got a little burnt out and was ready to get out of Texas too. I wasn't complaining about more vacation time, woohoo!

So we went up to Snowbird. We stayed in a beautiful timeshare nestled in a valley surrounded by mountainous terrain. It was for the Hutchings family reunion.

Don't mind me haha. I was so stressed out! We were at the top of the ferris wheel and AddiLyn kept trying to climb out. 

I'm sad I didn't take more pictures. I was on a phone/media fast and never had my phone on me. It was a fun week. We hiked, went to Lagoon, spent time with family, spent a day going on rides that Snowbird provides,  went wedding dress shopping for Katie (she's going to be a stunning bride!) swam, and I learned some new things. I learned that my daughter is a true adventurer. She wanted to go on the roller coasters over and over again, she trekked up the mountain like it was no one's business and she just didn't want to ever stop. She wore herself right out. Addi was great on the alpine slide too, she laughed the whole way down. It was such a fun discovery! My girls are so fun to hang out with!
The week went by so fast!

The next week I spent in Idaho and Ryan went up to St. George to work. I was ecstatic I got the chance to spend more time up there!

She was so proud of her muddy legs.

AddiLyn wasn't quite as pleased with the mud.

We spent a lot of time just relaxing, talking, going on walks, going to the fair, my girls got really dirty almost every day, me and my sisters became a moped gang and drove around on mopeds at night, visiting grandparents, just doing what we do best!

And then we spent a week in St. George. Wowza. What a great week! St. George is a good time.
We kept busy the whole week swimming, hiking, riding horses, exploring caves and petrified sand dunes, and we didn't even do all there is to do up there. 

What a great summer, on the go full time. And it's not even over yet! 

Life is good.

Idaho shenanigans part 1

This winter left me needing some rejuvenation. Some concentrated TLC. A little excitement. It had been awhile since I'd seen my side of the family so I planned a trip for me and the girls to go up to Idaho for 3 weeks. I tried to convince Ryan to ditch work  and runaway with me, but him and his responsible self simply could not do that. He was a little (OK alot!) sad about me going without him but he knew more than anyone that I needed to get out of Texas for awhile.

So I packed up my sweet little babies and caravaned to St. George with my in-laws. (They've left the ranch, moving on to make fun memories somewhere else.)

We stayed at their new place for a few days to recover from the drive and then I trekked from St. George to Sugar City on my own with the girls. 

Crazzzyy. I only stopped once, but it was for a few hours with my absolute best friend in the entire world and her babies! Our babies bonded, we caught up, it was perfection. Consider this a shout out to my main woman Chelsea!! 

Anyways, I stayed with my grandparents for the first  week, which was so good.
 We all slept in the same room.  I thought it was going to be a disaster, both girls are such light sleepers. But guess what? We slept just fine. 

It was nice being at my grandparents place again. I have so many fond childhood memories there and I got to relive a lot of them. It was so meaningful that they welcomed me with open arms into their home. It left me feeling a little nostalgic for the days way back when!

Playing with the same toys I played with as a 3 year old. :)

The next week we went to a time share in island park and stayed there the whole week. I think this was my favorite part of the trip. It's such a beautiful place!

It was so refreshing being in the wilderness. It felt real. Raw. Untouched. And to make it even better I was with some of the people I love most! Just eating, relaxing and catching up. Emma and Addi got a lot of concentrated love and attention from a group of obsessed aunts. It was perfection.

The next week I felt like I was in fast motion, trying to get all the fun things in before I went back home. By the end of the week I was exhausted! 

Don't mind the nudity. My 3 year old sees any body of water and she strips down completely, no matter where we are! :)

It was such a wonderful trip. I wish I could write down every day in detail to prove how spoiled rotten we really were but that would simply take too long!

The trip was jam packed full of fun and ended way too soon. 

 I drove from Salem to Colorado by myself with the girls. It ended up being a 12 hour drive. The girls did great. I may or may not have  cried a lot on that drive...

 The only time the girls really cried during that whole drive is when they saw that I had been crying. Poor things don't see me cry very often, they didn't know how to take it.  I'm so close to my family and the farther I got from them the more my heart hurt! 

(Keep in mind, I wasn't expecting to see them again for at least a year or so since I was "expecting")

So with that frame of mind, I was a mess.

But I kept myself together enough to drive safely and get to Colorado.

I stayed in a scary grimey hotel that night and somehow managed not to get mugged or robbed so that was good. 

 The next day Ryan met me in Denver and he instantly made everything better. 

The drive from Denver to Texas was a breeze. I felt better being with my eternal companion once again! He said he's never letting me leave his side ever again. I'll have to take him along with me next time. :)

I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to be with my amazing family and see them bond with the girls. My dad especially hit it off with them. It made my heart so happy.

It was a such a good 3 weeks. I feel like it woke me up in more ways than one. Going back to your roots, your foundation, once in a while is good. 

Life is good.