Our Week in Utah

After making the difficult decision to cancel our flight to Minnesota this summer we decided to make the drive to Utah to visit my sister. Turned out, my parents, sister and sister-in-law along with their three kids would also make the drive to Utah. So our family reunion still happened! (Minus my brother and brother-in-law.)

My sister Molly and her husband just bought a house so we timed our trip perfectly to help with the move (and add to the chaos they already had going on). We split up between the two homes - so everyone had a place to sleep. 

My mom and I worked on feeding everyone and watching 5 of the 8 kids. (The youngest kids stayed with their moms so they could nap without interruption.) The cousins had a wonderful time together. They played dress up, acted out Pokemon characters, played outside with a slip n' slide, water guns, soccer and a sand box, picked peaches, and chased chickens (sorry chickens). My sister also had a personal inflatable jump house so we used that nearly every day.

The other adults tended to the new house -- patching, sanding, painting walls and crown molding and adding ship-lap to the ceiling. My dad and Chris also spent a lot of time working on the back yard. The last day together we got the moving truck to move the large furniture pieces and last of the boxes over to the new house. We didn't get to really help them settle in, but they did get a couple big projects done to make their house feel more like their own.

Most days were hot; the temp ranged from 96-104 while we were there. That made us limit our outside time quite a bit, but the evenings were amazing. After dinner we headed outside with the kids for ball play. My niece and I had a great time being silly with a giant exercise ball. 

One of the highlights was getting to meet my newest nephew, Grayson. He was just shy of 8 months old when I got to hold him for the first time. He is such a happy little boy but somehow still capable of giving my sister grief with sleeping and eating. I attempted to give my sister some help in this area and rocked him to sleep . . . but I couldn't get him to stay asleep unless I held him, so I did. I held this little man for nearly an hour and cherished every minute of it. 

The week went by fast and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. I was very hesitant about this trip before we left because of Covid-19 and all the risks that it posed in traveling and being in the same house with my entire family. But the week together was a blessing. After 4 months of not being with any people, spending 7 days with my people was amazing. 

There were hugs, and closeness and masks were only worn when we were out in public places. It was so freeing. My boys hadn't played with anyone in close proximity since shelter in place began (other than each other, of course) and you could just see how much they needed this time with cousins. How much they explored, played and were just being together was so sweet. A burden lifted for a time.

The boys did a great job on the road too. It was a 12 hour drive and thankfully we hit very little traffic and our stops were brief that we made it there and back with relative ease. The boys loved watching a few TV shows (Octonauts) and movies (Lego Movie, Zootopia, and Toy Story 4) on the drive and did well with the pile of activity books I brought along too. Yes, they asked a hundred times if were close and complained a little when they couldn't get comfortable to nap; but overall, they did well. 

Our summer plans were nothing like we originally planned, but I am so grateful we had the opportunity to visit my family and help my sister. Here's hoping none of us get sick...

After making the difficult decision to cancel our flight to Minnesota this summer we decided to make the drive to Utah to visit my sister. Turned out, my parents, sister and sister-in-law along with their three kids would also make the drive to Utah. So our family reunion still happened! (Minus my brother and brother-in-law.)

My sister Molly and her husband just bought a house so we timed our trip perfectly to help with the move (and add to the chaos they already had going on). We split up between the two homes - so everyone had a place to sleep. 

My mom and I worked on feeding everyone and watching 5 of the 8 kids. (The youngest kids stayed with their moms so they could nap without interruption.) The cousins had a wonderful time together. They played dress up, acted out Pokemon characters, played outside with a slip n' slide, water guns, soccer and a sand box, picked peaches, and chased chickens (sorry chickens). My sister also had a personal inflatable jump house so we used that nearly every day.

The other adults tended to the new house -- patching, sanding, painting walls and crown molding and adding ship-lap to the ceiling. My dad and Chris also spent a lot of time working on the back yard. The last day together we got the moving truck to move the large furniture pieces and last of the boxes over to the new house. We didn't get to really help them settle in, but they did get a couple big projects done to make their house feel more like their own.

Most days were hot; the temp ranged from 96-104 while we were there. That made us limit our outside time quite a bit, but the evenings were amazing. After dinner we headed outside with the kids for ball play. My niece and I had a great time being silly with a giant exercise ball. 

One of the highlights was getting to meet my newest nephew, Grayson. He was just shy of 8 months old when I got to hold him for the first time. He is such a happy little boy but somehow still capable of giving my sister grief with sleeping and eating. I attempted to give my sister some help in this area and rocked him to sleep . . . but I couldn't get him to stay asleep unless I held him, so I did. I held this little man for nearly an hour and cherished every minute of it. 

The week went by fast and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. I was very hesitant about this trip before we left because of Covid-19 and all the risks that it posed in traveling and being in the same house with my entire family. But the week together was a blessing. After 4 months of not being with any people, spending 7 days with my people was amazing. 

There were hugs, and closeness and masks were only worn when we were out in public places. It was so freeing. My boys hadn't played with anyone in close proximity since shelter in place began (other than each other, of course) and you could just see how much they needed this time with cousins. How much they explored, played and were just being together was so sweet. A burden lifted for a time.

The boys did a great job on the road too. It was a 12 hour drive and thankfully we hit very little traffic and our stops were brief that we made it there and back with relative ease. The boys loved watching a few TV shows (Octonauts) and movies (Lego Movie, Zootopia, and Toy Story 4) on the drive and did well with the pile of activity books I brought along too. Yes, they asked a hundred times if were close and complained a little when they couldn't get comfortable to nap; but overall, they did well. 

Our summer plans were nothing like we originally planned, but I am so grateful we had the opportunity to visit my family and help my sister. Here's hoping none of us get sick...