Utah left us feeling......

EXHAUSTED!

I think these pictures say it all! We had so much fun visiting family and friends, playing with cousins, riding bikes in the sun, throwing snow balls, (yes I did say sun and snow in the same sentence. This is Utah we're talking about) lunch dates, museum, Conference, Spring crafts, jumping on the trampoline at Juju's and Ashleigh's, MTC devotional, sleepovers, Tangled, games, Priesthood session, Just Dance 2 (my favorite Wii game), baths, and more visiting. From one visit to the next, I felt like we were running the whole

time we were there. So worth the time and effort to see everyone we could though.

We were able to fly to Utah on Thursday night. Our flight was scheduled for 9:15 but as we walked away from the check-in desk we got a call informing us that our fight would be delayed 2 hours! Yeah, wish we got that call 10 minutes earlier but we made the best of our time and found ways to entertain the boys. Actually we found a little corner where there were several other couples, all LDS headed to conference, also waiting for their flight.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE being a part of such a wonderful culture where you can immediately trust someone to watch your kids while you run to the restroom? We arrived in Utah at 3 a.m. Poor Juju was there to pick us up to take us home. Hudson opened his eyes to scream hello at Juju but went back to sleep as soon as we got in the car. Both the boys did great on the plane! Wish flying wasn't so darn expensive or we'd make this a habit!

Like I said before our weekend was packed with lots of action. Friday Tim and I split up to visit friends and family. We met back up at 5 for dinner then went out on a date with Tim's BFF, Doug. Saturday was conference! Conference was definitely a highlight. I felt refreshed and determined to make my home a better place. There is so much I want to teach my boys but it starts with me. In between sessions we ran a few errands and of course visited with friends.

Judy and Jonn hosted a wonderful dinner at the church on Sunday to accommodate all of their family and mine. Love and miss those Sunday dinners for sure!

Monday we were able to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at BYU. Beautiful. My question is how do you even begin to paint pictures of Christ? I have always loved his paintings and now want to have one for my home. Tim had to leave Monday night so we made our visit to the museum brief so he could get in more family time. Most of his morning was spent with Tanner at the doctor. Tanner broke his ankle Wednesday night so Tim was his support and translator for him at the appointment.

Tuesday was more visits with friends, which I wish I had more time with. Judy and Jonn serve in a branch presidency at the MTC and invited me along for the devotional that evening. I haven't been back since I was there in training 8 years ago. As we walked through the doors to hear hundreds of missionaries singing hymns I was was hit with overwhelming emotions of gratitude, love, and excitement. Gratitude because I feel I wouldn't have married such a wonderful man, with an amazing family, if I hadn't served a mission. Love for my Savior and His gospel, and Excitement for these worthy young men and women who will embark on an incredible journey to gather Israel. We sat close to the front but I kept turning around because I wanted to look at all of those amazing missionaries! Loved it! Thank you Judy and Jonn for letting me go with you! I topped the night off with a big bowl of Mint cookies and cream ice cream from the BYU creamery along with my siblings! Yum

Wednesday we visited more with the sisters and got ready for our departure. Before we got to the airport we stopped off to see Truett's new home! He has done so much work on it and I was very impressed. I feel like I didn't see Hudson the whole trip! He was so busy with cousins and Juju that we hardly saw each other. I was excited for the plane ride home so he could tell me all of his adventures but he fell asleep before take off. No joke, we sat down in our seat, buckled up, and within 5 minutes he was out. I woke him up about 15 minutes before landing so he could have some apple juice and crackers. (He would have been so crushed to miss out on that.) We discovered that Lex is a huge Mama's boy. He came home with a few good cuts and bumps. He also learned how to climb stairs! As I type all this I feel like it was a dream! We had a lot of fun. I already miss everyone:( Sadly I have just a few pictures of our whole trip. My camera was being weird. Guess it's time for a new one and just in time for my birthday!

Thank you Juju and Papa for letting us crash your home for the weekend and Thanks Ash for tagging along with me everywhere I went. Love you all so much