Why don't you just move here?

That is the question my nephews ask me every time we go to Utah, which is a lot (since April of this year Kiara and I have gone every other month!). We went again for Thanksgiving and like always, had a fabulous time. Even though I have become a big wuss about the cold, it was worth freezing for a week to be able to play with everyone.

Ben & I even braved the sub-freezing temps to go with 2 of my brothers and sisters-in-laws to score some deals at the outlets at Midnight on Black Friday. Everyone else said it wasn't worth it but we actually loved going and being able to shop without the kids (everyone left their kids sleeping at my parents). If we're there next year I even think we'll go again.

Other than that crazy adventure we were able to go to the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple with Dar & Heather, watch BYU beat Utah in a very exciting (or so I'm told, I just played with the kids the whole time) and loud game, and take in a dollar movie with TEN kids. We also played a lot of games, ate a whole lot of food, loved being around family and enjoyed Boston's new trick of sleeping through the night! It was great!

Here are some pics from our fun, cousin-filled trip. Man I love those kids!

Kiara, Grant and Macy--3 of the 5 who were born within 10 months of each other.

Thomas and McKay

Cassidy, Whitney and Lindsey--my 3 princesses

Cassidy and Boston. The kids all loved him and kept waiting for their turn to feed him. He got very spoiled!

Thomas and Tyler

My big tough guys: McKay, Brox and Stockton. Seriously can't get enough of these boys!

Grant, Lindsey and Kiara loving their dance party. Like the goggles?

Boston with Aunt Laura. I was so excited to finally get a picture of her because she's usually very elusive once the camera comes out!

Woody was my favorite stuffed animal when I was young and Kiara has now taken quite a liking to him as well.

 Thomas (3 years old) took this picture of Emma and me. I was quite impressed!

Macy and Kiara are BFFs when they get together. Kiara is 6 months older, just enough to act like Macy's big sister.

Andrei

Niko is only 6 months older than Boston but seemed huge! I definitely don't want Boston to seem so old in just 6 months!

My 2 favorite guys

Kiara seriously goes through withdrawl when we have to leave Grandma Buttercup & Papa (she started calling them those names all on her own). They are the best grandparents anyone could imagine and my kids feel so loved by them. They are definitely high on our list of blessings!

A few more people who top my list: Allison, Audrey & Tiff threw me a fun shower while we were there. Next up will be Tiff's baby shower and Audrey's bridal shower! Yay!

Ben's brother and his wife drove up from Provo to spend the day with us. Kiara was very excited to see "Uncle Ike and his April"

I love seeing these two together.

Ben's grandma is almost 82 years old but still as active as ever! She used to be a professional clown and says that has something to do with it :)

Like all good things, our visit had to come to an end but luckily Christmas is only 16 days away! Bring it on!

Lake Tahoe

July was one of the busiest months we've ever seen but it was full of so much fun that I want to make sure I document it all. One of the biggest highlights of the month was the time we spent in Lake Tahoe with our best friends.

Ben & I had never been there before but had heard a lot of good about it. Even with all of the build-up Tahoe was still way more beautiful and perfect than we ever imagined! It was a perfect 2 1/2 hour drive with some of the most gorgeous scenery I've ever seen. The town was quiet and clean and relaxed and the company couldn't get much better!





Kiara loved having Jonah & Caitlyn around 24-7 and for the most part they got along really well. They are really becoming like cousins to her and I love watching their bonds grow. Kiara also loved having her surrogate aunts and uncles doting on her for 4 days. Every time Tiff walked in the room Kiara asked if she could give her (and her baby--yay!) a hug and whenever she noticed "Auntie Audj" wasn't around she got very nervous and had to know where she was. Kiara & Audrey have a very special bond and I'm pretty sure Audj could take my place any day and Kiara would be fine with it!

My favorite part about our little getaway was having Ben around the whole time and being together as a family. That's a rare treat during baseball season and we enjoyed every minute of it!


I also enjoyed having his help on the paddle boat, as it turns out I am extremely out of shape and pretty much useless on such an activity!

I think we all decided that we need to make this an annual trip and I'm already ready for it!
Let's get planning!