Jeff and I went on a trip to visit his family from Sept 6-14. The break from work and the daily grind was very much appreciated!
We decided to split up our trip and leave on Thursday after work. We got all packed up and made it out the door in time to beat traffic all the way up the 15. We made it to Mesquite around 11pm and just collapsed in bed. The next morning, we got up around 5:30 and got on the road as soon as we were ready, which put us in Salt Lake just around lunch time. We went over to Ben's house in Sandy and ate lunch at Cafe Rio (a delicious Utah favorite). Then it was time for Ben to go to work and us to head back on the road. We finally made it up to Logan that afternoon. I was so tired for the whole day, I felt like a walking zombie and don't really remember what we did that day! haha!
In fact, the whole trip and the time frame of everything is a little fuzzy still in my mind. One night we celebrated Anna and Logan's birthdays. Sara made a wrestling cake out of pipe cleaner and tootsie rolls and little wrestling guys. While we went shopping for materials to decorate with, Jeff worked on his car with his dad (see, there is evidence in his dirty hands):
Another day (Monday I think???) We went to the Brigham City Temple open house. It was so awesome to get to tour an LDS temple as an adult. I remember going with my mom and grandma to the San Diego Temple open house when I was in second grade. Unfortunately, I don't remember much about it, except that I had to wear booties and stand in line. There is a picture of me from that day and I'm standing in front of the temple, wearing a white turtleneck and a st. patrick's day shirt. Other than that, I have nothing. So lets just say that this time, I had a much greater appreciation of going on a tour of the temple.
It was a beautiful temple, both inside and out. The details were very classy and not over the top or gaudy. The furnishings were beautiful and the place just looked immaculate. Even though the temple isn't dedicated yet, I still had very strong feelings about the church while I was in there and felt the spirit with me through the entire tour. I don't know if it was the spirit, my surging hormones, or a little bit of both, but I definitely started to tear up a couple times, especially after we went into the celestial room and into the sealing rooms.
After the tour, we got a little cookie and a bottle of water and we all decided to head across the street to the tabernacle. Not much to see inside there, as there was a meeting going on, but it did give us a great shot of the temple.
Katie and Jack hanging out front of the tabernacle
Jeff, Katie and Brooke outside of the tabernacle
Me and Jeff
Ben and Brooke
Dave and Carole
Brooke, Ben, Jack, Dave, Katie, me and Jeff
Sammy, Anna, Jeffrey, Jennie and Josie
Sarah and Craig were also with us, but they didn't join us at the tabernacle. It would have been great to have a shot with everyone in it! That night we had a fiesta with guacamole, jicama, spicy carrots, carne asada and fajitas. It was a lot of fun! After dinner, a few of us played games like cranium and apples to apples. Jeff, Carole and I won cranium (probably because it is the only game that we have at our house besides Glee Karaoke and The Settlers of Cattan)!
Another day, (the next day perhaps?) Brooke, Katie and I went hiking in Logan Canyon with baby Jack.
All ready to go up the mountain!!
Poor little Jack got some kind of bug bite on his right ear the night/day before our hike, so it was swollen. We called it a "dopey ear" and you can really see it in this picture. He is so cute!
Little stud Jack Tippets
The leaves were beginning to change colors in the canyon and it was so beautiful! Here is a close up shot of some.
We finally made it to the end of the hike: The Wind Caves. Pretty cool! So beautiful up there!
Another day, Katie, her sisters-in-law and I went to the parade of homes. This is where builders showcase their best work and have interior decorators come in and decorate the homes. It was a lot of fun! Almost like going and looking at models homes for the afternoon.
I loved this Kitchen. First house we went to, very modern.
Had to get a picture of Carole's refrigerator (or the style she hopes to soon get!)
Another favorite house. These two pictures are just of one big great room with a living room, kitchen and dining room. The large windows had an amazing view of cache valley.
Here are some videos of our favorite home. So cool!
And the thing that kills me about the Parade of Homes, is that the most expensive house was a little over 400K. That is so amazing to me. The house we live in right now in San Diego would probably cost that much...
Now, what was jeff doing while I was parading homes and hiking mountains? ...Golfing :-)
He had a fun filled trip of working on cars and golfing, which is just perfect for him!
It was really sad to leave and come home, but we at least had two days off when we got home. Dave and Carole gave us a rocking chair, and Jennie helped me stock up on beauty supplies, so our car was extra full on the way back. We also brought some fresh apples from the Hibshman's back yard. They are pretty delicious too!
All in all it was a great trip, and I had so many conversations with my sisters-in-law and had such great bonding time. I sometimes feel like the best parts of the trip can't be shown in pictures or describe, they come more in just sharing conversation with those you love!
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