Why I love visiting Utah...

I have been pretty lucky while we have lived in Ohio because I have had the chance to go home to Utah about 3 times a year. I love going home to visit, and it is always really hard to come back to Ohio. Here are just a few reasons why I love visiting...

1-THE FOOD!!! Every Sunday my parents have everyone over for dinner and it is one of my favorite times. My dad always goes way overborad on the food, you would think we were feeding the whole neighborhood! We all love it so that is why he does it. We always have a fresh green salad, TONS of fresh fruit (my favorite!), and then alot of random other things for dinner. This time dinner was: lettuce wraps, chicken enchiladas, chili rellenos, and corn on the cob. Then of course there is dessert which is usually cake/pie and ice cream. This time we had banana cream pie and a fresh stawberry pie - I of course had a piece of both! It's hard to fit it all in and we all usually end up sick at the end of the night. Thanks mom and dad for all the food!! I really appreciate all the hard work you put into Sunday dinners! 2 - My Friends! I love getting together with my friends when I come home. I am not very good at keeping in touch with everyone, so it's nice to get together every 6 months or so and catch up. I was able to see a few of my friends from my old job at the Ogden Clinic as well as a few of my best friends from growing up. The picture below is 3 of my closest friends: Lainie, Vanessa, and Candace. I love you girls!
3 - And of course...FAMILY! I am so blessed to have the great family that I have, both my family and my in-laws. Eric and I really appreciate everything that they do for us! It is so fun to bring Abbey home and let everyone just love her to pieces. She gets so much love and attention from everyone and she really enjoys it! Thanks for a great trip to Utah - we love you all!!!

UTAH

Our Utah trip this summer was alot of fun. I'm sure Abbey wouldn't completely agree with that statement, but Eric and I really enjoyed ourselves. The plane trip there was a little rocky because Abbey would not sleep (and it was way past her bedtime!) but we survived, and it was a relief to finally make it there. We spent the first week with Eric's parents and Abbey loved to play with their dog Josie. She picked up on her name really quick and would walk around the house calling for "Sosee." She must have thought the dog followed us because she would even walk around my parents house calling for her. Josie didn't really like Abbey and would snip at her, but Abbey stilled tried to give her loves.

Eric had to be back in Ohio the next week, so Abbey and I went to stay with my parents for a week. Abbey had a pretty rough week. She had a fever and just wasn't herself. I think she was a little overwhelmed with all the new things we were doing, and she missed her daddy (as did I!!!) We had a lot of sleepless nights and days in Utah, but it was well worth the fun!

We went to Classic waterslides with my sister and her two boys and my dad while we were in Utah. Eric and I really like this place, eventhough it is completely ghetto! I wasn't able to go on any of the waterslides because I am prego, but Eric took Abbey a few times and she loved it! The water was freezing cold, so we didn't end up staying very long.

Abbey loved playing with her cousins, Kaden and Dallin. They were really cute with her and kept me updated on everything she was doing. She loved taking their hats and putting them on, the boys thought this was pretty funny.

Grandpa bought a PS2 and Rockband while we were there, and it ended up being a big hit!! I was singing along to one of the songs and Abbey grabbed the microphone from me and started yelling into it. It was so funny! She had us all rolling on the ground laughing.

Popsicalicious!

I made Abbey-size popsicles with some leftover smoothie Eric and I had, and Abbey absolutely loves it!!! I don't even have to feel guilty about giving her more than one a day because it is just fruit, juice, and a little bit of milk. I love when I find new snacks she likes!

That bite might have been a little cold...
Look at that face - I love it!