Here are pictures of more fun things we did in Utah, before Erik and I left on our anniversary trip. It was about a week between the Hawaii trip and our anniversary trip that we spent just hangin' around in Utah.
July 20th. One of the things I like to do when in the Salt Lake area is going to Leatherby's and inviting everyone to come. I love their fries, fry sauce, fried halibut, and of course, their ice cream! This time both Lisa and Eric came. Usually she refuses to come. I always invite my cousin Rachel and her family to come, but they moved to Missouri (boo--one thing I missed was seeing Rachel on this Utah trip). My parents came too. We went to the Draper location rather than our usual Taylorsville location. No matter, the food was still just as good. We all had a fun, yummy time:
Possibly the worst picture ever of Elisa. I'll make sure to print and frame this for her wedding reception.
Lisa, Calvin, and Aiden. Eric out of the shot.
3 cuties enjoying their ice-cream sundae
Ian had the time of his life!
My parents always get Alan's black and tan ice cream sundae
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Ccaptured somewhere in between these dates (I can't see the exact date), Lisa caught Gabe thieving on camera. Sometime after midnight, he crept downstairs, took a toy (I think it was a world's smallest blind box) from her closet (it was meant to be a gift for one of her Sunday school kids), and opened it and kept (more likely lost) the toy. Gabe even lied and said he didn't take the toy, but thanks to these cameras we have proof. I paid Lisa the $5 for the toy, taken from Gabe's spending card.
Proof of sneakery and thievery
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For some reason I have lots of pictures of July 22. So here they all are!
For the last two years, I have taken the kids to Cowabunga bay. I didn't feel like shelling out $80 to fight the crowds for a spot in the dirty water (I thought the Hawaii trip was enough money spent on treating the kids) but I did want to take them swimming, this time I wanted to try the reservoir not too far from Lisa's house. I forgot what the name of the reservoir is, but its tucked in a neighborhood. I wore my swimming suit but I didn't swim. I'm not too big into swimming, unless it's a Hawaiian beach. the kids would have had more fun if they weren't picking on each other. Elisa said Aaliyah kept splashing her. Gabe didn't want to go swimming so he stayed behind.
There were lots of other kids there, just not in this picture.
Darn camera.
Aaliyah stayed on her tube the entire time
Later that day, Bryce came and picked up Gabe. It just so happened that Bryce was driving to St. George that day to bring down a piece from the set the Ariel play, and South Jordan was on his way. Gabe had enough of being at the Blaylocks, and he needed a place to stay while Erik and I were away, so this worked out perfect for everyone. Especially Grandpa, who was spared driving all the way to and from.
Hitching a ride with uncle Bryce.
Just after Gabe left, I dropped Elisa off for another playdate with Isabelle. The girls begged, harrassed, and badgered their way to having slept over at Isabelle's house. Poor Elisa hardly got any sleep and was a grumpus the next day.
BFFs!
Later that day, the kids enjoyed a game of Minecraft in the basement. It kept them busy and (mostly) quiet for hours!
The kids beg to play Minecraft all the time
I'm not sure why I took this picture. Just the girls hanging around enjoying their childhood in the few moments they have to spend it together.
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July 23-25
I had planned on visiting Tootsie and my parents one more time, but when I started to pack, neither Elisa nor Ian wanted to come with, and Lisa whined that I was taking the kids away from having fun, so I said: Well, I'll just go by myself, no problem! So I did. And it was fun and so nice. A vacation within a vacation! I only stayed a few days. I would have stayed longer, but I had to pick up Erik from the SLC airport later Monday evening (the 25th). It was relaxing to just hang around, watch shows, eat, chat, pet kitties, eat some more, and go out to eat, eat cupcakes, get massages from Tootsie's new massage gun, and shop at the NPS store:
July 23
One last picture of my cutie before I left. He had so much fun playing in the backyard and picking up snails and such with the boys.
July 23
This is Doloras. She is mal-formed and stinky, but she is so, so sweet and purry-furry.
July 23
Me, my mom, and Toots went out to PF Changs for dinner. We shared lettuce wraps, the fried green beans, and an entree (honey chicken? Can't recall.). We were stuffed. We tried to go to the NPS store afterwards, but it was closed for Pioneer Day.
July 23
Surprisingly, Alisha's Cupcakes was not closed for Pioneer Day! We found some day-old packs that were half-off. I saved one for Ian, but Elisa wanted a certain one, so I had to buy hers separately at full price. Anyway, they were as usual, delicious. I didn't notice them being day-olds.
July 23
Mark found a fancy massage gun for Tootsie at the NPS store. We spent a good chunk of the day enjoying it!
July 24
Mark smoked some chicken legs for us. They were really good, but some were undercooked. I guess you have to smoke those suckers ALL day long to get them fully cooked.
I left July 25th. First thing that morning (as early as I could get my mom up and ready) we went to the NPS store. I raided the shelved food area. Such cheap food. I got hot sauce for $0.17. They're practically giving away food. I bought bags of chips for the same price. Some household items for cheaper than Walmart. I even found some Bath & Body works wallflowers for $1.50, and I bought a bunch of school supplies for the kids. NPS's clothing section is awful and much of their other stuff isn't a good deal at all, but the foodstuff is definitely worth checking out. After checking out, we went back to Tootsies so I could pack and drop my mom off (of course).
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I got to Lisa's around 3:30 July 25th. I started packing like a crazy person so that we would not be in a rush to pack in the narrow window of time we had between coming home from our trip and leaving for St. George. Lisa offered to take me out to Sushi, just her and I. It was good, but we waited a bit too long for our food I thought. I had a good time. The rest of the evening I spent packing while the kids played and played. I picked up Erik from the airport pretty late, like 10/11 pm.
Lisa, while we waited for our food.
Elisa enjoying a lavender soda on rollerblades while getting wet with the hose.
Lisa set up the slip n slide for the kids. Here is Aaliyah modeling for the camera.
