Utah!

We spent a week in Utah while Sam and Savannah attended Especially For Youth (EFY) at BYU. The most common phrase we heard at the end of their week was, "Best week of my life!" They both had the time of their lives and are already saving for next year.

We kept plenty busy while they were gone. Staying with my brother David and his family, they incorporated us right into their family and we had a great week. Little Libby loved Jeff and Jeff alone. She would let him hold her anytime, then tried to pretend the rest of us were invisible. Christopher (Crit for short) completely stole my heart with his big bright eyes and completely innocent trouble making skills. It swept me right back to Sterling and his tornado toddler days: Lots of independence with no concept of how that creates more problems than it solves! Ha! Jeff was able to trick him every single night into falling asleep in his arms. Little Nate has a pretty good grasp of the world and is such a pleasant kid. And Emma is a beautiful girl, very graceful with an independent streak of her own.

Some of the activities we enjoyed (and wish I took more/any pictures of) include:

• Dropping Sam and Savannah off at BYU and exploring campus all afternoon.
• Getting 2 new swim suits - here and here - that I LOVE! (I don't generally have a good relationship with my swimwear.)
• Visiting Kennecott Copper Mine. (Pretty impressive!)
• Karaoke and dress-ups in Dave's new toy room. What a fun room! They thought of everything!
• The Splash park with cousins and meeting my newest niece, Skylar.
• Meeting my blogging friend, Karey, for the first time. She was exactly how I thought she'd be - down to earth and genuine - and we enjoyed some yummy salmon tacos at Cafe Rio. Yum!
• Attending Emma's dance recital.
• Watching a movie on the fence in the backyard.
• Visiting with one of my missionary companions, Larsen, and a family friend, Lloyd, who used to live in our little corner of the world. 
• Visiting with "Sister Couch," a.k.a. Mindy, who served the last 6 months of her mission in our ward 5 years ago and who Sadie adores! She just happens to be my brother Steve's wife's sister. Got that? 
• Helping the kids make candy bar cards for my mom and dad's 45th wedding anniversary.
• A Peterson Family reunion. All my mom's sisters were there and many of my cousins and their families. I haven't seen some of them for over 15 years!
• Skylar's baby blessing. (I didn't take a picture of her in her beautiful dress. Rats!

Cousins at the Splash Park! (Molly, Taylor, Sterling, Sadie, and Kenna)

Kennecott Copper Mine. That is one huge hole in the ground! 

The massive trucks that haul rock in the mine use these 12 foot tires. The trucks easily dwarf a school bus!

A few of our favorite people:

Savannah and Skylar

Tanya

Emma

Nate

Levi and Savannah

HR (Handsome Rob)

Molly

Kenna

Crit (my buddy!)

Libby

Taylor

Before our trip, we didn't know if we'd be up for a visit to see Jeff's parents after 2 weeks on the road. But we're not ready to head home just yet. It's off to Idaho!