Utahhhhh - Part Tooele



The morning after Lucy's dance recital, we got up early, threw all our bags in the car and headed off to the airport. Rubes wasn't feeling well, poor thing. Because we were up at 6am I thought for sure the girls would sleep on the plane. Ha! Silly me. One shouldn't assume anything silly like that. Our first flight to Denver went by pretty quickly, no problems or meltdowns. But then that 1 hour flight from Denver to SLC felt like an eternity. Poor Ruby was coughing and so tired and just when she would fall asleep on me she would cough and it would wake her up and she would be super cranky and not quite awake. She was inconsolable. I didn't know what to do for her. I felt bad for her, and totally felt bad for everyone around us. Luckily people were nice, especially the ones sitting right next to us. The flight attendant hooked Ruby up with some apple juice and that made her happy and she was able to fall asleep for the rest of the flight (20 minutes). This is one of those moments as a parent that was just hard. But we made it to Utah! We were all physically and emotionally tired when we got there and it was only noon Utah time.

The girls were reunited with their favorite pup, Zeke

We relaxed during the day and then went out to Blue Iguana for dinner. It's become quite a tradition with us and the Banburys. Anytime we go out there to visit we always have to go to Blue Iguana. Mmm, so good!! It did not disappoint. The east and Midwest just don't do Mexican like Utah does it.

Lucy found Grandpa Chuckles awesome glasses on the ride out!

Grandma Robbie and Grandpa Chuckles have chickens!! The girls had themselves a time with "the girls". Lucy loved to collect the eggs every day and Ruby loved to feed them.

We spent Father's Day there, Rubes and I weren't feeling very well so we went to sacrament meeting and then went home. It was a nice day filled with lots of really good food. No surprise there, Robin always makes the yummiest food.
On Monday we went to the Tracy Aviary. It was so much cooler than I remember it. Of course that was like 20 years ago! Ha!

The girls loved feeding the ducks

There was plenty of playing and goofing off by this one

Flamingos! We totally matched.

Some pretty weird looking birds we found...

 

Then we walked over to Liberty Park and the girls rode a bunch of their old school carny rides.

Lucy rode the swings! She loved it, she was flying pretty fast!

Me and Lucy rode the Ferris Wheel

This park is genius. Basically a bunch of running water to play in. They made it look like all the rivers in the valley.

They both were soaked by the end but man they were in heaven.

I snapped this of Grandpa reading to the ladies. So cute!

And here are a bunch more pictures I snapped of us hanging out at the Banbury Casa.

Ruby loved following Zeke around and giving him pats and hugs. These girls really need a dog. Someday...:)

I miss these sunsets so much!! I never really get to see them because it's so flat here and there are trees everywhere. I miss the openness of Utah. Just beautiful!

More of the Rubes and her chicken friends

She was so tickled when they would eat out of her hand.

We snapped a few pictures before we left for the Brenchley Reunion at Zions NP.

You can get a taste of how much this girl loves Zeke through these pictures. We sure love that dog too. He is so sweet. He's 15 years old!

A few other things we did but I didn't take any pictures of was hang out with Trey's buddies. We went and visited Adam and Lindsey one night and Joe and Karl came over and visited us at the Banburys. The next day we all met up and got Café Rio and hung out at Joe's and let all the girls play. Yep, we all have little girls!
We had a blast with Grandma Robbie and Grandpa Chuckles and their animals! It was sad to say goodbye but we knew we would see them in a month so it wasn't too sad. :)

Lucy's first dance recital

Lucy had her first dance recital on June 14, the night before we left for Utah.

She thought it was sooo fun to wear big girl make up. It was weird for me as a mom to see her with make up on. She looked so old!! Look how adorable she looked in her outfit.

A little garden photoshoot before we headed to the performance...

They didn't allow kids under 3 to come so we left Ruby with the Hodges. It turned into a fun little date for Trey and I. Lucy did a great job!! She was so cute and nervous before and then after she was all smiles and said she wanted to do that 1,000 times! Gosh I sure love that little lady.
We took a video of her dance but it won't let me post it on here, it must be too big of a file. It was adorable, it was to the song "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast.

Here she is after the show...

 "Hold me closer tiny dancer!!!"

Lucy's first soccer experience

Let me tell you about Lucy's first experience with soccer. It started off iffy but by the 2nd to last practice she was all about it.

She was all excited about playing. We even went to Dick's Sporting Goods and got her the soccer package which included a ball, shin guards, cleats, and socks. She was all set! We even found her some silky pink soccer shorts from Goodwill. Everything was awesome...and then came time to take her to her first practice. Trey was working so I took her and Ruby with me. It was a cold and drizzly day but they still went on with practice. Lucy just hugged my hip the whole time, would barely touch the ball or look at her coach. Poor thing gets so anxious around new people and situations. It was frustrating as a mom because I know she could do all the stuff they were practicing, she was just choosing not to participate. So after that day I talked to her about it and she said she would do better next week.

The next week rolled around and it was more of the same. And the week after that too. Ugh. Trey even tried the next week and he came home and said "That was the most frustrating thing ever!" We asked her if she even wanted to go the week after and she was unsure. Then Trey had the idea of asking our friend to come pick her up and take her. She liked that idea. So Melissa came over and picked Lucy up and an hour later brought her back. I asked Melissa how it went and she started raving, "Lucy is a natural! She was running for the ball and she even scored a goal!!" Whaaaaat?? That little stinker was totally holding out on us. For some reason when Trey or I were there, she got all shy. She's been like that for a lot of things though. It works so much better if we just drop her off and say "Have fun!" So I talked to her after and she was all smiles and said she LOVED soccer. Ha ha ha! I knew she would, she just had to give it a chance. I'm so glad she did! Although I'm quite bummed that I wasn't even there to see her first goal!

The next week, which was the last week, she wanted us to drop her off and leave. So we pretended like we did but then hung back in the car and in the shade so she couldn't really see us. Trey got a bunch of pics of her playing, it made me so happy to watch her try!

 

Some action shots...

Here is her cute little team, the Blue Dolphins. Her coach was so great.

I'm so glad we ended on a high note. Hopefully next year she'll be able to pick up where she left off with no fear.

Lucy is 5!!

We sure love this girl to pieces. I still can't believe she is 5!!!

We were lucky to have Hilary and Dennen pass through on Lucy's birthday and join in on the celebration. She had a friend party a few days later so we didn't do anything crazy. The day was fun though, we went to Little Caesars and got a pizza and went to this awesome park by our house called Preston's Hope Playground. We ate our pizza at the park and then played for hours. Then Hilary and Dennen showed up and we went out to dinner at one of Lucy's favorite restaurants, Old Carolina. They have amazing bbq there. After we made a stop at Giant Eagle for some donuts, also one of Lucy's favorite things, and brought them home to make a donut cake so she could blow her five candles out. Easiest cake ever and everyone was happy!

She got a new bike! She loves how fast she can go on it. Hilary and Dennen were so cute, they brought her a bunch of fun little presents to open (including that wild headband she's sporting) and that awesome tye dye birthday balloon. Those Fraziers are kind of the best. How spesh was it that Lucy's godparents were there on her birthday. :)

I think she was happy with her day.

And then a few days later came the Hamster party. Yup, no type error there, she requested a Hamster party with all of her friends from preschool and neighbors. We had it at her favorite park, Horseshoe Park. It wasn't anything fancy (I just didn't have the energy, it was the busiest week ever!!) but the kids seemed like they were having a good time. I love how easy to please kids are.

This girl was pretty excited about the Ham Ham cakes.

 Being sung to...

 And we have success! Blew out all the candles her first try. Woohoo!!



Then she opened her presents.

The kids played and the adults chatted. It turned out to be a perfect day. The kids also made their own hamsters out of pom poms and I painted the kids faces like hamsters or whatever they wanted. Lucy thought it was "the best party ever!" Yay! I'm glad she loved it. And it was a fun surprise to have Amber Wood and her kids out visiting so they could come to the party too. It's so fun seeing old friends!
Then later after we cleaned up and went home, our neighbors had a grand idea to go to Chagrin Falls for the evening. We ate dinner and then caravanned up. They took us on the scenic route, which was gorgeous!! It's been raining a lot here so everything is so so green. It was just beautiful.
We went down by the falls and snapped some pics of the kids. The girls just love their BFF Caleb.

We walked along the river and visited the scene of the crime where my mom fell in the river. So sad but so funny. It wouldn't be so funny if she got hurt but luckily she had some guardian angels looking out for her and she was fine, just a little embarrassed. :)
We found the fun park and let the kids play and just chatted and enjoyed the evening. It was perfect.

This girl was crazypants. It was such a fun time. Aaaand we have the coolest neighbors. We love those Hodges.

Grandma Darley

My amazing grandma aka Grandma Darley aka Grandma Great passed away on May 20, 2014. About 6 months before we found out she developed multiple myeloma (cancer of your plasma cells). Her health slowly started declining. My mom would give me weekly updates over the phone as to how Grandma was doing in her final months of life. My mom and her sisters took such great care of Grandma. She was able to stay in her home and my aunt Brenda, who lived next door, came down every morning to check on her and help her. During the last few months they decided to hire a hospice because things were getting worse and Brenda couldn't be there all the time. It sounds like they took such great care of her as well.
What a special lady my grandma is! Here is her obituary that was printed in the Herald Journal.

She was such a warm and caring person. She was always there to greet me with a big hug and a kiss on my cheek, which always left a mark from her lipstick. She loved everyone! She loved being outside and walking. Grandma loved to walk everywhere. She always had so much energy and was so full of life. And so young at heart. She was always up for an adventure and always had a smile on her face. I will always remember this little sticky note she had posted on her bathroom mirror for years and years that read "I intend to be happy". She chose to be happy, and she really was.
She was always so stylish and loved to go shopping! I like to think I inherited my love for shopping from her. My mom tells me it skipped a generation because she doesn't enjoy it very much.:) She loved going to St. George every winter. I loved going down there to visit her and go hiking and shopping with her.
I really love that she was such a big Jazz fan. If there was a Jazz game on, she was watching it. My parents and Aunt Nan and Uncle Scott would take her to Jazz games sometimes and she would get into it. One time the Jazz Bear came over to her, picked her up, and carried her over to an empty chair right next to Larry Miller's son on the front row! Best day of her life! How cute is that!
Grandma loved flowers. She also loved birds. I always think of her as I sit with my girls and watch the birds gather at our bird feeder in the backyard. She always loved gardening and felt happy out in her yard digging in the dirt. I feel the same way.

Grandma loved her mountains. Her and Archie lived in the same house their whole life together!! That is amazing! Trey and I haven't even been married 8 years yet and we've lived in 5 different places already. I have so many sweet memories of family gatherings, Easter egg hunts, Thanksgivings, Christmases, Memorial Days, and Labor Day festivities in that sweet pink little house on the corner.

 

 

 

 

It's strange to say she was my last living grandparent. I no longer have a grandma's house to go visit when I go to Cache Valley and that makes me sad. I always looked forward to our visits. She always made every person who walked through her front door feel special and loved. No judgements whatsoever. She loved when I brought Trey over to meet her for the first time. His hair was long and curly then and she was in love with it! She just gushed and gushed over it and Trey thought it was great. He said she immediately made him feel welcome and accepted, even if he wasn't the most clean cut boy in the world.

One of my favorite things grandma would always say is "We are so blessed." She would say that multiple times at gatherings as she would stop and look at all her kids and grandkids and great-grandkids, her greatest blessings and treasures.

I could go on and go about all this woman's wonderful qualities. What a inspiring example of charity. She loved people and she loved life. You could tell that she knew the Savior by the way she lived her life. And I know the reunion of her and Grandpa Archie was so sweet and special. When I envision that joyous reunion it's hard not to be happy for her that she is free from her old body and earthly cares and reunited with her sweetheart.
I love you Grandma. I miss you. Wellsville will never quite be the same without you. I rejoice in the fact that I know I get to see you and be with you again and you'll be waiting for me with open arms to give me a great big hug and a kiss.