Vacation?

Jon and I have always loved to travel. Shortly after we were married, I got a job as a flight attendant. We used our free flight benefits almost on a weekly basis. It was so much fun traveling from one coast to the other, seeing the country together. Since we have had children, however, our desire to travel has changed...so has our definition of "vacation." We have now modified this definition from "vacation" to "trip". Last week was no exception.

Every year, Jon has 3 weeks of paid "vacation" and since it doesn't roll over from year to year, we have been scrambling to find places we can go to use up these days. We decided that because my cousin was getting married in Salt Lake City, Utah last weekend, that we would travel up early and do some fun Utah things with the kids. I spent a couple weeks making plans. I got a hotel room and researched fun family activities that we could do. I felt pretty prepared for this little getaway. We decided to leave early in the morning last Thursday.

We loaded everyone in the car and made the 6+ hour drive (typing that makes me realize that that is where everything went wrong!). We drove to our hotel...which, by the way, I reserved off of Priceline. I love Priceline...well, used to love Priceline. As we were driving to find it, I even mentioned to Jon that I was so proud of myself for the deal that I got on our room. Jon would soon make me eat my words. The hotel was the worst place I have ever stayed in my life. Upon entrance, we both noticed that it smelled like a retirement home combined with mash potatoes. FYI...that is not a good combo. I tried to stay optimistic. Upon opening the door to our room, we were surprised by the repairman watching television in our room, making repairs. We kicked him out and changed our clothes. I was determined to make this trip fun. We loaded in the car and headed for Hogle Zoo.

Beckham was so excited to visit the zoo!Chloé and the "ghost" alligator

When Chloé saw the gorilla, she said, "Daddy, he has a bum like me!"

So excited to be at the zoo!

We got there about 1 1/2 hours before it closed and so we dashed to the animals we thought the kids would like. We saw the elephants, a white alligator, monkeys, zebras and giraffes. They loved seeing all of them. We met up with some friends for dinner and then hung out with them for the night. We headed back to the hotel and went to sleep. Chloé slept on a pile of blankets on the floor but by the middle of the night, she (along with Beckham) were snuggled in between us. Chloé couldn't seem to get settled and started to say "I have a stomuk ake." Before we could get her to the bathroom, she threw up all over the bed...sheets...pillows...us. We threw everybody into the shower and set up new sleeping arrangements. Jon slept with Chloé on the floor and I stayed in bed with Beckham. The next morning, it just kept coming. She couldn't keep anything down. It was so sad to see her so sad. Lucky for me, she's a daddy's girl and only wanted Jon to clean her up.

We waited in our hotel room until Chloé was feeling better and then headed out to find a park so that the kids could play. We picked up lunch and hung out at a park. Later that night, we went to a rehearsal dinner for my cousin. It was fun to see my dad's side of the family.
Chloé playing in a pond at the park. We later found out from our friend that lives in the area that people aren't supposed to get into the water in this pond because there was a big disease breakout last year because of how dirty it was. Yummy.

We woke up early Saturday morning and went to the sealing at the Salt Lake City Temple. It was such a sweet experience. Now that I am a mom, I have become more emotional and sensitive. I just kept looking at my aunt as she held my cousin's hand and hugged him. One day, I will be that mom. It's happy but hard. Throughout the day, Chloé kept telling me that she wanted to get married. She's 2. Let's hope its not for a while. We ate at my uncle's newly renovated restaurant and took naps. We attended the ring ceremony and reception later that night.

Afton and Terry Brown

My cousin, Terry, and his sweet mom, Valaine

My Dad and his family: Cindy, Dad, Grandpa Brown and Robert

My Grandpa Brown always tells us that we "come from good stock"...I think he is right...

Terry and his sisters, Carissa and Kira

Their new sister!

Terry and his dad, Robert

My "Happy" Family

He made me take this of him (he is worth taking a picture of!)

I had to ask his permission to take this picture WITH him. Lucky me!

Beckham LOVES food! The reception was the perfect place for him!



Sunday morning we attended my cousin's mission homecoming. Conner served a 2-year mission for our church in South Africa. It was amazing to hear him speak about the people and the work. We were also able to meet my other cousin's new baby girl, Jacey. So beautiful...no, I am not getting baby fever! We made it home Sunday night. And although we wouldn't consider it a "vacation" and we didn't end up doing anything on my to-do list, it was still a fun trip!