Utah

So we were really busy in the month of July.  First I went to NYC with Mal, then 4 days later Glenn and I left for our Cruise.  We got home on Saturday and on Tuesday the boys and I flew to Utah for a week.  Glenn had to go to Montana for a work field trip so we figured it was the perfect time for the rest of us to visit Utah this summer.  We hadn't met my sweet new nephew Hayze yet and we just had to make that happen before he got any older!

The morning we arrived, Grandpa asked Tate if he would like to go to work with him.  Just for an hour or so.  It was every little boy's dream.  Grandpa works in one of these:

Tate spent about an hour driving the dump truck with grandpa, pushing the button to dump the dump truck, then driving back and riding in the tractor while they loaded the dump truck again.  He was so excited and it was so nice of Grandpa to share that with him.  What fun for a little boy...or a grown one!

Aub and her littles, Auntie Kenz, and the boys and I went up to the Children's museum at Discovery Gateway one morning.  It's a partner with our Science museum in Denver so we got a few tickets for free, but the nice man at the desk let us all get in for free.  It was awesome to be able to play as long as we wanted and then head home when kiddos were worn out because we didn't have to worry about getting our money's worth.  All the kids had a great time, including Kenzie.  Ha!
Kenzie was a huge help.  Aub and I have 5 kids between us now and they are all little and busy and hard to track down in a crowd.  It was nice to have another set of responsible hands to help us keep track of them.

Mya and Tate with their silly "smile for the camera" faces in the construction zone.

Tate and Finny in the water area with their water smocks.

It is impossible to get a picture in a crowded museum with just the people I want in the picture.  There's always someone's leg, bum, arm, or whole body in the background or sideground in this case.

The bottom floor of the museum was so cool.  It was like a huge play city with a construction zone, little play house (Finny's favorite was the vacuum), barn, and grocery store.  Little Sadie was right at home in the little dog house.  Sometimes Miss Sadie is a puppy.  A very sweet, petite little puppy.

This might be my favorite picture from the trip.  Tate was dying every day waiting for his cousins to come over and play.  He could not get enough of them and they all got along so well and even let Finny follow them around most of the time.  It makes my soul smile to see these little kiddos who I love so much all get along so well.  It bodes well for many fun family adventures in the future.

Little Finny has a soft spot for babies.

Or maybe just baby Hayze.  Seeing Baby Hayze could always cheer him up when he was grouchy.  We'd say, "Finny, do you wanna see the Baby?"  And he'd stop crying, grunt "uh-huh" and come running.  He loved to point out Hayze's nose, Finn's favorite body part right now, and just poke at him, smile at him, and try to hug him.  The hugs had to be closely monitored obviously.  Finn could crush Baby Hayze.  Little Hayze is such a doll.  I'm so glad we got home this summer to meet him.  He is so sweet and happy.  He smiles so easily and rarely cries at all and put up with all 4 bigger kids wanting to see him and snuggle him really well.  Oh I miss that little guy.

We went swimming 3 or 4 times.  Here are Mya and Tate all bundled up trying to get dry and warm after a swim.

Sometimes we let Finn wander around in his swim diaper because he's just so stinkin' cute wearing almost nothing.

And I think he's happier the less he's wearing too.

Finny loves Grampa.  He had a bit of trouble warming up to Gramps at Christmas, but this time, he sure seemed to like being around him.  Grampa and Uncle Cody seem to brighten his life when they walk into the room.

It was a pretty relaxing week.  The kids played downstairs and on the tramp for hours and hours.  It was pretty funny watching Finny's little solid body try to get any air on the tramp.  Mom, Aub and I tackled an organization project.  Tate and I visited Kenzie at her work a couple of times.  She works at an ice cream place and always gave Tate tons of gummy bears so, naturally, he was in heaven.  Aub, Mom, and I got out for a girls night to dinner and a movie while Cody watched all 5 kiddos.  Thanks again for that Cody.  It was so delightful.  I really like living in Denver, but I do miss my Momma and Aubry and Kenzie.  They are awesome and I love being around them when I get to go home.  Wish we could have ladies nights once a month.
Thanks for a wonderful week, fam.  We miss ya so much already!