Summer Vacation, Part 4

Ella...Marcella, Marcie, Marcee, Mark, my baby sister! It was finally time to hang out with her and we did so over our last couple of days of vacation. (Yes, that means that this is the LAST vacation post. Ha.)

Let me just say up front that I don't know why in the world Ella and I didn't get a photo together. We totally should have asked her husband Matt to use his mad photography skillz on us. His photo editing skillz are just as mad, so I'm sure he could have fixed me up "real nice." Darn!



Our families spent a Saturday at the Salt Lake City Zoo and my brother (Nathan...Nathaniel, Nutmeg, Nate) and his little princess Paris came too! It was a bit hot and we ran out of steam quickly, but it was fun to watch the children see the animals and interact with each other. Animals in cages weren't the only animals we admired. It was fun to see all the different travel buddies on the backs of otherwise wondering two-year-olds. (The travel buddy turned out to be a lifesaver for us in many places- the airport, the baseball, stadium, the zoo, etc.)






Anyway, the zoo was cool and, as expected, the non-breathing, brightly painted, vertically bobbing animals were the most popular.





We all met again later at the Texas Roadhouse that evening for some peanuts and steaks. The place was packed! Since they couldn't' accommodate us with one big long table, we decided to put all the little cousins at one table and adults and babies at the other. (Poor waiter! Ha.)



On Sunday, we attended church with Ella and then went out to Provo Canyon for a picnic! Wow, that place was pretty packed too! We managed a mini family photo session and were able to get a few shots without picnicking strangers in the background.


(for more of Matt, Ella, Jane and Jack go HERE.)



It was perfect weather during our time at the canyon and it was lovely there. Dave said this was a highlight for him. He just wished he had been a bachelor and could have gone off exploring on his own for a couple of hours. But alas, family called and we stuck together and finished the evening talking about current headlines in the news at Ella and Matt's place.



Before we flew back to Kansas City, we were able to visit little TJ one more time. This time he had many less wires connected to him as he had been making great progress. We also visited my dear friend Sis. Barber whom I met during my mission. Her husband, Pres. Barber, passed away a few years ago, but their eternal love and Sis. Barber's positive outlook are inspiring to me. The kids remembered feeding the ducks last time we visited and were able to do so again in Sis. Barber's backyard.



We returned to my brother Andy's house were we spent one night and then were homeward bound the next morning... well half of us were homeward bound. Olivia, Paul, and Faith made a surprise extended stay at Andy and Sara's. I'm not surprised that Sara offered to keep them but I am kind of surprised that I agreed to leave them. Not because I didn't think they would have a blast and be well cared for-- I'm just a bit hesitant to cut those apron strings. So more cousin time ensued with lots of trips to the swimming pool and probably a few fairly sleepless nights.





And that is it- the Summer Vacation of 2010. Now back to my random and sporadic blogging schedule...