Since the 4t of July just isn't fun in Arizona, and since flying anywhere was out of the question, we decided to take a drive to Utah, with a pit stop in Las Vegas.
First stop, The Venetian. We'd always wanted to stay there but never did. It met all of our expectations. And I loved that it wasn't too busy. It was nice to be able to walk around without bumping into people. Plus, because everyone had to wear masks, no one could smoke and we could actually breathe while walking through the casino.
We had a late breakfast following by a walk through the hotel. We rode the gondolas (one for the boys and one for the girls) while getting serenated by beautiful singers. The next day, we got a breakfast to go and continued driving.
We got to Lily's in the early afternoon. Charlie had a baseball game, so we went to the fields to watch him. Other than that, the kids played with the chickens, and we just kind of hung out and caught up with one another.
Sidney is still on a mission in Oklahoma City and really enjoyed doing the Lord's work. Ellie is going to be a Senior this next school year. Spencer grew at least 6 inches since we last saw him. Ashlyn is still really into taking care of the animals and doing crafty things. And Charlie is big into sports, playing and watching. Lily and Marcus have stayed busy with the stores and the pandemic has actually helped the business because people stuck at home with nothing to do want to play music. Good for them!
The next day, we went out on a hike to Bridal Veil Falls. William and I use to do that hike regularly. It was fun to now do it with the kids. Lily, Ashlyn and Charlie joined us, too. On the way back, we stopped by Squaw Peak to see the best view of the Valley. From up there we could see all the way from Spanish Fork to American Fork. Then that afternoon, we took the kayaks to Tibble Fork Reservoir. (I don't know what their obsession with forks is all about!) It was so fun and yet relaxing! I could see myself doing this regularly, right there or back home. We met up with Bill and Ruby there, and Alexis was really excited to see them.
The following day we loaded up Lily's SUV and headed up to the cabin. Bill and Ruby met up with us again, and so did Dave, Carissa, and their kids. After we got everything all set up, we took the ATV around. Then we all had dinner and roasted marshmallows around the fire.
Two really funny things happened that day. The first one was back at the house when Taylor was using the bathroom. We were all sharing one bathroom, so I was in the bathroom, waiting for Taylor to pee so that I could get dressed, when he sneezed, mid-stream, and pee went shooting right in front of him. It was funny and gross all at the same time. And it made me wonder how often this happens at home, because I can guarantee that he doesn't clean the pee off the wall. The second funny thing was when we were talking about how cool it was that the oldest person in the family (Ruby) and the youngest (Alexis) shared the same birthday. Carissa then mentioned that Ruby didn't even know when her birthday really was. I think all of ours jaws dropped on the ground. So, she was born at home, in Taiwan, and being the 11th child, her father took his time declaring her birth to the authorities, and by the time he did, it was a little vague and blurry to him. WHAT?!?!
On the 4th, the kids did some shooting (with bbs) and took the ATVs out. Then something really crazy happened. Meili had taken Ashlyn and Kendall out on the ATV. Before they left, I asked Kendall to put her seatbelt on, but the girls all insisted that they were going to go slow. About 20 minutes after they left, I felt prompted to say a quiet prayer to myself, asking for Heavenly Father to protect them. Then another 20 minutes later, they came back and said they'd rolled the ATV. They said they hit a hill and the ATV was going straight up, but because they didn't have enough speed, it fell on its side and then on its upside. Thankfully, when the ATV was straight up, the girls could tell that they weren't going to make it and they bounced off. If they'd been buckled in, they would have been trapped under the ATV. I'm so glad I followed the prompting, and I'm so relieved that the girls were okay.
We then drove the ATVs to Dave and Carissa's lot. Their lot has everything you could imagine. It's like glamping for them because they really don't ever need to bring anything with them other than food and some clothes. The kids went down the zip line a million times while the adults chatted (mostly about Sidney and her boyfriend - haha).
That afternoon, we drove back to Lily's house to get cleaned up then headed an hour north to Dave and Carissa's. They had their house custom-built about 3 years ago and it is AMAZING! It's a Farm-style type of house, very clean, unique, stylish, and HUGE. Carissa put an offer on the lot because it had a barn right next to it. Now they use the barn to host events, like parties for their dental practice. Carissa is even considering renting it out for wedding receptions. It's really beautiful in there and I'm sure she could rent it out very easily.
Anyway, we had a barbecue at the house, then we got into the pool for a little while. The water felt amazing! Then once it got dark, we took our 50 lbs of fireworks and took them to the park. We waited a little while because some people were already shooting amazing fireworks, then once they ran out we started shooting ours. These were like, professional fireworks, aerials, the big guys, and they were magical. I don't ever want to do the 4th of July anywhere else. Utah knows how to do the 4th like no one else.
We didn't do a ton the next morning. The kids played computer games in the game room, which has 8 computers, 2 televisions, and a movie screen. That afternoon, we went to Temple Square with Bill and Ruby. The Salt Lake Temple is undergoing renovations, but Temple Square is still open to the public. We walked around for a little while, then we drove up to The Capitol. We did the whole "Rocky" walk up the stairs, which was really funny.
The next day was super chill. We hung out at the house most of the day. The kids continued to play computer games most of the day. Then we finally got them unglued long enough to take them to Dave's dental practice. While we were there, Dave helped Logan to pull out a tooth, and not just any tooth, Taylor's tooth! Taylor had a tooth growing on top of another. The bottom one had been loose for a while, but it wasn't coming out, and Dave told us it wasn't going to unless he pulled it out, so he did. Tyler works at the office, too, so he gave Kendall an x-ray. Of course she gave him a really hard time, because that's what Kendall does. I guess he better get used to hard patients- haha.
The following day, we left Utah and drove to the Wynn Encore hotel in Las Vegas. It was a really nice hotel, too. We spent the rest of the day walking around the hotel, exploring, and eating. We also watched a short water show, which actually wasn't as cool as I expected. It was okay, though.
After a super nice breakfast, we drove home. And a truck or something dropped a rock on my windshield. It scared the crap out of me. And that thing spread across my windshield super quickly.
We had a great time in Utah! I lucked out with William and his family. I couldn't have wished for a better family. They're all awesome and I get along great with each and every single one of them.
Plus all the cousins play really well together. It's fun to watch them interact with one another, like they're all siblings.
