Utah Vacation Part Deux

And now the moment you've all been waiting for...the second week of our vacation! Woohoooooo

AUGUST 18 - Monday
I think today was one of my favorite days because we got to go to the ZOO! As many of you know, our family is big into animals and we like to cuddle with fuzzy and furry creatures. So much, in fact, that we went through the primate exhibit at least twice and almost got bopped by a low flying owl...actually, Ray's head DID get grazed by one.
We had fun adventures getting up close and personal with a beautiful snow leopard, a barn owl, quite a few birds, and I think we all fell in love with the cuddling meerkats...although the crazy, flying squirrel followed close behind.
I won't post ALL of the pictures up, but I'll try to put out best pictures up on here and I'll make an album on face book or yahoo....unless I can figure out how to make another slide show on here through Picasa. I'm still working on it.
I was especially excited to see the Bayou special exhibit they had with a white alligator that looked so familiar to me. My gut was right...it was one of 18 white alligators left that had been bred at none other than the Audobon Zoo in New Orleans. Now, for those of you that may be scratching your heads as to why this would be important to me...I was born in New Orleans and lived there for 7 years until I moved up to MA with my mom, but I still visited New Orleans at least 2-3 times a year to see my dad and you better believe I grew up going to that zoo. The bayou exhibit was very familiar to me down there and I got just a little choked up when I realized how close I was to my roots while in SLC. Hurricane Katrina ruined the house I grew up in, which was also the house my father lived in. It was a really difficult time for my father, to see most of his life and career, destroyed in one event and in less than a few hours. It was even harder for me to see how it effected him because if you know my father, he doesn't often share his emotions, but mother nature showed him who was boss and he could no longer fight back. So, aaaaaanyway, that's the short story of why it was really cool to see the white alligator.





















The evening was spent with my good friend Liz and her new husband, Jeremy. Liz and I are friends through BYU Singers and you should all look for her in MoTab broadcasts on television! She is beautiful and we loved getting to know Jeremy more. They are a dynamic couple and we even learned how to play "Kill Dr. Lucky," which was a fun strategy game despite the fact that I was trying to end it for about half an hour. At least we had Mr. Darcy to cuddle with and keep us entertained.


AUGUST 19 - Tuesday
We all got our butts handed to us after we climbed up to the ever so beautiful and awesome Timpanogos Caves up the Alpine Loop between Alpine and Provo, UT. We, of course, went up right in the middle of the day; 1.5 miles on a continually steep incline. Jacob kept us entertained with factual notes at 17 stopping points...there was a number 18, but it was just THERE. The picturesque scenes were breathtaking and it definitely took our breath away about every 1/4 miles or so when we had to stop for water and check how far along we were.
We fed the cute little Least Chipmunk, even though we found out at the top that we weren't really supposed too and we made friends with a couple of lizards along our path. I feel that some pictures speak louder than words, so I'm just going to post pictures up about this trip, since I don't feel my words will do justice for how beautiful it really was. Besides, the pain didn't really set in until the next day when we were all hobbling around a bit from our thighs up to our butts.














DINNER time was one of great excitement for me and also for the kids because we got to see my Southern uprooted friends in Herriman, the McNulty's/Hazel's. Shay was my first "governess" as mom calls her and the whole family is my family. I am always at home with them and they make everyone feel welcome from the minute you enter their door. It was so good to see Willie, Jamie, Lynn, Katie, Justin, and of course, Shay. They just fixed up a new house and are all living together again, just like in the good ol' days. Ray and I are still itching to get our hands on a bike license so we can ride together. I love that family so much and they are just full of hugs and making you feel at home. I strive to be like that...although it might freak some New Englanders out to have hugs upon entering and leaving the home.





AUGUST 20 - Wednesday
Laundry day and resting. Until dinner time, I was pretty cranky, and not because I was hungry. We were all REALLY tired from the hike the day before, and against my better judgment, I agreed to go to the Gateway Mall. Now, this place is a haven for those who like to shop (Kristi and Rachel were in heaven), but for someone like me, who feels guilty about spending any money and was too tired to be out in the sun, this was not a good choice for me to be there. Poor Ray was struggling to keep both Jacob and I happy, when we really should have just stayed home and slept. Well, I think we each took turns sleeping through the planetarium show, but we did have fun learning about the stars and our galaxy (which was a nice lead in to star gazing on Friday).
Luckily the evening had a nice upward swing as we ascended to the mountain where the "U" is and had dinner with The Parkinson's (more family friends). Everything from The Hills to Politics were discussed at dinner and it was quite the array of conversations had over pot roast and potatoes. We wended our way into the living room and watched USA win the Olympic Gold for beach volleyball. Cliff was out like a light trying to catch up on his jet lag having just gotten back from Africa for three months. We snuggled with soot, the poodle, and just had a really good time and enjoyed the view of the whole valley lit up at night.

AUGUST 21 - Thursday
LAGOON DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! We picked quite the hot day to go to Lagoon and the kids and Ray had a blast. I have never been a huge fan of amusement parks since I was little and some kid threw up right on front of me after a ride. I think I began convincing myself of constant motion sickness and never went on any rides. In the past few years I have gone to Lagoon a couple of times as dates and was mortified by the guys I was with and dragged on a few rides that I almost had a coronary on. I figured if I could jump out of a plane, then I could go on a ride....well, Rachel tried her hardest to get me on a ride, TWICE, and it didn't work; my anxiety got the better of me...which was something that Ray learned that day.
Rachel and Ray went on most of the rides and Jacob got on a few as well. I think I went on two rides and that was enough for me, even though I really wanted to go on a few more rides, I would get totally freaked out once I got close to the ride.
The heat exhausted us, but not too much that we couldn't go hang out with Ginelle and Drew Larsen and Gordon joined us a little later. Ray, Ginelle, and Gordon have been friends since BYU and it was really fun to see them all hang out together again. Drew had us in stitches for almost the whole night long and we had a great time. Ginelle has three beautiful and funny daughters and Jacob kept entertained with Gordon's kids in the basement. In fact, I believe Jacob had his first bonding moment with a non-relative girl...check out the picture. In fact, we were down in the basement and Jacob was upstairs with Sam. I said to Ray, "It's too quiet up there, I'm gonna go see what's going on." When I got upstairs, Jacob and Sam were sitting on the couch and he had his arm quasi around her and it was adorable!
We got to see pictures of Ray before his mission and even on his mission...see, Ray and Ginelle dated so she had lots of cute pictures of Ray.

AUGUST 22 - Friday
Friday was another more relaxed day and Ray and I went to the Blue Iguana to have lunch with Ray's old boss, Brent, and we discussed the newspaper business and basically how it was going down the tubes.
STARGAZING up at Snowbird was a lot of fun and we got to see Jupiter, The Milky Way, some nebula's and learned about many of the constellations. They had great telescopes to look through and the sky was really clear with few clouds and even a few shooting stars.
Jeremy and Susie arrived safely with Nathan and Noelle at about 10:30pm, but ray and I didn't get home until well after 11:00pm.
Jacob, Alexis, and her friend, Emily, were attempting an all night guitar hero party, which ended once the crankiness started arising. They tried keeping themselves awake with root beer, but to no avail, they were forced to go to bed. (which we were all very grateful for) Jacob has really taken to his new friends that he has made during this trip. He loves to be social.

AUGUST 23 - Saturday
The Sewell couples went to the SLC temple to do a live endowment session and it was really neat to go through as a family, especially Susie because it was her first time in a live session. We had a gorgeous day (had to avoid the millions of weddings) and took pretty pictures and had lunch at the Lion House (the best rolls ever).
Ray and I headed over to Don and Donna's for a nap and to help Ray with his headaches a little more.
To finish up the evening, we went to Flemming's at the Gateway Mall, which is a really classy steak house and we apparently were there on the same night as the guy who hosts a psychic talk show. We were celebrating Don and Donna's 40th wedding anniversary and had a very delicious evening with all adults, thanks to Rachel and her baby-sitting skills.
The house was still in tact after almost a whole day without adult supervision and we hung out in the kitchen, discussing our "mission menu" for Sunday's dinner as well as our big birthday celebration.

AUGUST 24 - Sunday
Ah yes, a day of "rest." We got to church just in time for the sacrament and learned about the power/gift of the Holy Ghost, Service, and Provident Living. We're now all in nap time mode and Ray is getting prepped for another healing session from Donna to hopefully cure the migraines he's been having. I usually fall asleep during these sessions because it is quiet and very relaxing. The kids are downstairs playing games, Rachel is finishing up the Odyssey, which she thought she'd never finish, and everyone else is napping. Jeremy made us delicious French Toast for lunch, which we all promptly scarfed down!
Noelle is about the cutest baby ever and makes the best smiley faces with the 6 teeth that she has.
I'm going to go work on a gift for Don and Donna and will probably post pictures after tonights festivities...each of us that served a mission is making food from our country....how cool that we all went to a foreign country. We only wish Jeff were here to make some creole jambalaya or gumbo maybe :-) I'm going to make Bulgogi and Mandu and bought some Peppero for dessert. Ray is going to make a chicken Thai rice, Jeremy is making a Greek Salad and David is making French fondue I believe.
We leave early tomorrow morning, back to the east coast. It's going to be quite an adjustment for all of us, having greatly enjoyed vacation. I have to get right back to school and Ray has to go back to work as well.
So for now....I'm signing off. Hope you enjoyed our adventures.

Hello August and Utah vacation!

Ok, so I have tried to write a blog about 3 times since I've been in Utah and even before, but I never got to finish one, so I'm FINALLY finishing one. It's too early for me to want to be awake, but alas, I am....woken up by the really loud TV in the next room. I guess I'm spoiled back home where the tv is on the other end of the house and down a floor.
This visit back to Utah has been full of adventure for everyone. I don't have pictures of what went on in Las Vegas or St. George, so you'll have to enjoy the pictures I DO have of Utah and Salt Lake Valley.....oh wait, I believe all the cherubs just woke up...ah the sound of at least 8-10 happy feet upstairs in the kitchen.

August 6 - Rachel and Jacob finally arrived in Las Vegas at about 1am and we are so very grateful for Jeremy and Susie's willingness to get them and not make them hitch hike to their house from the airport :-) It was a long night of traveling, but they made it there safely. The days were spent down on the strip mostly and going on rides at the Stratosphere. Jeremy and Rachel lost some brain cells while going on the GForce ride twice, I believe and Jacob was their spotter as he watched in disbelief. They also went to the "dome of fun" as I call it, where there were lots of different activities to do under one roof.

August 9 - Rachel and Jacob were then picked up by their maternal grandparents and whisked over the border from Nevada to Utah, where they spent about a week in St. George. There, they got to go boating, jet skiing, 4-wheeling, watched movies, ate a lot, and had a great time with their cousins a well (apparently these were 2nd cousins who took them out boating).

August 12 - I (Leanna) flew out to Salt Lake, where I was almost choked to death by the dry heat, which I always somehow forget about. My first adventure occurred when I got out to my rental car...by the way, Thrifty may have the cheapest prices but I don't necessarily recommend going through them. They have pushy salespeople at the desk and irresponsible car attendants at the kiosk in the parking lot. As I approached my rental car, there was a man playing the Ukulele and his suitcases were in the trunk of my car. The man asked me,
"Is this your rental car? I bet it is. I see how they work around here! When did you reserve this car?"
I replied, "About a couple days ago and yes, this is the spot my car is supposed to be in."
Ukulele man: "Well, I reserved this car 6 months ago and I have been in and out of the airport 3 times now because the woman behind the counter doesn't want to do paper work."
"I'm sorry sir, would you like me to get another car? I don't mind, really."
"No, no, it's not your fault, but my wife is in there right now and I have been back and forth...."

Needless to say, I listened to his complaints for about 5 minutes until I finally said, "Look, I don't mind getting another car, but I have to be somewhere in 15 minutes so I would like to know whether you're going to stay in this car or not." He then asked for my name and information so he could use it as proof and document it. I did not feel comfortable with this and told him I really didn't want t get involved...meanwhile, he was still playing his ukulele.

He was obliging and took his suitcases out of the car (and then offered to help put mine in), since I was the one holding the key anyway. He went on and on about the situation and I found out it was his wife's birthday and their anniversary and he claimed to work for Channel 7 news and was a dignitary and that he was going to broadcast this all over the news and let everyone know that Thrifty was a horrible company and should never be used again.

Needless to say, the whole time in my mind I'm thinking, "Only in Utah..." but I guess it could have happened anywhere...but really?

So I hopped in the car, which was very nice, but the stick shift was build like a race car and hard for me to maneuver. I drove down to West Valley and met my old mission buddy, Sam Jones. We ate lunch at Myung Ga and had a great time catching up. He's teaching guitar at BYU and playing for Young Ambassadors.

I then headed way down to North Orem and had a long awaited visit with my friend Kristi, her mom, Patti and her new baby Keira, who was conveniently born 2 weeks early so I got to play with her. She was a joy to hold...I'm not her mama so I don't have to worry about the technical or raising stuff (nothing big), so I really enjoyed holding her. She was so perfect and my favorite thing that she does is have little epiphanies where she is in the middle of sleep and then sticks her arms and legs way out all of a sudden and the pulls them back in. We had a great visit and I was able to bring her some new baby clothes a few days later.

Later that evening I finally made my way back up to Draper where I was able to visit with my friend Teddy and his family. Teddy and I have been friends for about 3 years and his family's house is like a second home to me. He's 6'7" and I'm 5' 2" and yet we get along so well. We played Guitar Hero and I meagerly played medium level while he kicked my trash on expert! We watched more of the Olympics until we all fell asleep and I was awake bright and early because my body was still on Boston time. (And about this time, Ray's flight to his business trip in California had just landed - I have decided I am never traveling without him again. I feel "naked" without him and I love having him by my side...we make a great team).

August 13- Teddy's mom, Joanna and I, went up to the Draper Temple Site, where the temple is still under construction, but has a beautiful view. The homes there are gorgeous, but unfortunately because of the market right now, many of them are for sale....for a couple million I'm sure.

I then headed down to Orem to get a hair transformation from my good friend, Emily. I was expecting and planning for something more drastic, like putting the blond and red back in, but she advised against it and I took her judgment call. I now have "caramel" highlights in my hair and took a few inches off to give it a lighter look.

I then, happened to swing by Target with the few minutes I had and I ran into some friends from my HOME ward...Tiffany and Miles Tidd, their daughter Alexa, and Heather Colvin.

After my short stint at Target, I went to play with my friend, Shana, who has been a good friend of mine since 2006 when I moved to Lindon and attended the Oak Canyon singles ward. She came to visit me out in Boston for New Year's 2006-7 and we had a blast running around Boston and Manhatten, NY. We laughed our butts off watching reruns of "Angel" and finding who "Rasputin's lover was." Dinner was enjoyed at Yamatos; a Japanese/Korean BBQ restaurant in Orem. We had been expecting 10 people, but due to unknown circumstances (later found out), we ended up with a party of 4. The food was delicious and the service was OUTSTANDING! It's not a very busy place, but it should be. I recommend it.

Sleeping on the couch and in Shana's bed (after she would go to work at 5:15am) proved not so fun for my back, but the company was good. We even got our yummy corn dogs and shakes from Arctic Circle.

August 14 - The kids made the transfer from St. George to Fillmore to Taylorsville without a hitch. Rachel and Jacob are very lucky to have grandparents who love to spoil them rotten. While they made their trek out here via I-15, I was out having lunch with my good friend, Brad, who played "Tony" when I was "Consuela" in the Hale Center Theater's 2004 rendition of West Side Story. We ate at the delicious "Guru's" and enjoyed the moving sculptures and outer space ethereal atmosphere. We walked around the gardens across the street in Provo's old town center. We had a fascinating conversation...as we always do and it was really fun to philosophize and talk about deep things of life and lots of things to ponder.

I was then able to visit with one of my mom's best friend, Sharleen. She and her family housed me when I FIRST arrived to Utah to go into the MTC in June of 2002. They have also been in my life since the day I was born. The Thomas' are an amazingly strong family and have worked hard to enjoy the finer things in life, even though her husband is laid up on the couch with a broken foot right now. It always feels like home when I go to visit there. It is through them that I am often reminded that everyone is affected by life, regardless of race, nationality, religion, and social status.

HAPPY SUMO!!!!!!!!! I had been waiting to eat here ever since I last left Utah, sometime last year. I live to eat their Vegas Roll... salmon, cream cheese, avocado, and crab in a tempura dip, topped with Sumo sauce and eel sauce. I was a very happy girl!
We finished off the evening by attending a wedding reception of one of my former American Fork students at Noah's in Lindon. I can't believe they're getting married!

August 15 -

Friday afternoon was especially exciting because I was able to have lunch with some of my closest friends from BYU Singers; Ben Boster and Emily Workman (Sally Workman was also there and I love her to pieces too...I was never in Singers with her since she is only starting college this year). As I approached Emily's, I saw Ben doing yard work outside, across from the Creamery on 9th, and we immediately invited him to join us. It was such a pleasant afternoon. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time! We laughed for about an hour straight, sharing stories, doing impressions, and just talking about past experiences and what's up for the future. Some of the most pleasant company I have kept. I do miss them and was happy to have been able to spend time with them, as well as get my Zupa's fix. I always love their chocolate covered strawberries with every meal.
Today was also exciting because Ray flew back home so he could go to work for a few hours and pack to come out to Utah. Rachel and Jacob headed up to Park City to play with their Aunt Kristie, Uncle Dave, and their wicked awesome cousins; Alexis, Paris, Hailey.

Later that evening...much later, I trekked up to West Jordan to unpack my bags...fumble tremendously with the keys to the house, and made my way inside.

P.S. I was really excited at this point because I bought an MP3 player with a converter so I could listen to my music in my rental car...AND Ray would be heading out to Utah early the next morning!

August 16 -
SATURDAY is a special day...I'm so glad when Daddy comes home...

I was so restless this morning that I woke up at 6:30am and talked to Ray during his layover in Chicago (even though in my dream he was calling me from Providence) and we had breakfast together through the cell phone. I made a beautiful omelet with toast and Ray had a breakfast sandwich from the cool deli restaurant in the Midway airport. I was so excited for him to get there that I couldn't go back to sleep, so I made a double batch of brownies for everyone :-) Ray arrived early (we love Southwest) and I whisked him away by 1:30pm. We went to his parents' house to meet them for lunch, where we dined at a Chinese Buffet and then headed back to their house for an unexpected nap on the patio swing. It was like HEAVEN! Don and Donna showed us their beautiful gardens and the fake cat that makes noises to scare the grape eating animals away.

We all ended up going to Park City to meet Dave, Kristi and all the kids, who had been on the PC slides all day and were finishing up with ice cream at the Rocky Mtn. Chocolate Factory. It was a very fun reunion and we finally got to see that Dave and Kristi had worked their butts off to look AMAZING! We then arrived at what we thought was our dinner reservation at the Park City "Claim Jumper" only to grab the door and find it was locked and definitely not open for business. When we called the restaurant, they then clarified that we were supposed to be in Heber City and not Park City....so we all got in our cars and drove to the correct restaurant.

Needless to say, the three younger girls were absolutely exhausted, Alexis had bit her tongue earlier and could barely eat, Ray had a migraine headache, and we weren't even eating until after 8pm. Dinner was really good, but we were all anxious to get out of there. We had planned to go back to the rented condo for brownies, but Ray was so sick and everyone was falling asleep, so we opted to let everyone go home and go to bed. (We found out later that Hailey started out sleeping on the couch, but when Kristi went to check on them in the middle of the night, Hailey was under the coffee table and Jacob had fallen asleep on the couch. She still hasn't figured out how that one happened.

It was really touching to see Don give Ray a blessing of health because Ray was really sick. We were all doing the best we could to relieve his pain, but it wasn't until the blessing (a little peppermint tea and sleep) that he really started to feel better. I love the power of the priesthood and men who hold their callings honorably. It means so much to be able to call on a priesthood holder at anytime and ask for a blessing. We didn't leave Don and Donna's until about 1 am, but we were grateful that Ray's headache had almost completely dissipated at that point. A good night's sleep was ahead of us.

August 17 - Ray and I had delicious pancakes at Momma Donna's and then headed home to get the kids for church. We ended up going to the 1st ward that the Sewell's had attended back in the day. We were also grateful that we had just missed being part of a T-bone 2 car accident that had apparently happened shortly before we arrived at 4800 and redwood road. We enjoyed a missionary farewell and were happy to go home and veg out before having dinner with the whole family (and karaoke). Check out the pics and videos.

(Stay tuned for August 18-24th and pictures soon to come)