Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Familypalooza...part 1
We left Friday afternoon and got to Flagstaff for dinner. The smell of the pinetrees and the cooler air were such a welcome reprieve. We all ate for $16 at Pizza Hut (6 of us including Giorgia) and then did Monster Walks and Red Light, Green Light to get the wiggles out. We were REALLY tired the last hour before we got to our hotel in Kanab, Utah. I felt bad that we weren't able to see the Grand Canyon, Zions or Bryce Canyon, but you do what you can do with what you've got & Giorgia had made the drive from Arizona to Utah a few years earlier with her family.
The next day we stopped at Giorgia's friends' farm in the middle of nowhere Utah for lunch. The boys had a blast on their riding lawn mower and going down their firepole. They had a darling place that they were renovating from the 1920's. It was a nice stop, but Bitter Sara would have rather taken the fam to the Y and to see my dear friends in the Provo/SL area. We did get to stay with the Thomas family that night in Layton and it was so great to spend time with them. Susan & Dustin were our first couple friends that we made as newly-weds and Winston and Kaleb are close in age. We spent the night with them laughing like old times and the boys had their first friend sleepover. They were giggling, talking and playing til midnight! We also did a few fireworks and sparklers before bed. Fun times.
Sunday morning we drove by Preston, Idaho of Napoleon Dynamite fame, but didn't have time for a milkshake. Next time, next time!
We made it to Ammon just in time for Sunday dinner at Grandma Merrill's. It was great to see her, Grandma & Grandpa Murdock, and to meet Jack for the first time. D got knocked down once or twice by him, but he still said Jack's his favorite dog.
He's a beautiful Irish Setter. That afternoon Grandpa and Grandma took us to the Idaho Falls Temple grounds. This is the temple that they were married in.
We also went to the Visitor's Center and saw some artwork about our pioneer ancestry. We listened to a message from the sister missionaries in English and Italian for Giorgia, learned about the Angel Moroni, and saw all the many Book of Mormons in all the different languages.
After that we headed to a park by the falls and let Jack run around and the kids feed the birds.
They LOVED feeding the ducks and geese, chasing the birds, and just having fun together as a family.
We also went to a park with a playground that evening, had Italian for dinner, and swam at the hotel.
That's my girl!
On the fourth we packed in the fun!
We went to Bear World which is halfway to Rexburg and is like a mini Yellowstone.
We all packed into the Durango and drove around a few loops to see deer, moose, a few antelope, and LOTS of bears.
One bear came right up to our car, stood up, and left paw marks all along the side.
It was awesome!
There was also a fun petting zoo and lots of little animal themed rides that the kids and I enjoyed. Even Ruby got in on the action!
She's a daredevil, that one is. Each of the kids picked out a stuffed animal as a souvenir and then we were off to Big Jud's for lunch which was closed. Bummer!
We drove on to Rexburg for lunch, and spent some time at the Rexburg temple grounds.
We took some family pictures,
sang some special Primary songs,
and rolled down the hills over and over again.
The kids loved running down the hill and into our arms.
This was probably my favorite part of our time in Idaho together.
We toured the little city, our once college town that had changed so much. No more Hogi Yogi, and my apartment complex had been renamed.
We also found a fun water park in the historic part of Rexburg where the kids played to their hearts' content.
Grandma brought bubbles and the kids splashed and went down the slides over and over again.
As I came out of the restroom after getting the 2 little ones swim ready, I found Ben loading a mechanical bull in the back of a trailer.
Only in Rexburg?!?
That night we headed to a KOA and watched the fireworks with Uncle Wayne, his family, and friends.
We hadn't seen them in about 5 years and we were able to see his cousin, Tyson & his wife and son whom we'd never met before. It was fun to see how much Ben & Tyson look alike (like their Grandpa) and not so much like their own dads. We had Aunt Renae's homemade scones and watched the fantastic fireworks while listening to a radio broadcast with patriotic music. Loved it!
The kids were so good and we had so much fun with Grandma & Grandpa Murdock. We were sad we could only stay for a few days, since they had to go back to work and we had to stay at a hotel, but lots of dear memories were made.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Travelogue, Day 8: Honolulu Temple
The temple grounds were so beautiful and you could see the ocean from the entrance and through the stained glass windows in the Celestial Room. 
It was so meaningful to do sealings together as part of our anniversary celebration. We always try to go to the temple around our anniversary anyway, but it made me feel so blessed and full of love and gratitude that we were able to do this simple service while away on vacation. 
It may be our new thing. Anyway, afterward we walked the temple grounds and had a little photo shoot.
We didn't have much planned for the rest of the day, so we set off towards the side of Oahu that we hadn't explored yet. We went to the North Shore and then the Dole Plantation (YUM!)
where we discovered pineapples grow in the ground
and Hawaiian Christmas trees.
We tried to go to Pearl Harbor (did I mention I finished the book the day before), but got there when it was closing.
I had no idea what it would be like, but if you go, plan on spending an entire day there. That's on our list for next time.
We ended our trip the way it started, with a walk on the beach. We found a public beach that was a great place for people watching. It was teeming with people out for a jog, surfing, doing yoga, and remembering loved ones, picnics, etc.
We found tiny black crabs on the rocks below while we watched the surfers,
enjoyed our last sunset,
and kissed of course!
I left Ben a love note and we hope to come back someday....maybe even with our kids.
A hui hou: until we meet again!
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