Author: Stephen and Jodi

We are the dots under the archOur getaway to Utah was so much fun – none of us wanted to come home! We were able to do and see amazing things:

First stop, SLC – temple square, we enjoyed feeling the warm air as we walked through temple square and enjoyed the beautiful flowers. It felt like we had stepped into heaven being surrounded by the beauty and inviting temperatures. Short sleeves and shorts and sandals made us all sooo happy! The boys then went to Cabellas the girls to IKEA and then we met up at Grandpa and Grandma Baldwin’s house for some good eats and a mini recital. Ashley and her friend McKay came over and performed for us and our kids played their songs too.

Next day we headed to our final destination – MOAB, UT. The red rocks were a welcome site! We drove to the expo center to pick up packets for the half marathon and got to see the cute baby Josie for the first time. What a sweet baby girl. The kids played at a cool park by slick rock and then we hiked delicate arch. Lily was wondering if it would all be worth it, but of course it was! She was glad she plowed forward. It was more difficult than we remembered. It is a different hike when you have 9 children to encourage along. The lizards were definitely a huge inspiration and bonus.

Saturday was the day of reckoning as I got finished what took us to this wonderful place. (more details on my blog) The husbands and kids played at slick rock and then met us at the finish line to take photos. They couldn’t stop talking about how fun slick rock was, so we found ourselves going back to see what all the hype was about. Those kids are tough! I took a ride and found out what a scaredy pants I am! We went to find some souvenirs with the money that our kids had been saving up. They were successful. We then went and found some cool petroglyphs. Swimming wrapped up a long day of fun.

Sunday found us driving..then driving…then driving some more. We finally arrived home at 9:00 pm after stopping by to see the Manti Temple, a quick stop by G&G Baldwins again, and then on to the Babcocks for a fabulous dinner. We were entertained by the musical bunch once again and Michelle taught me how to “cast off” on my newly knitted dishcloth! She is so amazing with her knitting abilities. Lex also met Edward Cullen from Twilight (he lives in Emily’s room).

There was a lot of melancholy when we arrived home and the reality of life came crashing down on us. I suppose we wouldn’t love a trip like that so much if we came home to exactly the same circumstances. It is Cold, Snow, School, etc. for us now. We are so glad we got that we got to have a great family vacation but now it is back to life – back to reality!

Comments:

John said…

What a fun trip! It is hard to beat the red rock, family, lizards and warm weather. Glad you had a fun time and were not sick this year.
Monday, March 23, 2009 11:53:54 AM

Anne said…

Back to reality is right! We woke up to snow and decided to tuck the flipflops in the closet again. It was beautiful! So glad you had a good time!
Monday, March 23, 2009 12:54:40 PM

Mom and Dad Parker said…

We couldn’t help but be a bit envious of the red-rock country. We were looking for Stephen’s brace or cast or something. He must heal fast in that climate.
Monday, March 23, 2009 2:09:58 PM

Family FunOne of the funnest parts of being a mom for me is creating fun days and memories, even though sometimes it can be very hectic – it really does just make life more fun. I am glad that I have started a box of stuff for each of the monthly occasions so all I have to do it drag it out of the storage room and do the same thing as I did the year before. I’m finding that my kids love the “old reliables” anyway. On a good year I add something new to the excitement, but on years like this I just reuse. St. Patrick’s day was a crazy, busy day filled with piano, soccer, scout meeting, YM, & library story time. When all was said and done, we were happy to have tried to make our “green” dinner work. All I had to do was throw a green table cloth on and have a hay day with green food coloring and the day became a little bit more special.

Yummy Green Rolls	Green Salad	Green Mashed Potatoes (shepherd’s pie with green beans in the background)
Green Milk	It really was a happy shamrock day!

Comments:

Jana said…

Fun traditions…I need to get some boxes so I can have the things that make family life more fun and memorable. We were pretty low key this year just a green breakfast.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 9:32:17 AM

Patricia said…

What a fun time. Your mom is the best! Be sure to thank her for the good times she creates for all of you. G. Baldwin
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 9:41:44 AM

Mom and Dad Parker said…

Looks like Olivia got a little green dye in her eye. Kiss her for us even if we aren’t Irish.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 11:53:38 AM

Michelle said…

I love the idea of the occasion boxes. You are such a fun mom, making great memories for your kids.
Thursday, March 19, 2009 6:37:06 PM

Good timesAlexis, Mason, and myself decided it was time to splurge and pay the $7 lift ticket to go snowboarding. This is Lex and Mason’s first time at a ski resort, and my second time on a snow board. We had a great time, we invited Paul to come along since he knows what he is doing, and because he always makes any activity funner.

I will admit after the painfully slow and painful first run down with Lex, I was thinking this is going to be a long day. It was her first time on a board going down hill. We learned after about 20 falls that if we held hands and I went down backwards we could do pretty well. She caught right on after that, and progressively improved. Within a few more runs down she was excited to report she made it all the way down without even crashing once. I think it helped when she saw her friend Tanner there, had to play it cool with him around. 🙂

Mason, we he is just crazy. He took off with Paul and his strategy was full speed then bail. Worked pretty good for him but after awhile he started to expand his expertise and would do the “wishbone” and “carving”. He looked like a natural. He even caught some good air, he learned how to land from me though, as you can see in the pictures.

All in all we had a great day made some great memories, and now Lex and Mason can’t stop talking about going again.

	Quad seating on the lift, pretty cool
Bunny hop man	“Here she is Miss America”	Paul is a pro
	Go Mason!
This little 3 year old girl looked so cute sleeping on the hill, she was just tired right out.	Paul in the Terrain Park
Now you see me…	Now You don’t	The last run of the day…
Face plant, notice the right wrist…snap

Comments:

Paul said…

Thanks for the invite! It was fun except for the little scare on the jump.
Saturday, March 14, 2009 10:50:41 PM

Dad said…

Looks like fun, but you know the way I feel about paying lift tickets, no matter how small. There is an old song that says, “How you goin’ to keep ’em down on the farm, after they’ve seen Paris. I think I would rather play on an untouched hillside on snowshoes or back-country skiis, but that’s just your stubborn old dad.
Sunday, March 15, 2009 1:34:17 AM

Magan said…

Funny that quote from your dad is my dads all time favorite line. I have heard that so so many times in my life. Where do you find $7 lift tickets. There $50 in our neck of the woods.
Sunday, March 15, 2009 2:27:02 PM

Michelle said…

looks like a great time! Bummer about the wrist. The kids look like little pros.
Monday, March 16, 2009 8:39:20 AM

Anne said…

Oh…SO FUN! Sorry about the wrist, OUCH! Sometimes you got to not listen to your crazy brothers maybe?!? Even though Paul is pretty cool! Glad you had fun!
Monday, March 16, 2009 12:19:41 PM