Utah Trip - Part 1

Earlier this month Chip and I were able to travel out to Utah for the wedding of some good friends, Racheal and Mark.  We had family that was good enough to watch the boys for us (for a whole week!!!  That merits a gold medal or something....).  Anyways, we did a ton of stuff out there, so I'll break it down by day. 

Sunday Aug. 1st

Skip, Tracy and Lara came down after church and picked up the boys to take them back to Piqua, where they stayed for the week.  I cried when we put them in the car seats and as they pulled out of the driveway.  Chip felt sorry for me and we went on a walk around our neighborhood.  

 Monday Aug. 2nd

We landed in Salt Lake and picked up our rental car.  I was hoping for a flashy sports car.  Well, we got a Kia Rio.  Hey, at least it got terrific gas mileage (good thing too, since we drove nearly 900 miles that week).

our sweet ride for the week

We immediately took a tour of the Conference Center.  The last time we were in Utah (Spring of '07) we finished our trip with a very short, rushed tour of the Conference Center (we were about to catch our flight).  This time we took the normal tour.  Funny story, in our tour group there was a family with wild little boys whose mom kept telling them to "make smart choices" as they ran around.  It made me laugh.

We did manage to get a picture on top of the Conference Center, just like 3 years ago

 August 2010

April 2007

After that we took tours of the Beehive House, the Tabernacle, had lunch at Rumbi's Island Grill (sooooo good, I wish we had these in Ohio!), checked into our hotel in Provo, and met up with our friends Garrett and Mandy.

We then went to the baptism of one of Garrett's nephews, who is also from Ohio, then went to his baptism/pool party.  While there Chip decided it would be a good idea to eat his cake in the hot tub

It didn't take long for Garrett and some others to catch on to the idea

Tues Aug 3rd

Weird Mormon Connection #1- During breakfast we ran into one of Chip's former mission companions, who is a manager at the hotel we were staying at.  

We met up with Garrett and his family to go drive the Alpine Loop.  It's a scenic highway that twists its way through the mountains.  It was beautiful, and we even saw a mountainside where all the trees were dead and flattened from an avalanche this past winter.

Afterwards we went on a hike with the same group to Stewart Falls.

Chip decided to climb to a higher position on the falls.  I stayed behind because I kept slipping on the rock and got nervous.  Looking back I wish I would have made it up there!

Chip victorious

The falls were so pretty, but when you turned around and looked at the valley behind them, it was even better

Chip and I went back to our hotel and swam for a while, then met up with Mandy and Garrett at Olive Garden.  Afterward we went back to their apartment for some games, just like old times.  We sure miss them and can't wait until they eventually move back to Ohio ;) 

Wed. Aug. 4th

Mormon Connection #2 - During breakfast at the hotel, we met an older couple from Australia who we later found out knew and worked with Meredith (Chip's cousin) when she served her mission in Melbourne. 

Chip and I went to the Provo temple after breakfast.

We were half hoping we would see someone we know.  It happened to be P-day at the MTC, and tons of missionaries were at the temple.  We knew 3 guys who are currently at the MTC, but alas, we didn't see any of them.

We had lunch at the BYU Creamery.....as in, we had ice-cream, and called it "lunch" :) It was very tasty.

We had to pick up Lara at the airport that evening, so we drove up to Salt Lake and went back to Temple Square to the Visitor's Center.  Right now they have a giant model of the Salt Lake Temple, which was a very popular attraction (and why I could never get a clear shot of it).  It was so neat for anybody to be able to see the inside of the temple, and there was a touch-screen display that explained the uses of all the rooms as well as gave 3D walkthroughs for each room.  

I'm glad the model is there to help people understand that temples aren't secret, they're sacred.  Anyone can attend the temple, if they prepare and are faithful.  

After picking up and dropping off Lara, Chip and I ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (and thought of Casey!) which was uber-tasty, as always.  More swimming in the hotel pool was in order after such a rich meal.