Trip to Logan, UT to see Alayna & Melanie (Added more photos!)

Alayna, Loreen, Melanie

OK... so we didn't just see Alayna and Melanie, we also saw Dan and Kylan, of course, and also Bruce, Karston, and Joshua! It was a fun weekend. We all chatted for a short bit on Friday night but then had to get kids to bed. Melanie stayed with Alayna and Dan and we stayed at the Comfort Inn (Not as nice as some, but with two queens and a queen sofa bed we all fit just fine). This was the last weekend we could be with Alayna and Dan before they moved to Moses Lake Washington (which they do on THURSDAY). Oh, and we found out they sold their house!!!! Wow, that was fast.

Logan and Kylie and Kylan

Saturday we all went up Logan Canyon and had lunch (love Grist Mill sandwiches) and took a walk along the river trail. The kids had fun climbing trees and hills and looking at catterpillars on the trail.

Here is a picture of Kylie, her cousin Kylan, and Jaren in a tree where we ate our picnic lunch. Well, we didn't eat our lunch in the tree (though I'm sure they would have loved it), but it was by the picnic table where we ate our lunch up Logan Canyon!

Jaren and Logan and Kylan also had fun posing for this picture. I told Dan to stay in the picture but he had to step away. He was right there waiting to catch anyone, just in case. Man the kids sure loved this tree. It really was a great tree climbing tree.

Well...you really can't see Kylie very well in this picture. I took this with my phone. She is actually behind some leaves. She climbed pretty high.

Logan is in the yellow and blue shirt. Dan is looking up at her and Karston is looking at me (there on the right)


Bruce even found a small snake for all of us to look at. I didn't realize how much Dan doesn't like snakes! :) I thought it was adorable.







The water was so clear by Second Dam. Wow, I have never seen so many fish and never have been able to see them so clearly. Unfortunately the stroller caught on some fishing line and it took Tim and Alayna a while to cut it loose.

I love Logan Canyon! This time of year, with the changing seasons is so beautiful. Utah State University where we both went to school, the Logan Temple, where we were married, and so many memories all make Logan a special place for Tim and I. My mom's parents are even buried there so there are a lot of ties to Logan. (Yeah, I know, we named a kid after the place, which Tim would have never let me do if we still lived there.. but we moved away so the name was fair game!) With Alayna and Dan there we loved visiting. I regret that now we won't be going there near as much anymore now with them gone.

Here is a photo of my sister, Melanie, her husband, Bruce and their two kids, Karston and Joshua. Bruce hates when I take pictures of him so I figured a candid shot would be much better. Melanie is oooing and aaahing over Kiora there at the picnic table. She is such a great aunt. Alayna is too. I know they love my kids as much as I love theirs.

Kiora was all full of smiles this weekend. I can't believe she will be three months old tomorrow (the 29th of Sept) OK.. this wasn't much of a smile, more of a smirk, but it is really had to catch a wiggly baby with a crappy cell phone camera. I had forgotten to take our good Canon camera but this is better than nothing!

This was the first time that my sister, Melanie had seen Kiora. (She will be 3 months old tomorrow) Mel and Bruce live in Idaho Fall, ID which is about 6 hours away so we don't get to see them very much. Kiora loved to smile at everyone and loves her family.


After we got back from the canyon and put the little ones down for a nap, Alayna, Melanie and myself and Kiora (she's kinda attached to me right now with nursing and all) went out... We decided with Alayna moving we'd better have another sisters day out and get pedicures!! Woohoo.

We went to this really nice spa that gave you chocolate and crackers... and even more chocolate when you tell them how much you like it. It was so nice to get out, just us.. well Kiora doesn't really count. She slept most of the time and smiled the rest so they approved of her coming along.

I took a quick picture of just my toes with my phone camera, which is a lot faster for me to post. Cute aren't they! This OPI color is called "Charmed by a snake" which I thought was pretty appropriate because of the snake we had seen earlier in the day. Plus I thought it was a pretty bronzy color.

Alayna, Loreen and Melanie's cute toes. Note the extra ones... Kylan didn't want to be left out of the picture and stuck his foot out at the last minute!

Alayna and Mel and I went for pedicures in early June too and every time we go our pedicurists comment on how much they admire our sisterly relationship... our friendship... how much we laugh and the good time that we have. It's true how well we get along, but I must admit that it wasn't always that way. I'm glad we have outgrown everything and that we can be such good friends. Sisters are forever! I tell Kylie and Julaine (and later Kiora) how important their relationship is and I hope that they pick up on the good example that we are setting for them.

While we were out getting pedicures and going out to lunch at Hamiltons (ooooo great food!!!), the guys (Tim, Dan, and Bruce) took the kids out to dinner and then to the park. They all get along great. Thanks guys for taking the kids so we didn't have to!

We sure are going to miss Alayna and Dan. It seems like that's when we see Melanie and Bruce too. It's a much shorter trip for them to just meet us in Logan rather than drive all the way to Delta. We'll have to meet in the middle in Ogden or something and take the kids to the Dinosaur Park or the Children's Treehouse. Bruce's parents live there in Ogden so that might work. I know Kerry and Susan and Mylan and Amy and my parents are excited to get Alayna and Dan so close to them. With four families in Washington Tim and I have an even greater reason to try to get to Washington more often. Of course now, if we go more often everyone is gonna think that we are just going to see Alayna and Dan... just not true guys... we want to see everyone and I know we have been terrible about getting up that way. This move is just making us realize how important it is to make the effort to see family.

I know people get annoyed when I take pictures, but I also know that Alayna appreciated the photos I brought up for her of times that we have spent together. She was grateful for the copies and enjoyed looking at the pictures. Soooo... I take pictures anyway and know you'll thank me later!

I love my family!

(Hey, check out my voice recorder in the left column... It's pretty cool.. I left a quick message related to this blog on it. You'll have to check it out.)