When dad's away...

Chris spent the month of January in New Zealand. Since I am not one to sit around and wait for him to come back, I decided to go on vacation too. So the kids and I spent three weeks up in Utah--not quite as exotic as New Zealand, but to kids who live in the desert the idea of snow was very exciting.

Snow. Well, there wasn't actually that much snow there when we arrived. It was a nice 50 degrees and the only snow was on the edges of lawns where you know it was piled up when the shoveling was done. This did not deter my children's enthusiasm though--they went straight outside to have a snowball fight:

We had to adjust to having a dog around. Milo is a beautiful Silver Lab who was very excited to have kids around to play with. Ella and Eli had to learn that running from the dog just made him chase you more. And Rhys was very patient as Milo kept kept licking his hair. I thought this picture was funny because Milo tried so hard to get into the photo. He is, after all, part of the family:


One requirement of a winter trip to Utah is to go skiing. And we did. We went up Big Cottonwood Canyon and found SNOW! Ella was happy to cross country ski and Eli was happy to stomp around in his boots. Rhys was content to be carried in his sling. It was freezing up there with the wind blowing and the snow falling so we didn't last very long. We Arizonans aren't made for that kind of cold.



Our favorite venue to visit was the Church History Museum. I loved that it is free. The kids loved that it was so fun. There are interactive displays that rival what you would find in a children's museum. Ella love, love, loved the dancing section. It was meant to teach a story about a girl who had the courage to dress modestly. She spent hours dancing:


It was a nice vacation for me because I could have others hold the baby and give me a break. I was able to go to two U of U basketball games and a gymnastics meet. I was even able to play games with my family and not have to hold Rhys the whole time (remember, it was tricky to just set him down since Milo wanted to bathe him with kisses.) Here is Grandpa holding Rhys:


I had to include this picture...Eli is singing to Rhys.

I was able to see Sarah's new apartment. It is darling. Seriously. I liked this picture of us playing Mexican Train because everyone is so focused and awkwardly bent over to see their pieces.

I know you are wondering how I did it. How did one mother take three young children on two not direct flights to and from Utah? Well, I had help. Ella may only be five, but she is a huge help. See, she even held Rhys so I could put my seat belt on: