Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Belize & Happy 5th Anniversary!

Back in August Scott and I celebrated 5 wonderful years of marriage. We spent 9 incredible days soaking up the sun along the Caribbean, and then exploring the jungles of Belize. It was a great trip and we thoroughly enjoyed remembering the fun we have together, just the two of us.

And we loved having these adorable people to come home too.
 Thanks so much Mom and Dad Larson! It was great to know our boys were in your capable hands!

More Utah: Provo Edition

After a super fun week in Blanding, we bid farewell and headed for Provo, where we spent a night with Grandma and Grandpa Pope. Ian and Joseph loved their playroom and eating dinner on stools around the table. "Gwampa Pope! Gwampa Pope!" was a popular refrain on the road after that. The boys just loved them and they were wonderful hosts to us!

While in Provo we toured our old stomping ground. Because of Ian's favorite book (Hello Cosmo!) he was really excited to see the BYU Victory bell, so it was our first on-campus stop. 

It didn't seem to dissapoint his little BYU-lovin' heart. Even though it didn't actually ring. 
 

Then it was off to visit the library. Doesn't Ian make a convincing freshman?


After getting our names printed on our new scriptures, Ian spotted Cosmo in the textbook section. He couldn't help himself. And both he and Joseph were beside themselves that two of their loves, Cosmo and traffic signs, were combined here.

We also went back to our old Wymount apartment. And it was vacant! We felt tempted to unpack our trunk through the open window and move back in. We have such great memories of living there.


 
Still swept up in the nostalgia, we went back to the houses we lived in when we met. And knocked on the door!
Here is where Scott and I first laid eyes on each other -- and the girl who lives there was even making spaghetti when we arrived, just like I had been.

And here is the tree outside Scott's old house, under which Scott first asked for my phone number. Awww....

By now the boys were thuroughly bored, so we headed to the scene of our first date -- the BYU Creamery on 9th, for some icecream. From the parking lot we witnessed this classic BYU scene: 

That's right. A motorized couch, out for a night on the town.


We took the boys to the Provo temple, too. 
 
They loved it. But it was hard not to run around wild after a day in the car, so we didn't stay long.



After getting my ring cleaned and taking some pictures with the "Y" it was time to bid farewell to Provo. (Note: the scary parking lot behind the elementary school is perfect for "Y" pictures. Especially when you set your kids on top of a really large rental car.)

 
 
We then spent a couple nights with Scott's high school buddy Todd, his incredibly fun wife Paris, and their cool little boys. They took great care of us and thought of everything to make us comfortable -- including blankets up in the windows to help our sleep-deprived children start to become themselves again. We loved seeing their brand new house! 

After seeing some more mission and high school friends (Handys and Higbees!) Scott had to leave vacation early for a business trip to Angola, Africa. We tried everything to get the boys and I on the same early flight home to Houston, but it just didn't happen. Luckily, Scott's sister Tori took us in! We ended up spending several days with them and she took great care of us! 

We were worn out from 2 weeks of vacation schedules, and sure missed Daddy, but Tori distracted us with good food, fun activities (that farm was such a hit!) and some extra cousin time. It was just what we needed! From the moment we touched down in Houston again, Ian and Joseph were asking to go back to Sophie, Kendra and Adam's house again!

There were so many people we intended to see, but didn't when plans changed there at the end. I guess we will just have to make a return trip soon!

Utah Trip 2010!

We left Utah 3 years ago and hadn't been back (except for a super-quick wedding trip to St. George) and we were thrilled when Scott's parents decided to have a reunion in Blanding this summer. It was wonderful to see all of Scott's siblings, his parents and grandparents -- about 34 people in all. Plus,  Ian and Joseph had the time of their lives playing with their cousins. I think we will skip Disneyland -- they really couldn't have had more fun than they did out in the wilderness with a dozen playmates.

 We got to Blanding the day before the Independence Day festivities began. It was fun to be in a small town for the holiday--  it seemed like everyone who has ever lived in Blanding returned just for the parade!
Someone told Ian that a firetruck was coming down the street. Seriously.
We had the perfect shady spot on the church lawn to retreat to. But the candy kept enticing the kids to the street.
After watching some fireworks from Scott's parents back porch and getting a good night's rest, we headed to the beautiful Blue Mountain.  Don't Scott's parents have an incredible view from their front porch?  
All kinds of fun activities were waiting for the cousins at the reunion. A favorite was "treasure rocks" hidden all over the campsite. Grandma had covered small toys in plaster and painted them to look like real rocks. The kids loved cracking them open to discover the toys and then storing them in their little personalized canisters. All sorts of other treasures were toted around all week in those cute little things.

Here are the little twins: from the back these little tow-heads (Joseph and Adam) were difficult to tell apart!

The kids made paper bag hats, adorned with paint and twisted pipe cleaners. Joseph seemed to feel really cool exploring the woods in his.
 Aunt Megan rallied the family into an exercise program earlier this year, which culminated in a series of races. The kids all did 100 meters. Longer races also took place for the adults. I am so glad she started this tradition! Maybe next time I will even participate..!
 Here are the kids all lined up, with Grandma and Grandpa Pope at starting/finishing line.

And here is the finishing line. The race was just a big loop around a median, and about midway Ian started to veer the wrong direction -- back towards the restroom. I ran along side him and encouraged him to finish. At the end, all the kids ducked under the tape! Then Ian proceeded straight to the restroom.


 After breakfast the longer races commenced. Joseph and I stayed back at the tent for a nap. I was exhausted after a mostly sleepless night in the tent and I dosed off before Joseph did. I woke up to Joseph having fallen asleep with his head rested on my tummy. It was adorable! It is one of my favorite memories from this trip.

Meanwhile, Scott helped shuttle some of the runners to the 5k starting point. Then Ian decided he wanted to run the race too. So he ran on the trail along side Scott in the car. I hear he ran at least a mile this way, with lots of short breaks to examine bugs and rocks along the way! His race ended when he tripped and fell flat on his belly, wetting his pants. Fortunately, we were all wearing layers against the frigid Utah weather (poor Texans) and after removing a few of his pairs of pants, he was dry and ready for more.

Scott climbed a tree when we first arrived, which kicked off a whole tree-climbing epidemic among the cousins.



The boys were introduced to flavored boxed milk. Instant love.
Cousin mischief of one kind or another.
We had a great time with everyone! I am so lucky to have married into such a wonderful family. We can't wait to all get together again!
More on our Utah trip soon!