BYU Graduation

Dan's brother Joe graduated from BYU so we all made a trip to congratulate him and to see family.

On the way there we had two flights with a layover in Las Vegas. Brooks did pretty good he was just busy and had to explore everything. We tried watching a movie but he got distracted pretty quickly. We bought him his own seat because I'm not sure we'd survive with him on our laps! In the Las Vegas airport I was hoping he'd zonk out since it was 2 hours past his bedtime but he had other plans. Running around the terminal at FULL speed! I lost count of how many laps we did. The second flight to Salt Lake started a little rocky just because Brooks was so overtired. As soon as we took off though he was completely gone. He would have slept through almost anything.

DFW Airport. When I tell Brooks to smile vs Say cheese!

We landed, got our rental car (which always seems to take a long time?) and drove to our hotel for the night. Brooks was awake the whole time since we landed but kind of in a daze. I was nervous he'd be scared sleeping in a new place like he was last time we traveled however he did great and slept the rest of the night! We woke up and had a nice breakfast then went swimming! Half of the reason we chose this hotel was because of the indoor pool. Well the pool was pretty chilly so we enjoyed the hot tub and Brooks loved it.

We got ready then relaxed a little bit before packing up to drive south. We met up with Dan's family (Eric & Sylvia, Thomas & Jessica and Joe) for lunch at J-Dawgs (one of my favorites!) then started the drive to BYU for commencement. Brooks fell asleep on the way so we hung out in the parking lot until he woke up. Good thing he woke up when he did because I guess it was almost a bloodbath for seats in the Marriott center. There was a lot of crazy going on! Brooks did pretty well during the 2 hours considering it was so long. We got to see Elder Holland speak which was phenomenal!

We took some pictures, had a late dinner at Costa Vida then we headed back to Dan's Aunt's house where we'd be staying for the rest of our stay. A huge thank you to Robert and Ruth Ann for letting us stay and being so sweet with Brooks. Brooks thought he had another pair of grandparents by the time he left!

The next morning my parents came over to see us! They drove down to see us and my brother who also lives in Utah. Brooks chased around the kitty yelling, "meow meow!" and trying to get it to love him and also got to see my Dad's new car.

He would giggle and chase that kitten for ever if we let him!

I also had a cousin graduating so my grandparents, aunt and uncle and more cousins were in town. All the family! We went to the Redwoods where we met up with the rest of my family. Brooks and his cousin Evelyn gave each other big hugs and fell to the ground, it was the sweetest!

Brooks had a nap, we relaxed then met up with Dan's family at Maria Bonitas for a late lunch. It was good and the portions were huge! Brooks was a little crazy during the meal but we found out later it's because he was gassy. Then we went to Convocation, cheered for Joe and took some more pictures before walking to the Creamery to have ice cream for dinner.

The good thing about running around all day is that Brooks was so tired every night it didn't matter if he was in a new place! We were wearing him out good!

Saturday morning was thankfully a chill and relaxing morning. We took our time, got ready, played with Brooks then headed to a park in Provo for a big family lunch in celebration of Joe. We had a lot of family there- Sylvia's family, Eric's family and all my family. We all mingled, ate and had a great time. The park was awesome and Brooks had the best time. A giant open field for him to just run. Everyone gave him cookies when he asked and I'm pretty sure he ate 3 bags of chips. 2pm rolled around and we started to clean up and Brooks still hadn't had a nap. I was surprised he didn't just drop into a deep sleep on the grass.

We started the drive out to my brother's house and Brooks was out! We got to Ryan's house and watched the babies play, talked and relaxed. We had dinner at Seven Brothers (which was so good!) then had to part ways and say goodbye. It was so good to see them all and especially see my grandparents who live in Canada. I know they just loved meeting Brooks and Evelyn.

  

Noggin'

Dude!

We got to see Dan's Uncle Bruce that night too and catch up with him, his wife and the rest of Dan's family. Then we grabbed some swig cookies, visited with family and turned in for the night.

Sunday we woke up and went to church with everyone and long story short we ended up in the wrong ward so we only stayed for sacrament haha! We got Brooks a nap then went to Dan's other Aunt's house, Colleen, where we cooked food, talked and hung out.

Side note from that morning. I was getting ready and I went to put my wedding ring on from the place I had been putting it every night and it wasn't there. Cue the adrenaline racing through my body. I try to calm myself, I'm sure it just got knocked on the ground or something! My earrings are right there from when I took them off last night so my ring must be near by. I look around all over the floor and start moving things then realize my purse is wide open and right there. Oh! It must have fallen in there! Nope. I'm starting to get a little more worried. Floor, bed, diaper bag, purse, vents, windowsill, bathroom bag. At this point I start to really worry and I immediately get on my knees and ask for help. I knew this was a small request in the big scheme of things but it is really sentimental to me and if I could, I wanted to find it. Then I recruited Dan. When he can't find it the anxiety kicks in. I KNOW I placed it right there but then I start doubting myself 'Well if I had... then where is it?' 

I came to the conclusion that it had to either be in that room or Brooks had swallowed it. Brooks had only been in the room for maybe 2 minutes this morning and he was mostly on the bed and barely even walked by the place where my ring was. If he had it, he did something with it FAST which I doubted. I told Robert and Ruth Ann and they started helping look around but then it was time to go to church. I kept retracing my steps of the night before all through church and while Brooks napped I tore every bag, suitcase and backpack apart. 

Thanks to my brother for taking a lot of pictures the night before I could rule out a lot of places (the park, his house and seven brothers) because I was pictured wearing my ring. Last picture showed me leaving dinner with it on. The only places I went after that were Bruce's house and Ruth Ann's. We looked all over the chair I was sitting in, we looked everywhere and couldn't find it. 

I started writing down a timeline of everything I did to try to jog my memory, focusing on when I got ready for bed. I kept mulling it over and over for quite a few minutes then suddenly I remembered I threw some trash away that was sitting right next to my ring. Please please please please I muttered as I rushed to the bathroom trash and started digging. "I FOUND IT!!" I was so happy and so relieved. We had looked in the kitchen trash but not the bathroom trash. One thing I want to make absolutely clear is that God hears and answers our prayers. There is NO WAY I would have remembered that on my own. It is only because of a loving and merciful God that my mind was quickened by the spirit and I was able to remember that small clue. God is so good!

Back to Colleen's house. We all talked and caught up then took a walk. Colleen has two yorkies that Brooks chased to his hearts content. He had so much fun with them!

While in Utah we also wanted to see as many of our friends as we could too! We went to Trent and Kim's Sunday night and we hadn't seen them in YEARS! Probably like 4? It was so fun to meet their boys and new baby girl and to watch our kids play together. They were so good to share their toys and Brooks was LOVING all the new toys. Sooner or later we ended up outside with all 3 blonde boys packed on the 4 wheeler. I'll be honest I was nervous at first but watching Titan (who's almost 4) drive was so sweet! He was going slow for Brooks and let him sit in front of him with Briggs on the back. What a cute sight to see and Brooks loved it!

These two almost look like twins! We just need some hair gel for Brooks!

Brooks played so hard at their house and he totally passed out and slept all night! Sunday and Monday most of our family were heading back home so we were on our own for most of the morning which was ok. We played all morning, let Brooks nap, went to lunch at Cubbys then headed to the Museum of Curiosity in Lehi. I had heard so much about this place and Wow! Did it live up to my expectations. Such a cool place! Brooks loved it all and could have stayed there for HOURS!

There was a music room, a water room, a giant play gym, outdoor gardens, a play ground-so many things to do! If we lived over here I would totally have a membership here! We stopped off at Chip to grab some cookies then that night we went and had dinner with another one of our friends Ryker and Courtney. We loved being able to see them and catch up! Then next morning we played, relaxed and packed up for our 11am flight back to DFW.

I was a little worried when Brooks fell asleep on the way to the airport because I was hoping he'd sleep on the plane but low and behold he fell asleep on the plane too! He slept almost the whole time and it was so sweet to watch him.

Overall we had a wonderful trip and much needed time with each other and with family. I loved being able to see family members we don't get to see frequently and introduce them to Brooks. We came home and then I had to buy ALL THE FOOD because we had none ha!