WE HAD TO FIND SOME SNOW

luc spent the entire month of december asking where the snow was. i had to inform him several times a day that, regrettably {aka: thankfully!}, it doesn't snow at his house. he was pretty unhappy that christmas came and went without a single snowflake, so i knew he was going to be excited to see the four+ feet of snow at nana and grandpa's house in utah.

the kiddos and i flew up on the 29th and stayed a week. we had so much fun! the best part was finally seeing uncle nate- my baby brother came home from his 2 year mission in san jose california on the 30th and it was crazy wonderful to see him! i missed him tons and tons, i'm so glad he's home!!! he served a wonderful mission, his spanish is pretty good, and the kiddos warmed up to him almost immediately. even lia, who is pretty timid around new people, liked him right away. of course she did! he's so handsome and smart and he loves his family- especially his nieces and nephew. it was good to hear his stories and see how much he's grown. he's headed off to college at uvu on a scholarship and i can't wait to see what good things he's going to do in the world.

along with spending time with nate, we ate way too much delicious food, visited temple square, opened presents from nana and grandpa, played trains, visited the big trains at union station, and played in the snow. luc LOVED the trains and he the snow, he didn't want to come inside ever. and lia took to granpa like a little magnet, she adored him. she also got brave and started taking steps here and there around the house! it was such a fun week and i'm so glad we went. nothing better than family time.

chilling' at the airport. lia's first flight!

they made themselves at home right away

HE'S HOME! meeting lia for the first time!

lia and her second cousin ellie

second christmas morning!

naps and trains :)

SNOW!!!

bedhead and sleepy eyes. lia loved snuggling grandpa!

nate has seen the light and joined the fanhood of the greatest team. GO MEXICO!

opening presents with cousin zoey!

they actually had lots of fun :)

temple square lights

SO HAPPY to have this kid home again! i missed you nate!

trains, of course

my neighborhood is awesome

flying home. goodbye utah!

SUMMER IN UTAH

we took our summer family vacation last week, and road-tripped up to beautiful utah for the 4th of july. we had SO MUCH FUN! the kiddos handled the drive pretty well, thanks to my cousin for letting us stop at her house in st. george so we could split it up a bit. luc LOVED nana and grandpa's yard and spending all his time in the basement paying trains with grandpa, and lia loved all the attention! orlando and i even snuck away for a dessert date, i think we all felt pretty spoiled by the end.

highlights:

we got to play with cute cousin zoey and celebrate orlando's birthday on sunday with steak dinner and an enormous german chocolate cake!

luc and haylee kept the friendship burning bright with a hilariously chaotic playdate at costa vida, and we loved seeing heather and avery for a few hours, even if we didn't take a single picture.

my best friend kara happened to be in town at the same time, so we spent a day together swimming with the kiddos and trying to cram as much face-to-face conversation in as possible, as it will probably be another year before it happens again. i love and miss her tons!

we spent a day at lagoon, which was super fun and crazy hot. on our way, we stopped in at grandpa's work so luc could see/ride their brand new ginormous fire truck. they gave him a ride and let him spray the hose- he was in heaven!

we visited union station and rode the frontrunner to salt lake for an afternoon at city creek, and then home to roast marshmallows around the fire pit and soak up the gloriousness that is utah summer evenings. 

we celebrated the 4th with family- going to the parade, watching fireworks, sparklers and really good food. it was so wonderful to see everyone, and luc made a few friends with my cousins' kids and had a blast.

uncle trevor came to visit and we went to the fish farm, where luc caught/touched his first fish. he was very brave and absolutely loved it! he kept talking to the fish in the bucket 'hey fishes! want to come to my house and play?' bahahaha!

and of course, every day we played in the huge backyard, sandbox, and hammock, and luc and grandpa spent hours in the basement playing with the model trains. lia was adored and snuggled by all, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves the entire time. i heart utah. there's no place like home!

and now for the pictures!