Our little Road trip...

Derek left two Mondays ago for 2 weeks. I know that may not seem like a long time, but it has been really hard for us. Mostly because he was gone a lot over the summer and fall. He has had to take many week long trips and overnighters. He has also had to study for his Professional Engineering exam and so with all his traveling and being in the bishopric and studying, we hardly got any time with him. So for him to leave for 2 weeks was really difficult for me. I just can't wait for him to come home this weekend! I really respect those who have to send their husband away for months or even years at a time. Wow, I really admire you.

I decided to go visit all my family up North and get away from every day life. We left Friday morning and drove straight to Dani's apartment up in Logan. She is staying in the same place I stayed in, so it brought back a lot of memories. The stairwell even smelt the same, not in a good way though:) I met Derek there, so it was fun to sit in the same apartment and re-live those memories. Then we ate some lunch and headed to the famous Aggie Icecream. I forgot how good the ice cream is there. MMMM! This place also brought back a lot of memories because Derek and I used to eat lunch there every Wednesday when we were dating. I LOVE that place!

We had some extra time before Dani had to go to class, so we drove around Logan and took pictures of all the places that had sentimental meaning to me. I had so much fun, but it really made me miss Derek. We drove by Aggie Village and the temple.

Yep, this is where me and Derek roughed it out our first 2 years of marriage.
The Logan Temple. Derek and I were married there.

Bria and Erik on the temple grounds.
I dropped Dani off at her class and headed over to Aunt Carol's house. Aunt Carol is SO much fun! She loves playing with the kids and always has plenty of toys and food to keep them happy! Well, extatic is a better word:) I don't know a kid that doesn't just LOVE Aunt Carol. I had to literally drag Bria out of her house!

Aunt Carol raked up a HUGE pile of leaves and set up a slide so the kids could slide into the big pile of leaves and Bria LOVED it!

Erik- not so much

We then went to get dinner and headed over to Holly and Ty's house. We talked and had a blast and then after the kids went to bed, we went to Sonic to get a slush float. Yep, two ice creams in one day! It was SO good, but we kept getting some serious ice cream headaches!

The next day we went back to Carol's and the kids got to play in the leaves in her backyard and they loved it! Carol was so nice to watch my kids so that my sisters and I could go shopping and out to lunch. We had so much fun being together. I just LOVE my sisters so much. I am so proud to be related to them because they are just so awesome! We ate at the best sandwich place ever and then went to the mall.

That night we went to Big Ryan's house. That is what Bria calls my brother. She absolutely adores her Uncle Ryan. It is funny because she always wants him to hold her, but his little girls do too, so he is usually holding at least two little girls at the same time. What a little ladies man! We always have so much fun staying with Ryan and Emily. They are great hosts and make us feel so at home. We had an amazing dinner! It felt so good to eat a home cooked meal, especially by Emily because she is such a good cook. After we put the kids to bed, we just hung out and watched Tim Hawkins and laughed our heads off! I have not laughed that hard for a long time! Ryan always makes me laugh harder because he is so funny. I just love my brother and his wife so much! They are so much fun.

Ryan holding all the girls. Very typical. What a cute Dad and Uncle!

The next morning we had yummy waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. Emily always makes the best breakfasts! Then we headed over to my mom's house to be with her on Sunday. We had such a good time talking. I really don't get to talk to her as much as I used to because now she works full time and teaches piano, so it was really good to catch up and have a good time together. That night my dad made fried shrimp, fries and steak for us. Wow, I was so spoiled! The kids loved those fries. They are definitely the best! I love my parents and am so grateful for all they do.

We had such a good time and I am so glad that I was able to spend quality time with my whole family. I love my family so much!