In preperation for our move overseas we took a week to go see "Fremily" (Friends that are family and family that are friends). We drove up to Utah which took two solid days. I am loving the kids ages. Everyone did great thanks to Nintendo DS and DVDs. There was a lot of driving so we didn't get to stop much, but when we saw this rest stop near Moab we couldn't resist!

Here is Kat stretching her legs!
Jason and Adam took a hike up and around the formations. Can you see them? On our first offical day in SLC we had to go out Tooele to run an errand. We took the time to re-enact when me and my siblings first saw the Great Salt Lake. It is stinky! The building to the left is the Salt Air. It was the buggest dance hall in the country back in the early 1900's then it burnedt down. Then they made it a amusment park, then THAT burnt down. Then they made it a water park, then THAT flooded. Now this much tamer version of the original is a venue. Bor-ring! We did get some Salt Lake Taffy and a bottle of salt from the Lake though. The most important and fabulous part of our trip was visiting Lowell and Elaine Wright. They are part of our family's history. The short story is that a long time ago we were part of some missionary work along with the other people in this picture. It was a life changing experience and set the stage for all of the other good things in our life. That is the VERY short story. We spent hours together rehashing old war stories and swapping updates on our favorite people. Our kids played together late into the night. It was the highlight of our trip. The next day we got to visit the Temple with the Wrights and Thompsons and it was a very special experience.

3 couples who met up in Russia- the Jeppsons, the Thompsons and the Livingstons. We all have three kids- It was SO fun to see them play together. We call them the Russian cousins. They don't know we are arranging marriages!

We also got down to see Jason's siblings Candice and Brian and their families. Kat LOVED being with her girl cousin Grace! We went to a pirate place that is like Chuck E Cheese. After that we hung out at Crispy Creme. It was so good, we started dreaming about moving back!
We also got to see my bro John. He introduced us to Sub-Zero Ice cream. You pick the cream and toppings and then they add liquid Nitrogen and voila! Ice Cream! We also stopped by and visited Jason's Grandpa. We love him so much! We even got him out of the house to eat at Olive Garden. We talked about genealogy and flying planes. I am so glad that we have such an amazing ancestry! We talked so much we didn't take a picture.

On our last day we got all the way up to Logan to see Jason's cousin Brody and his family. It was so great. We hadn't seen eachother in about 10 years but it was like not a day had past. On our way home we went out of the way to visit the four corners- DOH!
Then stupid Blogger wouldn't let me take off these extra pictures. BOOOOOO.

Also on the way home we stopped in Roswell to visit the UFO museum. I thought I was a believer before! When I was a kid I used to think that if I thought about aliens they would know I know and come for me. Reading about everyones close encounters made me antsy! Over all it was a great trip for such a short time. We have no regrets- just close family and friends we wish we could visit with more often!