No 'Grils' Allowed...while the girls played, the boys did too! Friday night Garrett took the boys up to Midway for some 'guy time.' They hung out with grandpa Nichol, shot guns in the fields of Midway and in the unfinished theatre room at the house, wrestled, ate out, played dodge ball and watched a movie...
I love this eye patch Garrett rigged up to help with Colter's aim when he shoots - pretty ingenious, McGyver!Wyatt even had hot dogs for breakfast. That's a real treat! The only request I had while we were away and he was with the boys was that he take pictures...and he did. Thanks babe!
No Boys Allowed...In May, my grandma Berk will turn 91 years-old. All she has been wanting for her birthday is a shopping trip with 'her girls', so my mom booked two hotel rooms in St. George and all of us girls tried to make it work.
Between dance competitions, soccer games, shipping out Wyatt for the days, Colt for the afternoons and all that comes up in life, we were able to make it work (thanks to a great husband and so many great friends!) My sis-in-law, Mandy, and her girls, tried every way possible to get to Utah or Las Vegas so they could join us...but flights were overbooked so they couldn't make it...and because our getaway was planned over my youngest brother's 29th birthday, his girlfriend, Bailey, decided to stay home with him - we missed you girls...but looking forward to next year with everyone plus a bigger car to bring back all of our incredible loot.The road trip and fun begins...
About an hour away from St. George, the tire sensor light came on...we stopped at the next gas station to check it out. I opened the glove box and found this long red tube with a gage on the end...since my dad always has the newest gadget and I didn't see a regular tire gage, I thought it was some kind of newfangled tire gage...oh, I was so wrong and Whitney will never let me live it down!! But not before I completely made a fool of myself...so I get out, kneel down to the front tire, unscrew the cap and stick the end onto the nozzle - nothing! I tried again, still nothing and then I looked up to see about 5 guys just hanging out in front of our car. I heard one of them say "hey, who's got a tire gage on 'em"...a guy named Justin came over and as he checked our tires I noticed he was wearing a mechanics shirt. He mentioned he worked at a tire store...how often does that happen? We were in the right place at the right time...he knew exactly what the problem was and we were on our way. An undeniable tender mercy.
After driving through rain and snowstorms we made it to sunny St. George. It's always an unforgettable adventure with grandma B. along...she made us laugh the whole time. At one point during the drive, we were talking about Chopper being outside in his run - she got a little confused and asked if we let Colter sleep inside with us at night...that's just a little of what we enjoyed all weekend. We wished we would have brought along a journal just to keep track of all the funny little things she would say. On the trip, she bought two new purses, as we were driving home she said "I really didn't spend much money...just this one purse is all I got" my girls and I smiled as we reminded her of the other purse she purchased. She laughed and said "Well, when I unpack my bag and see it it will be like Christmas morning for me"...we all laughed!A lot of shopping and a little modeling...
lounging back at the hotel after a full day of shopping...tired but happy girls. McKenna loved these glasses and had to have them, thanks to grandma Nichol! They remind me of ones my dad used to wear many, many years ago. They are too cute on her! Ashlyn also found a darling green hat and pink sunglasses...thanks to grandma, too! What would we do without grandmas??
Whitney and I reminisced about one of grandma B's habits...one memory we will always have is watching her put on her red lipstick. Always, without fail, after eating a meal or if a few hours have passed, she will invariably pull out her little gold-leafed compact, along with her tube of bright red lipstick and slowly and methodically paint her lips. I snapped this picture while we were driving...she always says "a girl can't live without her lipstick!"
The highlight of the trip was definitely jumping on the beds in the hotel room. We were giggling and jumping like out-of-control kids...even grandma joined in! Aunt Whitney can be such a bad influence on us :)!!! But she always makes everything sooo much more fun. We bounced until we got 'the call' from the front desk. Who knew that people like to sleep in hotel rooms?? Now that's some big air!
Looking at these pictures it's funny to me that in the morning we can look so respectful and put together. Not having to cook and being able to shop without 4 kiddos begging to go home always makes for a great day! We spent some time touring Brigham Young's Winter home...
and had a little impromptu photo shoot on the premises...absolutely love this one of my mom and my girls! Of course Aunt Whitney was doing something behind my back to make them all laugh...that's what I love about this picture!
We visited The Jacob Hamblin home...and walked the St. George Temple grounds...
One night we stopped at Arby's to eat. I mentioned to Whitney that in Utah the 5 for $4 deal was going on and I wondered if they would give us that deal...Whitney just looked at me with a look of 'you've got to be kidding me', then quickly picked up her phone and texted to Garrett what I had just said - she laughed when she read his reply..."Yup, and she's all mine!"All good things must come to an end...coming home
When our road trip began the girls had 4 mini-mals between them...Raspberry, Apricot, Oswald and Sunny. Here they are posing on the ledge...at a stop in Fillmore the girls found a vending machine full of these little mini-mals. They tried their luck at getting every animal and almost succeeded...still missing the bunny and elephant. Aunt Whitney was lucky enough to get the elephant! The rest of the trip was spent naming their thirteen new additions...
Oh, we cannot forget mom's favorite snack...fried pork skins. Seriously, is there anything more awful??! Yes...her next favorite snack - black licorice. I definitely didn't inherit her taste buds...ugghh. It was a great trip that holds lots of great memories...looking forward to next year!
