Catching Up- First Vacation In Almost A Year!

So we finally went on a vacation....as far as I can remember the last one we went on was last August/September to Nevada. For Thanksgiving last year Andrew's parents came out here and Christmas we had at my parents' house here in Utah and since my parents no longer live in San Diego we don't really have any other cheap alternatives. Steph and Ryan bought tickets and let us know they were going and so we figured we should too. Since our blog is primarily for me to remember these early years of our family some of this may not make sense, but maybe it will be somewhat entertaining for anyone else reading as well. Sorry- once again pictures are forthcoming as Steph took most of the pictures.

So list style once again here is our vacation in a nutshell:

1. We drove through the night both ways- which I recommend and don't recommend at the same time. It was awesome to have Ethan and Hudson sleep the entire way, but it was NOT awesome for Andrew and I not to sleep the entire way. Going there we woke up at midnight and left and got there around 8 am, coming back we left at about 5pm and got back here around 3 am. I was seriously so tired I couldn't focus my eyes one more second!

2. Ethan spent 1/4 the vacation with no shoes on, 1/4 the vacation with no clothes on, and 1/2 with neither shoes nor clothes on- how we love our sweet wild boy! Andrew's parents have a pretty good space around their house that Ethan can wander around without really getting into too much trouble or bugging anyone so he regularly snuck out without shoes or clothes on and ran around in his diaper.

3. We found MarioKart! We had been looking for a while. (The purchase of the Wii is a long story, but kind of a guilty, impulse buy on my part-I tried to sell it on Craig's List and KSL.com the next day......we heard they were hard to find and on a whim looked at Target one night and on our first look there was one there so we bought it.) I actually beat Andrew a few times too.....now to just catch up on Guitar Hero!

4. I saw more movies there than I have seen in the past 6 months......."Iron Man" - good, but I get really, really into movies so it was pretty intense for me and took be a little while to wind down from; "In The Name Of the King" (?)- I am not sure I got the title right, but it doesn't matter because the movie starts bad, the middle is bad, and the ending is bad-just not good all around; "The Golden Compass" - I had heard that there was a lot of hype around this movie that it was atheist or something, but I was looking for the innuendos, but didn't really see them, my sister said it's supposed to be more apparent in the forthcoming continuation of the series, but overall a decent kid's fantasy type movie

5. I ate far too much good (and junky) food......every night at Andrew's parents' house I say to myself "I am not going to eat tomorrow as much as I did today," but then Andrew's mom makes the best food- the kind I never ever make and I give up! Cedar Plank Salmon, Brownies, Chocolate Mousse Pie, Rice Krispie Treats, Steak Kebabs, Twice Baked Potatoes, Chicken Divan.......I might cry just thinking about all I ate and how good it really was- I am back to normal eating patterns now though (just in time for Strawberry Days :( )

6. I drank far too much Diet Pepsi - Ryan brought in a 36 pack at the beginning of our stay and joked about not going through them all - I am was too ashamed to admit that I really know they were going to be gone and fast

7. I did go walking every day except Friday though......I am sure not enough to balance everything else, but I made the effort, right?

8. Hiking on Steph's birthday - we did this fun hike to some waterfalls and then hit the hot springs close by. The only hitch was I carried Hudson in the Baby Bjorn and we had to cross some rather swift moving water on tree trunk bridges (Troop Beverly Hills style- if you haven't seen the movie disregard this completely) I normally wouldn't have been that nervous about crossing the water on a tree trunk....okay okay who am I kidding I would have been nervous whether I was carrying Hudson or not, but on the thinner and less sturdy looking trunk on the way back I was more than happy to let Dave carry Hudson across. The hot springs felt amazing afterwards too!

9. Bowling with Steph and Ryan - I broke 100 in the first game which is about as good as I can ever do and got a 99 the second game.......we also had this good luck sorceress of sorts. That day a school had gone to the bowling alley for a field trip and there was this girl that would yell like war chants in her own made up language with full blown karate or war movements before rolling the ball down the lane each time. You would think that would be distracting, but everytime someone in our group bowled at the same time as her ritual was going on - we did better......coincidence? I think not.

10. Date with Andrew- we really don't go on hardly any dates by ourselves ever. I feel like I use up all my babysitting favors from family when they watch the boys while I work each week so it was really, really fun to go on a date just the two of us. Thanks Joani!!!!! We didn't even really do anything that spectacular- just dinner at the Macaroni Grill, but it was nice to be able to talk in normal tones of voice and be able to hear each other.

11. Hanging Out at Lake Tahoe- I love Lake Tahoe! It was a little bit cold that day, but we just hung out on the beach and relaxed.....Ethan dug in the sand, Hudson smiled as he hung out under the umbrella, and Steph and Andrew jumped off the rocks into the water......it was way too cold for me to even think about doing that, but it was fun watching them jump.

12. Heavenly Hudson- our little triple H seriously is the best baby I have ever known. He is pretty content to watch and take in everything around him, but also quick to give you a smile and a laugh. But he also knows he super cute and good and he'll work it to his advantage. He's started rolling over from his back to his belly with lightning speed and loves to cuddle up to me so he can grab my hair and bury his face in it. Sometimes he'll lay there and study my hair, pretending to grab just one strand then out of nowhere will grab a whole fistful and either try to chew on it or smile as he shakes it all around. The entire trip he was the easiest guy around- he wanted to go everywhere, do everything- no matter when, no matter what. It's amazing how much Ethan and Hudson tap into different aspects of both Andrew and I and I love them so much for both. Where Ethan has always been his own man, Hudson's a total snuggler. I love Ethan's wildness and maybe I will regret it later, but I embrace fully and usually encourage his sense of adventure and busyness. At the same time I love Hudson's laid back attitude and sense of joy in just life- no need to have hundreds of things going on and tons of entertainment-he's just happy!

Tomorrow's installment (if I get to it)- Walk In Provo Canyon, First Haws Family Camping and Fishing Trip, Orem Summerfest, and Jones Family Grandson Count 6 (Maybe 7)!