Summing It Up Utah Style

Here are some final highlights of the Utah portion of our trip:

- We did our own fireworks Saturday night...I think fireworks are pretty common in Utah from July 4th through the 24th.

The girls doing their crazy dance in between the "Crazy Tiger" and "Blue Lotus" fireworks

- Sunday was the Westlake Ward reunion. I have to admit, I was not thrilled about spending an evening of my vacation in Draper, Utah meeting a bunch of people Glenn grew up with, including an old prom date! But I got over myself and while there were some dead moments for me, I ended up meeting some pretty nice people. And I rescued Zack's yummy brownies from greedy little fingers...we got to eat them all by ourselves!

The whole group of people, of which I knew about 3...whisking the brownies away to safety!

- I got to do some shopping with Julie which included a stop at the Shade store!

- Zack was left in charge of the crew of kids and the grown ups got to have an evening out. We ate at Los Hermanos, which happened to be where we had lunch with the Morgan family after BYU graduation back in 1996. Still just as delicioso 12 years later!

- I got pulled over by a cop just south of Manti. I weaseled my way out of a ticket though. Just kidding, the guy was nice and realized I was an out-of-towner so he gave me a break. Glenn kept asking me if I was ok after, like maybe I was going to start crying or something. Nah, I held my composure very well, thank you! I used my cruise control after that!

Next stop....Vegas, baby!

An Unlikely Fairy Tale

Of all the temples we've seen in Utah, the most memorable will probably be the Jordan River Temple. I mean, how many times do you need to call 911 for a police officer to come unlock your car for you in a temple parking lot? That is exactly what happened to us today, as we realized that while attempting to keep Andrew at bay, Glenn locked the keys to the rental van inside. This after a looooooong day traipsing around Temple Square, the This Is The Place monument, and the construction site for the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple (this really only involved stopping by the side of the road for a couple of pictures, but still--it wasn't directly on the way home).

We had to stop at the Jordan River Temple. It was my favorite temple in high school, one I had dreamed of getting married in. Both cars pulled into the parking lot, and while most spilled out onto the grass, Keith, Emma, Leah, and I took a walk around the temple to get photos from every angle. We made our way back to the vans, ready to head for home and Papa Murphy's pizza.

Meanwhile, Andrew had been giving Glenn quite a hard time, due mostly being exhausted from the day's aforementioned activities. Not thinking clearly (who does when dealing with tired children?) Glenn did not put the keys in his pocket before the last ditch effort of preventing an accident inside the rental car by a full-bladdered Andrew. And there we were, tired, hot and hungry, with a new obstacle between us and the comforts of home.

Who do we call? Budget? South Jordan police? 911? We decided to just call 911, since we didn't have our rental agreement handy, and didn't know the phone number to the police station. The operator explained to Glenn that not all of the cities' police forces come to open locked cars, but -lucky for us- South Jordan's does! Just a few more minutes of waiting, and our knight in shining navy polyester pulled in to rescue us. He had some handy gadgets that got that door open in a snap. He also turned on his lights for Andrew and gave all the kids stickers. There's a Utah police officer for ya.

So all's well that ends well. The Jordan River Temple may not be the Temple Where Amy and Glenn Got Married, but this will always be remembered as the Temple Where Glenn Filled Out A Police Report. Dreams really do come true.

This is the place!

Saturday found us at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Our friends Keith and Andrea Gold met us there--it was so good to see them! We miss them out here in Ohio!

Me and Andrea!

Andrew enjoyed talking to this missionary from Zambia--

he was excited to get a picture of Jesus from her.

After seeing all the sights downtown he headed up towards the "This Is The Place" monument. We passed by the stadium where they lit the torch for the 2002 Olympics.

It was a hot day, and the kids did remarkably well for being dragged around places that did not have fun rides or their favorite princesses around every corner. It was good for them to learn more about the legacy that has been left for us!

Fabulous Fireworks

Thanks to the Fleming's neighbor, Gordon, the kids got to watch fireworks from the back of a flatbed Ford. We drove down to Thanksgiving Point to see the show.

Law & Order

Victim: Emma

Crime: Forcing Emma and her parents to leave before the end of Wall-E

Witnesses: Uncle Keith and the high school kids who work at Cinemark

Crime scene: Theater 12 and the women's bathroom

M.O.: Major bloody nose

Evidence: A ruined outfit, blood spatter on the bathroom floor, wads and wads of toilet paper, tears


Suspect: High altitude of the Wasatch Front

Emma showed great fortitude and refused to be a victim. We deterred the assailant, removed all the evidence, and she jumped right back into life with a great fireworks show. Justice served!

Take a Hike! Part 2

We made it to the top!
This is looking down the waterfall
We decided we wanted to climb up even further, but the only way up (that we could see) was up a steep rock wash. Brooke and Julie stayed behind, and the rest of us forged ahead to get a closer look at the falls. The amazing girls who made it all the way!

Keith climbed in front of the falls, but decided it was too wet!

Keith then decided he would climb across the falls to the other side. On slippery rocks. Over rushing water. I was not nervous at all. He made it...

...then Glenn, Zack, and Andrew decided to cross as well.

I decided to look the other way for the most part, and the girls took turns taking pictures.

The view from the top

Zack and Andrew found the trail we should have used to get all the way to the top, instead of climbing the wash. I am glad they found it for the way down, because we could have created quite an avalanche!

Heading down the trail

How Brooke kept herself busy while she was waiting!