Omaha, Utah, Idaho Trip

50 hours in a car with a 2 year old and 7 different beds later we are home from vacation. We left on July 4th and returned back July 18th. Before we left Carter had his return visit with the allergist on July 1st. After waiting in the office for about an hour and 45 minutes we were finally seen. Only for him to tell us Carter needed to have his blood drawn to see if he had the antibodies of the egg allergy. The Dr as well as us were with high hopes that the antibodies would not be there and that we could move on. So we headed down to the lab and I held onto Carter with all of my strength while Chris waited in the waiting room (some people can't handle needles). It took 4 pokes, 3 techs, a lot of stickers and tears from mom and Carter but we finally got blood. They sent him home w/ 2 stuff dinosars and about 3 rolls of stickers and he even said thanks when he left. He came home and told Nana all about the "Blood" and how sad he was. I was really hoping that we would not have to worry about the egg allergy anymore. But after vacation I got the news...STILL ALLERGIC. Oh well, we will keep working on it.

Carter enjoyed having Pepa and Nana at home. He rode w/ Pepa the whole time to mow the lawn. He usually only lasts about 5 minutes w/ Chris.

We started our trip out to Omaha Nebraska/Council Bluffs Iowa. Carter was excellent in the car. I loved the DVD player as much as he did I think. There we stayed at my uncle Darby's house. Carter had a blast checking out all of uncle Brian and Shireen's animals (cows and horses) and even took his first horse ride. He will tell you all about it if you ask him.


We took Carter and my nephew Niko to a water park called Coco Keys. They loved the slides and multiple pools to play in. Niko showed off his growing swimming skills and Carter showed off his lack of fear for water. After several hours Carter looked at me and said "Hungry momma...suit off!!" I took that as it was time to go.

We enjoyed playing with family and Carter really enjoyed playing w/ his cousin. We headed out on the next leg of the trip after spending 2 days in Omaha. We went straight to Saratoga Springs Utah to Chris' brother Doug's house. We stayed for 2 days - -One night we went to dinner w/ Nate and Steph Halladay @ Cafe Rio. We saw their new baby John and Wes who will be 3 in September. Carter played w/ Wes in the mulch pile.

We loved seeing them and miss them so much back in Michigan. Maybe someday we will live close again. We then headed up to Logan to Leslie and Paul Erikson's home in Richmond UT (just outside of Logan). Carter latched righ onto Laura Leslie's daughter. He wanted her to do everything for him. He jumped on the trampoline, played in the sandbox and played w/ all the toys he could find. It was so nice to stay w/ them. Thanks again guys! We also say a friend of mine from college days. Aimee Marble and her daughter Helen. It was nice to see her again. The Logan temple was beautiful as always. Chris also got to enjoy golfing w/ Jamie in Logan. Thanks Jamie!
We headed up to Pocatello on our way to Blackfoot. Stopped in to see Teri Harris who is a great friend and old roomie from my Ricks College days. She has an adorable little boy Tyler. We had some lunch and played at a local park. It was nice to just see her and meet Ty for the first time. I wish we lived closer.

We headed to to grandma and grandpa Spooner's home in Blackfoot. It is their 60th weddiing anniversary. Everyone was there-- - -all the cousins and aunts and uncles. It was nice to see them. We gave them a memory rock garden-all of us wrote memories we had of them on rocks that they could look at for the years to come. Grandpa is in a sling from cutting a fish on a fishing trip.

We had the Christensen family reunion the day after. We saw everyone. We particularly enjoyed seeing Ross, Clay and Jeff Christensen and their parents. We played on the playground, ate great food and played games. Finished off the day in the pool at teh hotel. It was cold, but of course our little guy didn't care.


We look family pictures. These are the grandkids. Niko, Lillia and Carter. Hard to get them all looking at the camera.


We headed back down to Utah and visited w/ Elba Robison my old roomie at USU. We stayed at her cute apt and Carter still talks about "Mooch" her dog. She took us to Liberty Park and Carter ran through and from the sprinklers. Thanks Elba, we loved seeing you again. You are the BEST!

Back to Saratoga springs to visit w/ the rest of Chris' family. We saw Doug and Lori and their daughters Aubrey and Kayla. Aubrey took to Chris quickly, and I think Chris liked playing w/ a little girl. Carter loved playing w/ the girls but at times had troubles sharing---tough lesson to learn. We went to a temple open house. On the way there, I loved hearing sweet Kayla singing "I love to see the Temple" on repeat without missing a word. The temple was beautiful. Carter loved seeing all the beautiful things inside.

We wanted to make sure to see Dave and Carlie's new house. It was very nice and we are encited fo them on their new adventures as home owners. Dylan is getting so big and can hit the baseball very well. Malaia is growing like a weed too.

Chris and his brother's went and played homerun durby like the old days. I hear Chris was the winner w/ 7 total homeruns. I guess he still has something! Way to go Chris. We live too far apart we decided! Nice to see you guys again...thanks for letting us crash your house and for Aubrey's bed!

We headed back home and finally made it!!!! If I heard it once I heard it 20 times from Chris, "We are not driving this for a LONG time!" I agreed every time. Nice vacation, but such a LONG trip!!! It is good to be home!