Salt Lake...Council Bluffs, Iowa and home...

We left Blackfoot and went to Alpine, Utah to stay with Chris' brother Doug and sister-in-law Lori and their kiddos.  One of the first days we were there was Mother's Day.  The guys cooked us a Mother's day Dinner.  It was delicious.

Uncle Jamie came from SLC and he introduced us to his girlfriend Chelsea.  Everyone loved her especially Aubrey.

 We enjoyed spending time with Doug and Lori's kids.  They are so sweet!  Aubrey would come up to me and say,"I really like your outfit!" or "you look beautiful!"  She was so adorable and cuddly...which we don't get a lot of at our house. 

 We spent one day at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Pointe.  The kids loved it.

 Carter loved naming the dinosaurs he knew from watching a TV show of course!  Not from his mom:)

Eli was thrilled to be along for the ride!

 There was a fossil and water table to play in.  They had a ball splashing about!

 All the girls wanted to run by the sharks...but not Carter.  He wanted to climb in and touch his teeth.  He settled for a simple picture.

They even had a dino dig.  They got to dig for dinosaur bones in a big sand pit.  Clothes filled with sand but so much fun!

 Another day we wernt to Temple square in SLC.  Carter for months was asking to see "The Pipes!"  Yes the organ!

Cute JD enjoyed paling around.  What a doll!

 We loved the Christus as usual!  Such a wonderful feeling in this room.

 The colors on Temple Square were amazing as usual. 

 We did other things with Dave and Carlie and their kids (Dylan and Malia) as well as plenty of shopping and hanging out.  Carter loved playing with his cousins and it was sad when we had to go.  We miss them all wen we live so far away!

All the cousins...from left to right...Malia, Aubrey, Carter, Kayla, JD, Dylan and Eli  What a cute bunch!

Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island

For our 4th Wedding Anniversary we spent 2 days at Mackinaw City/Mackinac Island in the upper peninsula of Michigan. This is on Lake Huron. It was beautiful and a fun experience for the whole family. The island does not allow cars and the only mode of transportation is horse and buggy or bikes. I tried to talk Chris into renting a tandem bike with a trailer to pull Carter. Since we could not remember the last time we rode bikes and being pregnant and all we decided maybe that wasn't the best idea. The way to get to the island is by Ferry. So we took a ferry from Mackinaw City where we stayed over to Mackinac island. The ride was beautiful and Carter especially loved the boat ride.

This is Mackinaw Bridge view from the island.

We enjoyed watching others play on the rocky beach walk on the boardwalk.

We enjoyed ice cream on the island...had to make sure to find ice cream without eggs...this boy did not want to miss out on his ice cream.
These are in front of the Grand Hotel. After 6pm you have to be in a suit and tie to enter the lobby. That is NOT where we stayed...little bit out of our budget.
There are horse and buggies all over the island as well, had to watch our step at times. Carter let us know every time he saw a horse. He is such an animal lover.
We stayed at a great hotel in Mackinaw City...great pool...great contenential breakfast (make your own waffles and everything)...and right on the lake. This was at the back of the hotel. It was cool and the water was freezing. Carter did not care one bit and walked RIGHT in...sweatshirt, jeans, and shoes! He loved the beach...even swore he saw a turtle in the lake...turned out to be a large rock. But he fed it sand and truly believed it was a BIG turtle. He made us laugh.


We had a great trip and loved the time away from home even if it was just 2 days. Next time we are going to rent or bring some bikes to the island.