Road Trip to Utah + Updated Summer Bucket List

We just got back from a last minute road trip to Utah! Andrew's brother lives there, and we'd hoped to go visit them in June. Things got delayed and then cancelled due to conflicting schedules. Last week, Andrew's work sent out a memo that said they would be closed on Friday, July 5, in addition to July 4. With four days off, we decided to make the trip to Utah happen. We went on lots of adventures including our first family tent camping trip in Wyoming! I wrote about our adventures here: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/WhirledPeas/Trips/23214

Here are a few photo highlights of the trip:

With the trip came lots to mark off for our family's summer bucket list! We got to watch a fireworks display on the Fourth of July in Hyrum, Utah. The fireworks came with a view, as they were right in front of a backdrop of mountains. Oliver and I also made a stars and stripes cake. Uncle Zach didn't have a mixer, but he gave us an immersion blender to use. Oliver thought that was really cool. Of course, we got to mark off going on a road trip as well as tent camping. I'll be honest: the kids didn't sleep very much when we were camping. They really had a great time, though, and Oliver has already asked to go back to the sleeping bag and fire.

Other items that I don't have pictured (yet...) that I've marked off are blowing bubbles and running through sprinklers. We totally did those things this summer, too. We're making progress on our list!

* Watch a fireworks display on the Fourth of July.
* Bake a berry stars & stripes cake with Oliver.
* Run through the sprinklers.
* Go to a splash park.
* Play in the "creek" at the Children's Mordecai Gardens at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
* Watch our first parade.
* Ride the outdoor train at Belleview Park.
* Visit a petting zoo.
* Take the kids for a swim.
* Have a real outdoor picnic on the grass with a picnic basket.
* Watch a sunrise.
* Go for a hike in the mountains.
* Go on a road trip.
* Go out for an ice cream cone, and eat it outside!
* Make our own ice cream, and let Oliver choose the flavor.
* Pick and eat vegetables out of the garden we're growing at Grandma Judy's house.
* Eat cherry tomatoes right off the vine at Aunt Bonnie & Uncle George's house.
* Throw water balloons.
* Go tent camping overnight.
* Look at stars in the sky.
* Visit Andrew at work for lunch.
* Take the train downtown to visit Grandpa Larry for lunch.
* Go to the Fireman's Museum.
* Use sidewalk chalk.
* Blow bubbles.
* Take Father's Day photos with the letters that spell out "DAD" again.

We didn't go stargazing as a family, but I am happy to say that I get to mark something off of my own bucket list. I got to see the Milky Way! We were camping in the Medicine Bow National Forest, and at 1am, things were dark enough and clear enough for me to see the Milky Way and a sprinkling of star dust.
* Watch a movie in the park with the kids.
* Take the kids to Disney World.
* Take the kids to Sesame Street Place.
* Take the kids tent camping.
* Take the kids to the tulip festival in Holland, Michigan
* Build a snowman with the kids.
* Have a tea party with the kids.
* Have a real picnic with the kids (blanket + picnic basket).
* Pick wild berries with the kids.
* Stay in a log cabin for a winter night in the mountains with the kids.
* Take the kids to a parade.
* Take the kids on a drive to see Christmas lights.
* Help the kids with a science fair project.
* Take Andrew on a cheese tasting. 
* Live in an old, brick home.
* Pay off our house entirely. Own it out right!
* Make our very own garden.
* Dress up for Halloween as a family.
* Plant a fruit tree.
* Train and run in another half marathon.
* Sit in a hot tub in the snow.
* Throw a nice dinner party for no reason.
* Go on an Alaskan cruise.
* Go on another tropical vacation, just Andrew and me.
* Go to the National Cherry Festival in Michigan.
* Go to the Mackinac Island Fudge Festival in Michigan.
* Go to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC.
* See the Northern Lights.
* See the Milky Way. (Medicine Bow National Forest, 2013)
* Go to Hong Kong with Phuong.
* Go to India with Aminta.
* Go to the Dominican Republic with Stasa.
* Get to every continent (So far: North America--including Central--and Europe)
* See Machu Picchu.
* Go to Paris.
* See Mount Rushmore.
* See the Crazy Horse Monument.
* See the Little Bighorn National Monument.
* See the Vietnam Memorial.
* Go to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.
* See the Abraham Lincoln National Memorial in Washington, DC.
* See the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
* See a whale (in the wild)
* Take a train across country.
* Camp on my uncle's land in Vashon Island.
* Go to the strawberry festival on Vashon Island.
* Go to the original Starbucks in Seattle.
* Go to a coffee plantation.
* Drink espresso in Italy with Andrew.
* Learn how to use a wet saw and lay tile all by myself.
* "Yarn Bomb" something!
* Build a window seat for reading.
* Backpack Europe (Phuong and I backpacked through Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Austria in 2006)
* Sky Dive (2002)
* Get a tattoo (2002)
* Dye my hair a funky color (Purple - 2001)
* Cut my hair super short (2000)
* See Yellowstone (2003)
* Ride a mule down the Grand Canyon (1995)
* Get my degree (2005)
* Train and run in a half marathon (Disney World 2009)
* Have a garden wedding (2007)
* Have children (2009 & 2011)
* Stay in the dorms (2001)
* Live in an apartment (2007-2008)
* Buy our first home (town home, 2009)
* Take the kids apple picking (2012)
* Build a sandcastle at the beach with the kids (2013)
* See the aspens in the Colorado mountains in the fall (2012)
* See the Maroon Bells (2012)
* Explore Mayan Pyramids (Belize 2008)
* Drive along Highway 1 through Big Sur (2008)
* See the redwoods (2008)
* Go for a wine tasting in Napa Valley (2008)
* See the Scottish countryside (2012)
* Learn how to use a jigsaw and use it (1997 and 2013)
* Learn how to use a miter saw and use it (2009, 2010, and 2013)
* Redecorate an entire room (first: 2009)
* Volunteer for a political campaign (Barack Obama, 2012)
* See a President speak (Barack Obama, 2012)
* Hike with the kids in a hiking backpack (2010 and 2013)
* Go treasure hunting! (New Mexico, 2013)
* Throw boxes of tea into the Boston Harbor (simulation, 1996)
* See the Gateway Arch in St Louis (1997)
* See a panda bear (San Diego Zoo, 2003 & 2005)
* See a bonobo chimpanzee (San Diego Zoo, 2005)
* Go to a Renaissance Festival (Larkspur, 2003-2007)
* Ride a steam engine (1997 and 2012)
* Vacation at Cape Cod (2010)
* Host Thanksgiving (2011)

Oliver's Back!

We were all supposed to go on a road trip to Utah to visit my brother-in-law's family. We were supposed to leave last Saturday, the 29th. At the last minute, plans fell through. My mother-in-law, Colleen, ended up flying into Utah. Oliver had been looking forward to vacation and had his bag packed, so Colleen volunteered to take him with. We agreed, and Andrew, Joanna, and I stayed behind.

Having one child in the house felt like a vacation in some ways. When Jo napped, I got to lounge. Oliver tends to leave a continuous trail of mess where he plays, and so I had nearly a week in which I didn't have to bend over and pick up toys nonstop.

After the second day, I started to miss my little man. By day 5, I was going bonkers. We could talk over Facetime, which helped, but I just wanted him home! It started to get to me that he was hundreds of miles away. Of course, he had a great time with his grandma, cousins, aunt, and uncle. They went sledding and even went on sleigh ride. They all watched the Broncos game together, and Oliver thoroughly enjoyed playing with the baby and mixing his bottles (he keeps talking about the baby, even now that he's home).

He finally came home yesterday in the early afternoon. I feel a lot better having my family home, together! I think even Jo is happy to have her brother home. Oliver is happy to be with us and also happy to have his toy appliances.

Here he is with his cousins: