We had a fantastic and much needed vacation to Utah over the week of the 4th of July! I am so glad that we did this! Our one getaway this summer and one of the only things that felt summer-ish. We drove to Utah and, like I said in the previous post, we stopped in Rexburg to do a little college tour for Ailey and then got to Kirk and Meki's house at around 6:30 pm. They live in a cool area that is up on a mountain. On one side is Draper and the other side looks down on Utah County. As nice are the SLC mountains are...I much prefer seeing "my" mountains, Timp and Cascade. I can see both from where they live. I love it and I always forget that Provo is a Lake City.
Bryn was thrilled to be reunited with Kirk and Meki's dogs: Kenji and Kuma. They are ENORMOUS. The pictures DO NOT do the size of Kenji's head justice.
The next day Kirk had to work but Meki had the day off. We basically let all of the girls decide what they wanted to do that day. We started off with watching Kirin's swim lesson. Then the girls wanted to go shopping! No surprise there!
Ailey, Bryn, and Kaiya had a blast shopping for clothes and swimsuits together!
Half way through their shopping extravaganza they chose to eat lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. We don't have one of those in Spokane. They loved it! They polished off enormous salads and huge pieces of cheesecake to their hearts delight! LOL.
After that they wanted to drive around SLC and see the sights. They wanted to see where Grandma Vic had lived and where Kirk and Jordin had gone to school. We also got the Tour-de-Meki and saw where she grew up and went to school. It's weirdly very close to where Kirk grew up. Isn't life funny?
After Kirk got off work we grabbed Chik-Fil-A for all the kids and then the four of us headed to Provo for a date night. We had an absolute BLAST! Kirk and Meki made reservations for us at Communal. I have wanted to eat there for a LONG time. It did not disappoint!
It was such a special night and the food was absolutely INCREDIBLE! After that we walked around downtown Provo. There was a street fair due to the 4th of July holiday. We checked that out and then walked over to the Provo City Center Temple. This night will go down in history as being an incredibly special and memorable night with some of my most favorite people.
Then next day we had plans to hang out with our friends Kevin and Naomi. They have been our friends for a long long time! Naomi and I have been friends since I was 11 years old and Tyler and Kevin have been friends since they were 12. The fact that Kevin and Naomi met, started dating, and then introduced Tyler and I continues to be such a joy in our lives!
We got up early and drove to Provo to meet them for brunch at Tru Religion in Orem. OH.MY.GOSH. It was so good! The place was packed and the food was fantastic! Being with our oldest and dearest friends was even better!!
And thus commenced one happy day!!
After brunch we went back to Naomi and Kevin's rental house. They live in CA but have been renting a house in Provo for the last year and a half so that their boys (who are amazing athletes) can actually play sports during COVID times. We hung out there for a bit and then grabbed two of their boys (Gabe and Jamieson)...we also had Ailey and Bryn with us... and set out for a day of fun! No day of fun for Naomi and I begins without a trip to Sprindell! After a brief stop at Sodalicious for provisions up the canyon we went!
Na and I were there less than one minute before we were barefoot and running to the pond! Despite it being drained (drought) there was still a small stream of mountain water trickling through it. We were instantly in it and trying to ascertain if the water was as cold as it was when we were kids. Na immediately leaped on and caught the rope swing for a good swing and twirl over the pond! She still has it! I was not so confident in my upper arm strength!
My kids were flabbergasted as Naomi and I walked barefoot all around the dell the whole time we were there. I never walk barefoot! But arrive at the dell and within seconds my shoes (and Na's) were off. Shoes do not belong in Springdell. We ran barefoot and fancy free as kids and we did it again... as we always do. It doesn't even require conscious thought. Later that day we joked that we must have been "grounding" and "centering" ourselves but even as we jokingly said it we both knew that there was great truth in it. Sprindell is one of my thin places. A place where the connection with heaven is thin. Magic happens in the thin places and it showed up this time too.
I love this girl so much! People who truly GET YOU... the real you.. and love you all the more for it are the best! We each have about 20 truly hideous pictures of the two of us non stop laughing. Ugly laughing. Uncontrollably laughing. In ways that are not even close to cute all while our erstwhile photographer (Ailey) patiently attempted to get some more flattering shots. Not easy! Yet I cannot bring myself to delete them. I love them and those laughing girls (women?) dearly! I am proud of the girls we were and the women that we have become.
While up at the dell we had the 80s music blaring while we played Kubb. Parents vs Kids. Our kids were great sports, had fun, and won (barely)! LOL.
They were hilarious together!
It was also 100 plus degrees and we were melting! Late that afternoon we drove a little further up the canyon to Bridal Veil where more of Naomi and Kevin's kids were bridge jumping. We met up with their two oldest boys, Parker and Josh. Parker (the oldest) asked the younger two boys, "How was the dell?" Gabe replied with, "Delly." I had to laugh and was absolutely delighted with his response. This is now a favorite descriptor of my own. I love anything and everything that is or could be described as "delly."
Parker about to do a back flip!
Lined up are: Parker's wife, four of Naomi and Kev's boys, and two of their nephews about to do a group jump!
Next year we are bringing our swimsuits to float the river and jump off the bridge!
Provo Canyon in all of her splendor!
These mountains are a part of me! I love this place so much.
We had so much fun with Na and Kev and their kids! There is never enough time! We are so grateful for an amazing day in the most beautiful of places with people we love and adore!
While waiting for the fireworks to begin stopped in at the mall to cool off and for some boba. Delicious! We ran to the store and grabbed flowers to put on Tyler's dad's grave and my grandparents. We had just enough light and time to drive by my grandparents old house and to look at the river from the bridge by where they used to live before we had to be back at BYU for the fireworks.
After that it was onto BYU campus to watch the fireworks.
This literally happened like three times. Once Tyler even convinced all of us to pick up all of our stuff and start walking toward the cars only to be wrong yet again! After that we FORCED him to stop and watch the rest of the show until the rest of us said that it was over! Ha ha!
It was a fantastic 4th of July! Amazing! I love the 4th of July in Utah. Even if it was actually the 3rd LOL.
On the actual 4th of July we took a little trip up to Fairview Canyon and spent time at a darling little cabin. The views were amazing!
We also checked out Scofield Lake, Electric Lake, and Gooseberry Lake.
Scofield Lake
Kirk and I were the only ones to get in the water. You can't keep us out no matter how stinky and weedy the water might be. Although Kirk was the only one to fully submerge. There are limits!! LOL.
We also saw pelicans and Kaiya found an enormous agate.
Then we moved on to Electric Lake and there the fun really began! Kirk's truck got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out. Luckily we didn't get stuck!
The girls got to ride in the back of our truck and were thrilled to be doing something so "risky". Keep the bar low people and you'd be amazed at how much kids enjoy the little things in life like riding loose in the back of a truck from the lake to the port-a-potty. Ha ha!
For the ol' Tik Tok and Snap Chat! LOL.
Later we visited with Reed and Amy some friends of Kirk and Meki's who we absolutely loved. Great people! We had a fabulous 4th of July BBQ with homemade In-n-Out Style burgers. So good! We had a blast and drove home late that night. Another happy happy day!!
The next day was the Provo Freedom Festival Parade. Utah you kill me. That said, I adore the Provo Parade! So nostalgic! I loved seeing all of the festive families...multiple generations...gathered along the streets in their lawn chairs and their red, white, and blue swag! Again...nostalgia!
We found a good spot and had the girls keep any encroachers away while Tyler and I walked over to the Provo Bakery for treats to eat during the parade. Delicious!
The missionaries marching in the parade were hands down our favorite part!
I thought that my old nemesis...the cannon... was not happening anymore. Wrong. They saved it until the end and had a new modern one. Ugh. My dead run to the far reaches of the park continued. Some things never change.
We all had an incredible time! It was hot but so fun! Reilly and Kameron have been to this parade before but Ailey was pretty little the last time we went and Bryn had never been before so it was extra fun for them to experience it all!
After the parade it was onto BYU campus and then to the Creamery. Sparkle Sherbet... you have my heart!
Gorgeous!
Then it was onto the pool and a family BBQ that evening. Kirk had smoked an unbelievable brisket all night. It was out of this world! We had quite a feast!
Kam was able to video chat with everyone too which was super fun! Holidays are always a little rough for him. It's hard to be away from everyone on the holidays and the 4th of July is his favorite! I mean is it even the 4th of July without Kam in his red, white, and blue onsie!?
We miss this kid!
We made a run to an ice cream truck that Kirk had been raving about! The concept is mixing ice cream with cereal. Kirk was a big fan of the fruity pebble variety and he was right! So good!
We watched more fireworks from the ridge in Kirk and Meki's neighborhood and stayed up late talking! I wish they lived closer!! We love them so much!
The next morning we all got up at 6 am to say goodbye to Kirk before he left for work and Kaiya left for ballet. We took one last drive up Provo Canyon.
I mean come on! That's stunning!!
Provo Canyon in the morning is a delight!! It reminds me of crisp mornings waiting for the bus. I loved being there early and watching the sun stream down the canyon. We looped the dell another time and then drove up to Bridal Veil Falls and all got out and walked around.
28 years ago Tyler and I met at Bridal Veil Falls and had our first date on the 4th of July. It was actually the 5th of July because it was a weird year like this year with the 4th on a Sunday. The fact that we got to relive so many great memories like this with Naomi and Kevin made it even more special. They were there for all of it and were even on that first date with us!
Some people might think that these are gross but they would be cyborgs because you just can't top an icy cold Country Time Lemonade in a CAN!! We cannot find these anywhere except in Utah and we stock up! Kirk and Meki had a GIANT cooler full of them for us. LOL. That is love. Then we started the long drive home.
We made two more stops before we left town. Our favorite Kneaders and then Harmon's for these bad boys...
We tried to break up the trip a little bit. Kirk and Meki found a new little cafe in Dillon (the half way point) called Muffalettas that they recommended. Very good. It was so nice having another food option besides McDonalds and DQ. We stopped again in Superior, MT because my friend Amy is from there and we wanted to check out her little hometown. These two stops made the long car ride a bit more bearable. We had a wonderful trip!! I'm so glad that we decided to go despite all of the craziness that was happening at home. It was definitely the highlight of our summer!
