A Whirlwind Trip

Last week we were able to go to Utah for a short visit--or a whirlwind trip--is more like it! We flew out of Charlotte, NC last Wednesday morning and arrived in Salt Lake City, UT late that afternoon. We drove to my parents house where we would be staying for the few days of our trip and had dinner with both of our parents. On Thursday, we headed to Wheeler Farm with Grandma and Grandpa Romney, Amy (Jason's sister) and Grandma and Grandpa Wardle. Carrie (Jason's sister) and her fiance', Brandon, met us there. The kids enjoyed feeding the ducks, seeing all the animals, doing a corn maze, and taking a ride around the farm. We even got to pick out pumpkins for everyone to take home. Then we went to McDonald's for lunch--Parker's favorite place. After the morning activities, Parker was a little worn out, so I took him back to Grandma and Grandpa Wardle's house with me, while Jason, Kelsey, Connor and the rest of the gang went to Gardner Village to look for some witches on a scavenger hunt.

(Fun at Wheeler Farm)

That evening we had planned a Wardle Family get together (and a surprise birthday cake and gifts for my Mom). It was wonderful to see and visit with my family even though it was just a few short hours (CRAZY hours, I might add, with all the cousins and Halloween Bingo...).

(My Family--Mom, Mike, Scott, Brad, Me, Wendy, Dad)

On Friday, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Romney's new house to spend the day. They have a beautiful new house with a little park right across the street. The kids LOVED that. They spent most of the day playing outside at the park. We carved our pumpkins from Wheeler Farm, had Papa Murphy's Jack-O-Lantern pizzas for lunch (yum! We miss those...), and played with Rocky (Grandma and Grandpa's dog) and Xander (Aunt Amy's dog). We also finally got to meet Molly, Mindy's (Jason's sister) baby girl. She is so sweet--the kids fell in love with her immediately!!!

(Molly, Kelsey, Parker, Amy)

That night Jason's extended family came over for a BBQ. It was great to see so many of our relatives--some of whom we haven't seen since we were married almost 12 years ago. Kelsey and Connor spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa Romney's house and Jason, Parker, and I headed back to Grandma and Grandpa Wardle's house. Saturday was the big day--the day we came for--Carrie and Brandon's wedding. We left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa Wardle and drove with Jason's parents to the Bountiful Temple. What a gorgeous day! Carrie looked beautiful. We were so grateful to be able to attend their sealing and share this special day with them. After the sealing, we went back to get the kids dressed and ready for the ring ceremony and dinner at Noah's in South Jordan.

(The kids with Grandma & Grandpa Romney at the Wedding Dinner)

(The Ring Bearer)

Carrie had asked Parker to be the ring bearer, so we had him all dressed up in a little black tux. He looked so handsome! The evening was a lot of fun celebrating with Carrie and Brandon. We enjoyed hearing all the "roast" stories about them, eating delicious food, and visiting with family and friends. What a wonderful day--Congratulations Carrie and Brandon!!! We are so glad we were able to be there to celebrate with you! Special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Romney for getting us to Utah and to Grandma and Grandpa Wardle for letting us stay with them and borrow their car! We love and appreciate you so much and we loved spending a few very short days with you all! Unfortunately, the trip had to end...we left Salt Lake Sunday morning and arrived in Charlotte late that night (a LONG travel day). We arrived home at about 9:30 that night, exhausted and ready to go to bed!

By the way, Parker did great on the airplane rides and wore his oxygen even though he didn't want to. He did great in Utah too and only needed his oxygen at night and a few times during the day. It is certainly not easy to travel with him and all his paraphernalia, but it was worth it!