{Our Thanksgiving Travels}

Over Thanksgiving we journeyed to visit our family in Utah and California.  Whenever we see grandparents and cousins it's all the kids can talk about for the next several months.  I am glad they love their family and am excited for the day we will be able to live closer to them.  For now we are grateful for our holiday visits!

Our first Saturday morning in town we were able to see one of Molly's basketball games.  Wesley enjoyed catching up with sweet Lola on the sidelines - they are only about three weeks apart so I hope they are best buddies throughout their lives!  They both have the "class clown" in their DNA - cutest little cheeseballs.

Molly scored her teams one and only basket - little kids basketball is something else ;)

That afternoon we met up with Carter and Isaac to go see the SeaQuest Aquarium in the Layton Hills Mall.  It's a pretty cool interactive aquarium for being tucked away in the mall - the kids really enjoyed it.

Here Carter is helping Calvin feed the salamanders - he was pretty nervous about it but once he realized they didn't move he thought it was cool.

Uncle Grant helping little midget Wesley see into one of the fish tanks

This was part of the aquarium where they sat in a room and hung out with the birds.  They had bird food and all sorts of colorful birds would come land on you.  I was not about to go into that room - Calvin thought it was awesome until they let the birds in and then he bolted - never trust those shifty little guys I always say!

Aunt Jana let Calvin "drive" her car around the block, which he thought was basically the coolest thing in the whole world.  All day he acted like B.M.O.C. since he suddenly was able to drive.

I was able to attend a show of "Phantom of the Opera" at my Alma Mater, Bonneville High School.  They still have a theater department that knows how to knock it out of the park.  It was a fun night to spend with my parents at the show :) 

A day at the Treehouse Museum with the Colvin crew - they kids LOVE that place and call all the kids museums here "the treehouse."

We also threw a party for Collin - turning 14 years old!  Since it was also the same day as the BYU/Utah Rivalry game I made him a Utah cake (he has made some poor life choices in his sports teams).

Inside the cake was BLUE to to remind him of who he should really be cheering for!  :)

After a fun week with all the family in Utah, we were able to hop a flight to San Diego to visit our Reynolds grandparents!  The kids loved the adventure of going to the airport and flying on a plane.  Even the rental car shuttle was pretty novel for them! 

As you can see they were very excited to be free of their car seats!  They also both love buses, so it seemed like the greatest adventure to them. 

A mama and her son catching up after a few years of seeing one another - what a sweet reunion!!! 

Grandpa Jim treated us to a tasty dinner at Red Lobster our first evening there.  The kids love going out to restaurants and so this was an extra special treat!

Sleeping quarters were not bad - plus the iPad in bed makes everyone happy.

Wesley felt like the B.M.O.C getting to ride in the back of Grandma's bike!  That little basket was so much fun for the kids to ride in - plus even my pregnant self could ride the bike down to the beach.  It was such a smooth and easy ride.

Reynolds men catching up

The welcome cake Grandma had waiting for us was one of the highlights for Calvin.  Since he can't read, he didn't even notice the spelling error - he just loved his chocolate cake and felt like a king!

Evidence of a good day.

The bay was right down the street from Grandma and Grandpa's.  The boys really enjoyed the water and sand!  Even though it was cold they still waded in and played for a few hours. Pure joy!

Calvin picking his own orange from the tree in the front yard - so sweet!

A little obsessed with toilet tanks... Grandparents let them have their fill of flushing the potty and watching how it works.  It is still one of Calvin's favorite pastimes.

We enjoyed a day at the Marine Core Base park.  They loved spending time with their grandparents here - especially using Grandma's walker for free rides!

We decided to utilize the "Waves of Honor" promotion for a free day at sea world - it did not disappoint! We practically had the whole park to ourselves - it was so wonderful.  It is the perfect pace for where the boys are at now.

Our adventures in San Diego were warm and relaxing.  We kept up the tradition of eating at a fondue restaurant (when Mike proposed to me at the San Diego temple we ate fondue dinner afterwards).  Every time we have visited San Diego since then we make it a point to get fondue and reminisce that special evening where we officially became engaged.  

We loved catching up with the Reynolds grandparents and were so pleased that they let us invade their beach house for a few days! : )

We journeyed back to Utah and had one more evening out there... We ate at Pizza Pie Cafe with the family and bid all the cousins farewell until next time!  

I am so grateful for our chances to travel home and see family.  It can be hard to be away from all the relatives (especially during the holiday seasons) so every moment with them is treasured!

Until next time!