Summer SLC Style

We headed back to Salt Lake on Sunday.  Lance had a super early morning flight back to Vegas Monday morning so he could get back to work.  We were sad to see him go as we would have loved some more time in SLC to play with him and we knew we were going to be without him for awhile.  The kids and I didn't waste anytime getting back in to the groove of being there though.  We sure love being in Utah in the summer.

We had a great time getting to be with Grandma and Grandpa Utah and Buster the cat.  It took the girls a few days to warm up to Buster, but in the end they couldn't get enough of him.  Kai spent a great Saturday morning working on projects outside with grandpa- the kid is in heaven being outside with projects.  Rori talked Grandma in to painting her nails just like cousin Kennedy's one day- this was no easy task as it involved certain alternating colors (blue and purple) with sparkles.  Grandma actually ended up doing several styles over the course of our stay.  Having 4 guests stay with you over the span of 2 weeks must have been exhausting for them, but they sure made us feel at home.

Kai and Rori took 2 weeks of swim lessons with cousins Kennedy, Jack, and Ella.  This was our best swim lessons yet.  Ella was the youngest cousin enrolled and she was the first of the cousins to make it through the whole session willing to participate and without any tears.  Yeah Ella!  We signed up Rori for preschool Level 3 and Jack was signed up for the next class up which was Level 1.  There were only 2 other kids total in their classes so their teachers decided to combine the classes.  It was the best thing that could have happened to Rori as she LOVES her Jack and he is as sweet to her as can be.  Everything Jack did Miss Rori was more than happy to do- genius I tell you.  When Jack decided to jump off the diving board to the teacher 1 day there was Rori doing the same right after him like it was nothing.  The other brilliant part was many of the lessons it was even just Jack and Rori which meant 2 kids and 2 teachers.  Kai and Kennedy also had a great experience.  They were in Level 4 which got combined with Level 5 kids.  They were by far the smallest kids in the class but it was awesome.  They really liked their teacher but he was intense with their workout.  They would leave exhausted every day after lots of stroke work, diving practice, and treading water for time.  They both seemed to really like it and I know it was great for Kai to start off the summer working on his strokes and building some endurance.      

We had such a great time hanging out with the Wilkinsons as well.  The kids just bounced right back in to being buddies instantly.  They showed us around the Zoo which has recently been updated with a whole new area.  We were so impressed.  We have always loved the Hogle Zoo, but going back this time I was once again so impressed by how nice and manageable it is.  The new area was fabulous!  It was also so fun to get to see their new house.  They are re-doing the whole inside so next time we go back it will be really cool to see the finished product.  We love their new beautiful backyard with its big trampoline, basketball hoop, and green grass.  We had so much fun playing and having a pizza and smores party in it with them!

 

We were so impressed by the Zoo that we decided to go back again with the Wadsworth's when they drove down from Idaho to spend some time with us.  Once again the kids were in heaven to be reunited with their buddies Cooper and Pace.  We were also thrilled to meet their new little sister Hattie.  She was such a sweet little thing with the most kissable round cheeks.  We miss having these guys in Vegas with us sooooo much.  We were so grateful that they drove down to see us.  As an added plus we were able to also meet up with the Swenson's for dinner that night who had just driven up from Vegas.  It was really fun to see Kai, Cooper, and Noah all together again- but in Utah this time. 

We also got a quick visit in with the Ottesen's (never did get a picture take while we were there) which was really fun.  It was nice to get to visit and catch up with Rochelle while the boys played just like old times.  We also went to a Bees baseball game where they had the most spectacular fireworks, tried to spend as much time as possible outside in the grass, played with cousins whenever possible, and tried to get in some of our favorite stores, restaurants, and playgrounds.  We missed Lance like crazy but did a good job packing our days.