Adventures in Utah

My sister Ashlie and her family came out for a visit.  Ashlie and I then made the road trip to Utah together with all our kids.  We started our trip to Utah by wearing out the kids at Disneyland for the day.  We didn't mean for it to be that way exactly, but we were trying to get to Utah before the a snow storm, so left a day earlier than we had planned.  We spent the day at Disneyland, and then left straight from there and drove to Mesquite for the night and got to South Jordan safely before the snow hit.  

 Ethan was just barely tall enough for the 40 inch rides this time.  Here is is on Thunder Mountain Railroad.  To say that he Loved it is an understatement.  He also enjoyed Splash Mountain.  He thought it was funny that he got wet.  Brielle was doing 'they potty dance,' so after going on Splash Mountain once I told her we needed to run to get to the bathroom.  She told me. "I'm just want to skip going potty and go on the ride again!"  Thanks to my brother-in-law who works for Disney.  We had a great time.

The Aquarium is growing and the kids loved it.  We ended up going twice while we were there.  I was surprised by how active the penguins were.  Brielle was the most excited about touching the sting rays, and also loved the glow-in-the-dark scorpions.  Ethan talked about the crabs and the sharks.  I'm excited they are getting a new exhibit in January with Otters.  We'll have to make a trip back to Utah.   

We decorated gingerbread houses.  Or, ate a lot of candy while getting some on the house.  Either way, it was fun.

The snow was a BIG hit!  We were glad that we made it to Utah before the storm so we could be safely inside the house.  We went out Friday night and the kids were standing on the benches at the restaurant trying to see out the window to watch it snow.  And when we left the restaurant they went running outside and were surprised by how slippery it was.  Saturday morning they made good use of Grandma's sleds and the hill.

We were able to see my brother, Jared, play Gaston in his High School Musical.  We weren't allowed to take pictures, so this is after he had changed.  It was a very impressive show.

The swimming pool had a small waterslide that kept the kids occupied for a good hour before they even thought to venture to any other part of the pool.  They could have stayed much longer if we didn't have family and more fun waiting back at Grandma's house.

Fishing at the Church History Museum.  The exhibit has so many fun hands-on activities for the kids.  We had to drag them out at closing time.  We also on a different day went to the Gale Center in South Jordan, another free museum with fun hands-on play for the kids.  They Gale Center had a gingerbread contest with all the houses on display.  My sister's house won 2nd place, and it was amazing to see.

We went to temple square to enjoy the 700,000 lights that decorate the trees.

We had such a great time with all of our Utah family.  We will cherish the memories made.