Annual Utah Trip

Because we left so many beloved family members behind when we moved from Utah to Washington, we end up usually visiting Utah at least once each year. This year we started our Utah vacation with a camping trip with my side of the family in Fairview, Utah. We had a cabin all to ourselves and we crowded in, sleeping on couches, mats on the floor, cots, tents, and hammocks outside.

We spent time exploring the area on atv's and riding around until we were covered in dirt and happy with exhaustion.

The kids spent hours each day on a fun little zip-line.

There was a fun little lake and we went canoeing, kayaking and more. One morning, a group of us woke up extremely early to go fishing.

Scott and I were in one canoe, while Kenny and Taylor were in the other one. My dad fished from the shore but headed back early when he didn't have much luck. Using spinners we were able to have success from the boats. Kenny and I caught three fish each, Scott caught two, and Taylor caught one. We all lost quite a few off the hooks - those rainbow trout were fighters! I LOVE fishing and it was a blast. Totally worth waking up so early.

We may have caught all the fish, but Ryan deserves a reward because he gutted all nine of them in freezing cold water for us while we watched.















We enjoyed eating the fish for breakfast and dinner in the following days.

Sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and just being all together as a family for the first time in a few years was the best part.

We enjoyed each other's company, a Sunday devotional, discussing gospel topics, playing would you rather, and relaxing together.

Watching the three toddlers play and interact with everyone was also fun. They each have their own little personality that cracked us up.

We also had family pictures taken with the beautiful scenery as our backdrop.

The Tappanas

Nelson siblings. Oldest to youngest from right to left

All the Nelsons and families in our BYU gear. These are my people.

An attempt at getting the grandkids together

That's a bit better

The parents who started it all.

This weekend together was a blast. I was sad to see it end.

However, we had many more people to see and visit, including Brigham's family who I love as well.

Brigham and I took our kids and went and stayed at his stepmom's house to visit with the Tappanas. One day, when Brigham went to the city to have lunch with his brother, Nonie and I took the kids and a couple cousins to a store called Scheels to check it out. They rode the ferris-wheel, did a fun little shooting game, and looked at all the animals on the walls and the fish in the fish tanks.

We made friends with a large, friendly-ish bear.

Another afternoon we spent time at a splash pad in the hot, summer heat of Utah.

After a couple hours, the heat got to us and though we dipped our feet in the water, we moved on to dinner at Chili's and then dessert at Nonie's house.

We were all pretty tuckered out by the end of the day, but spending time with cousins is my kids' favorite, and it was so nice to catch up with everyone.

Brigham and I met up again in Provo with my family to help move Ryan into his dorm at BYU. Saying goodbye to him as he leaves for college was sad, but we are excited for all that he can do.

We showed him around campus and ran into Cosmo in the Wilk. Go Cougars!

Later that night, we said our final goodbyes to Kenny and Ryan who both leave for different BYU schools. We had a pool party with pizza and food and a rambunctious round of pool basketball. I don't think my ankle will ever be the same. Totally worth it.

We watched a BYU football game with Nonie, and we discovered Kendrick's deep love for football.

He moved closer and closer to the tv on his little stool, clapped and cheered, and to this day still loves yelling out, "HELMET!" and "football" as he watches every football game with us. My little cougar.

We spent a lot of time visiting relatives, like my uncle who has cancer, and my paternal grandparents. We also visited my maternal grandmother twice since her health took a sudden turn for the worse. A bunch of family came into town to visit her and it was lovely seeing so many of my aunts and uncles who I rarely get to visit with.

We also took a trip to visit Brigham's dad's grave.

It was as beautiful as ever up there, and letting Brigham heal just a tiny bit more and say hello to his dad was just what we needed.

Our trip to Utah was long, and fun, and sometimes sad. It was mostly about family and seeing all those who we love. We missed some people who are no longer there, and we were sad to leave those who didn't come back to Washington with us. It was nice to be home again after a long trip, but I'm sure we'll be back to Utah again next summer!