Utah Or Bust!

So we leave in just 10 days for Utah! I've never been to Utah and I'm excited. Well, that isn't exactly true. I guess I spent some time there when I was about 2 years old. I've seen pictures of myself there but have no recollection of the events. I just remember my mom telling me that it was the dead of winter and I got water all over me at a drinking fountain. Supposedly (and I am not sure if I'm getting the story entirely straight), it was Sunday, they were all out and about, and nothing was open. I don't remember how, but they had to move heaven and earth to locate dry clothes for me so I wouldn't freeze. Crazy!

Anyway... we are going for a wedding and making it our big vacation for the year. William Matthes is getting married. I can't believe I just put that in writing. To me, Will is just a baby. He's the same age as my brother. (Side note... my brother turns 26 tomorrow!! Will turns 26 on the 10th of June. They are just six weeks apart in age and grew up together.) I have some vivid memories of Will as a really small boy. When he was only 2 or 3 years old, he was really "into" Jefferson Starship's "Sara". I can still see him sitting there, belting out "Saaaaaara.... Saaaaaaara... storms are brewing in your eyes... oh oh ooooo.... Saaaaaara.... SAAAAAAARA...." Too funny. Another popular song when Will was little was "Ballerina Girl" by Lionel Richie. We used sing it to him... "Willemina girl... you - are - so - looooovely...."

Anyway... this little kid is getting MARRIED!! YIKES! Am I really that old?

When we found out a few months ago that Will was engaged, we decided to go. We didn't go for Jeff's or Rudy's weddings. But we'll go for Will's. This is an exciting trip for me. I get to see a lot of people I haven't seen in years. Not only will I get to see their entire family (including Sina, who is coming up from Arizona) but I'll also get to see many cousins from my mom's side that I haven't seen in forever. Anela, Pate, Remi, and others. I haven't met any of their kids yet and they haven't met mine. Should be fun! Plus, I am assuming there may be people at Will's wedding that I knew a long time ago. Not sure on that one though.

Here's the wedding invite:



And here's a picture of Age and Will:



What a cute couple!!

We'll be in Utah for a whole week. Since we are flying, that leaves us pretty much the entire week to do whatever we want. I am not sure exactly where Mike wants to go. I know he wants to show me where he used to live and work. Plus, I think he wants to go and see the MTC. It'll be fun to check out Provo for a day. BYU... the school that rejected me! Ha! Seriously, it's okay. I got a full 2-year seminary scholarship to BYUH, so it's all good. Still, I'd love to see Provo.

I'm excited to see the touristy stuff in Salt Lake City... the temple, temple square, the conference center. I talked to one girl at work and she gave me a list of other things to do and see there. (She's from UT.) I'd love to go up and see the "This is the place" monument. Apparently, there is some cool old stuff there. I'd like to see a couple of other temples too if possible. I'm thinking we can see the Provo temple while we are down there. And while I haven't verified it on the map, supposedly the Jordan River temple is close to where we'll be staying. My mom said she'd be willing to watch the boys for us one morning so we can do a session if we want. Since we'll be attending the wedding at the SLC temple, I'd love to work in a session in another temple, probably Jordan River.

It's going to be so nice to just get away. Then it'll be time to come home and work lots of hours to pay for it all. I think it'll be good though. I always seem to get rejuvinated when we take some time off and just have fun. Essentially, this will be the boys' first time on a plane. Ethan went on one right after he turned 1, but of course he doesn't remember it. That should be interesting. I'm grateful we are only flying into SLC. It's a relatively short trip, unlike Hawaii. Thank goodness for Nintendo DS!!