Park City

Our main destination for vacation was Park City, Utah. We chose this because there are so many outdoor activities, making it easier to social distance. Also, the temps are more than 20 degrees cooler than home! 

With four kids and not wanting a rushed vacation, we did one activity a day, then spent the other time playing exploring or hanging out. 

Day 1:

The first day we went and checked out the Olympic Park. We saw people practicing ski jumps into a big pool, which was pretty cool. We also realized there really aren't any activities for the little kids. So we went back to the house and I took the older kids back to have fun. The highlight for me and Connor was the zipline. I've always wanted to do one and it definitely didn't disappoint. The highlight for Isla was the alpine slide. The ropes course was a low for all of us, when we ended up needing rescuing by the workers. (insert face palm here!) We went back a few days later and I watched another lady and her kids being rescued on the ropes course and then didn't feel so bad. 

Day 2:

We drove into Salt Lake City to go to the zoo. It was actually a very pleasant experience. I was nervous about the crowds, which really ended up being a non-issue.  You have to pre-buy timed tickets into the zoo. And maybe because it was a weekday, there was not many people there. It was nice to get out and do something that felt relatively normal. 

Day 3:

We went to Jordanelle state park. I originally wanted to walk to the dam, but it was farther away from the parking lot than I thought. So instead we had a picnic lunch, then a small little loop of a hike before letting the kids play in the water. We packed up to leave just as a storm was coming, which was perfect timing. 

Day 4:

Connor really wanted to ride public transportation, so planned an outing for us in Salt Lake City with it. Funny story, neither Ian or I checked out Connor's plan. We just went with it. Well, he drove us way south of the city because he wanted to ride public transportation longer...haha! He mapped for us to go to a coffee shop, then to an ice cream place. Public transportation was basically empty. I don't know if that is normal or covid, but either way, it made the experience that much more enjoyable. 

Day 5:

We took the most beautiful and incredible little hike. Despite what these pictures show, much of the hike was covered in trees, making it a nice and cool hike. Connor passed his time telling ghost stories, Callum went between throwing rocks and filling his pockets with them, Isla collected wild flowers for a bouquet and Willa slept. 

Day 6:

We went back to the olympic park, as the kids really wanted to go back. This time Ian did activities with the kids. I stayed too, as I found a play area when I was there before. It was a little big for Callum, but he had fun. I would say the same activities were highlights for the kids. Connor went on the zipline at least six times. One time Ian took Isla on the alpine slide and Connor rode the zipline four times just in the one time they did the alpine slide. We took a picture with the bobsled track, as I am a big Cool Runnings fan...haha! You can pay to ride down it with a professional bobsledder, but I figured I would probably barf, so I didn't do it. But the younger, stronger stomach, me really wanted to do it. 

While in Park City, we stayed in an airbnb that was just perfect. The place had five bedrooms, which we really didn't need all those. We ended up sleeping in three. It had a hottub...which was the reason we booked it. We used the hottub almost every day. The nice thing about an airbnb is being able to cook all your own meals, though we did pick up take out two nights. After Park City, we headed south to Zion National Park. 

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Bonneville Salt Flats

We just got back a couple days ago from a week and a half long road trip to Utah. One of the highlights for me is basically a piece of land in the middle of nowhere, the Bonneville Salt Flats. It is just such a fascinating place unlike none I have ever been to. 

So I knew I wanted to stop at the salt flats, but was unsure how exactly to. Everything I could tell online is that there is an amazing rest stop on I-80 west bound. It has access to walk and drive on the flats, as well as foot washing stations. Unfortunately we were headed east and would not be coming back the same way. And it would be a huge backtrack to turn around for the rest stop. Well, after reading one thing online on a forum, it seemed we could just drive to the flats ourselves via exit 4. But again, I had no clue what to expect. Even the map on our iPhones could not comprehend what we wanted to do and was saying it was going to take over 2 hours to drive a couple miles. Anyway, in case you ever do this yourself, just follow the road off the exit and it dead ends into the flats. But another funny story about that...

The road just ends. It ends with a big circle area for you to turn around and there were probably five cars parked there. So, it seemed one should stop there. But, there was a car in front of us and said car just flew out onto the flats. So we followed. And ohmygosh it was so fun. So freaky. So freeing. At this point, we had not gotten out of our car, so I was freaked out that we might sink or something. Spoiler alert, we didn't. 

When we finally stopped and got out, I could feel that the salt flats were totally hard. It was such a strange feeling. It's such a vast space of emptiness. Even cars driving that I would consider nearby were hard to hear. It was as if the vastness just ate up the sound. 

The kids got such a kick out of all this. They ran on it. They tasted it...it tastes way saltier than normal salt, if that's even possible. They looked at it through a microscope...because everyone happens to have a handheld microscope on vacation with them. There also was some beyblade playing on the salt. 

When we went to get back in the car, salt was stuck to everyones shoes and made such a MESS in the car. Like, I don't even know how that much salt could be on shoes. But the same for the car tires. We drove another 2+ hours to our airbnb and our car still spilled salt out all over the garage where we were staying. 

This was definitely one of those once in a lifetime stops on the side of the road, but was so worth it and so cool. I saw later online that there is an aqueduct that goes through the salt floats with brine water and people float on it. That looked fun too. This was just a great way to start our trip. 

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Documenting Life {baby books}

It's no secret that I love to take pictures. I literally have thousands and thousands of pictures of the kids. But the question is, what to do with those pictures so the kids can look at them and enjoy them as well. 

I started Connor a baby book when he was a baby. It was a Shutterfly one. I gave up after 100 pages, and was only like 6 months into his life. The problem was I loved every single picture and moment and wanted to keep them all. Well, after that attempt, which I never ordered, I didn't do anything. I had been eyeing these adorable baby books from Lucy Darling for a while, but could never pull the trigger because, well, I'm cheap. Then one day I found someone selling a brand new boy one for $6, so I bought it and started working on it for Callum. Well, I fell in love and ended up buying ones for Connor and Isla at full price...I liked them that much! 

And let me tell you, I had SO MUCH FUN going through all our old pictures to find pictures for their albums. I also loved that the albums had so many prompts, making it easy to know exactly what pictures I was looking for. I also loved that the kids will someday be able to look at an album with my handwriting in it. The back has several blank pages and I made sure to include pictures of them with family members, because I know how valuable those pictures will be when they are older. 

Also, I forgot just how amazing actual pictures feel. I mean this compared to the Shutterfly type albums, of which we have many. Not to mention, I loved getting out their hospital bracelets and other hospital mementos and putting them in the books. I am planning on putting an envelope in the back cover of each book to slip in a few more pictures that I didn't have space for, but just couldn't pass up. 

^^ That picture of Ian holding Connor in the hospital was taken not long after he was born. I took it with my phone while laying down, still in the delivery room. It still remains one of my favorite pictures ever. And, you guys, I forgot how smily Isla was. Literally every picture from her first year of life, she has a smile in. 

I had so much fun doing these, I am thinking of shelling out the money for the toddler books...or at least asking for them for Mother's Day, because they are totally mom related! Plus, the toddler books have spaces for things the kids have said. I have this adorable quote book for Connor, but the company went out of business not long after I got it, so I never had the chance to get one for Isla, let alone for Callum. And the kids think it's so funny to look at it and read the silly things Connor said as a toddler. 

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Memories

It's no secret that I am a total sap when it comes to my kids. I never really considered myself emotional. Even now, I wouldn't say I am emotional, but definitely more so than I used to be. Especially when it comes to my kids. They just grow and change so freaking much. And it's not that I don't like who they are today, because they slay me daily with the things that come out of their mouths, so I certainly wouldn't want them to be nonverbal babies forever. But I love remembering the road we've traveled. 

Having Callum wear Connor's old clothes is like a fun walk down memory lane for me. That first year with Connor was a special one. It was my first year of motherhood and I was really trying to get my footing. But, it was also a special time spent in Scotland, a place so dear to my heart. I am not really picky about my kids clothes and really rarely buy them anything new (I know, I'm kind of cheap). So, if I buy something, it means I really liked it and more than likely that I will remember it. 

This particular outfit I bought for Connor in Scotland. I just love it. I love how soft it is. And I love that it is babyish without being overly cutesy. So I was pretty excited when it was chilly the other morning so I had an excuse to throw it on Callum. Connor wore this outfit numerous times, and I was pretty sure I had pictures of him in it at the park…and low and behold, I did. 

Just for reference, Connor is about two weeks older in these pictures than Callum is in the top picture. Connor was an expert crawler at this point, and also standing. Wowsers. This time around, I am happy for Callum to just keep sitting for a bit longer. Because life certainly will be changing around our house once that kid becomes mobile! Oh the joys of having older kids with toys that have insanely small parts…eek. These boys (and their sister), they have my heart. I just love them so.

I may not be super emotional, but I am totally feeling all the feels right now! And all because of a baby outfit. Yep, I am a total sap.

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Right Now

I love capturing pictures that will help me remember exactly how my kids were at certain ages. Not pictures that are taken with the perfect clothes and the perfect background. But pictures like these, taken in a stained shirt, with Isla's hair a mess and her rain boots on. Because, this really is how she is most of the time. Sure, there is like two minutes in the morning when her hair looks nice. And I kid you not, that girl literally rubs her head on the ground and messes up her hair, not on purpose, but just being a kid. And she can stain clothes like no other. No joke. She is way worse at that than Connor. It's not always her rain boots on her feet, but it generally is some random form of footwear, generally princess shoes, but also sometimes dress up (like nice ones, not princess) worn with a really casual outfit. And her shoes are always on the wrong foot. It's stuff like this I want to remember.

I want to remember how she is still small enough to curl up in my lap. I want to remember the feeling of her holding my hand. I want to remember how somehow her face is always dirty. I want to remember how she tries to copy Connor at things. I want to remember it all. I really do. Unfortunately, I realize it will all be a distant memory far too soon.

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Preserving Memories

While cleaning up this past weekend, I went through and threw away most of Connor's artwork from preschool last year. He generally comes home with one to two pieces of artwork each time, so we had amassed quite the collection. As my kids are growing, I am struggling with what exactly is important to keep and preserve and what really will never be looked at again. 

I made Connor a photo book of all the school related pictures I took of him last year. Most involve him holding artwork he made. Some have stories that go along with them, and I was sure to include that in the book. I also included a bunch of pictures of the artwork he made. At the back of the book, I decided to tape in an envelope to store some things that I wanted to keep from that year, a mother's day card he made for me at school, his "graduation" program, etc. And, except for a few pieces of artwork that I am keeping for myself, the rest has gone in the trash. 

I struggle with figuring out the line between preserving memories for the kids (and me!) to look back on and keeping absolutely everything they have touched. I know I don't want to keep much because I know that then what I do keep will be that much more special. 

I'm curious, how do you decide what to keep and what to get rid of?

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Christmas Sappiness

I finally got around to decorating for Christmas and it makes me oh-so-verry-happy. I kid you not, the glow of the tree in the evening is like the best thing ever! And the icing on the cake is that my mom gave me a bunch of my grandma's (dad's mom) ornaments, so I exclusively used those this year. It makes me feel so special and nostalgic to have things on my tree that were my grandma's. I think of the houses they hung in and the fact that my kids are oohing and ahhing over the same exact ornaments that my dad did. Pretty dang cool. One ornament even has a home address written in my grandma's handwriting with the year - 1943.

I was just telling someone the other day that I feel like my Christmas decor style seems to be changing. Our Christmas decor staples were actually purchased the year we got married...that's 12 Christmases we've had some of this stuff!!! I added some stuff along the way, but honestly a lot of it is too high maintenance for my taste these days. I used to put fake snow out everywhere! The kids started making a mess of it and I stopped putting it out. These days we tend to have a more relaxed Christmas style - think less overpriced Christmas dishes and more little people nativity set. I even washi taped all the kids Christmas preschool art on a wall in the dining room and am totally digging it. It livens the place up and is fun for me to look at.

I guess the older I get the more practical I get and the more sentimental I get. Fully matching decor that looks like it belongs in a magazine just isn't at the top of my priority list anymore. Making special memories with my family definitely is though and that we are doing.

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