zobrist reunion

i can't remember the last family vacation we took. maybe to toquerville for lynsey's wedding? either way, it had been a long time since we got away. even this trip i wouldn't consider it a 'true' family vacation because it was a reunion of a sorts but it was still nice. my parents have moved up to deweyville, utah [north of ogden] and i have been missing her terribly! since we are in the middle of renovating our house, we left is kind of  so a cluster. the boys were not physically or mentally prepared to have their lives and scedules disturbed [because it was already being distrubred by being displaced for 2 weeks] and so that was rough. we left monday morning around the same time as my sister from arizona so we could caravan. there is major traffic and construction in the gorge and drive leading up to it so we wanted to beat the holiday traffic. we had a great lunch in cedar with my sister and her two boys [one of whom stole gift cards from subway. gift cards of no value. isn't that hilarious?] and only had to stop one other time in nephi, which i consider a success [side note: there's a gas station in nephi that gives free popcorn for every purchase! score!].

we stayed with my other sister in pleasant grove. she has a little boy landon's age and a younger girl. bree is medically fragile and has a lot of health problems. my sister is amazing and is at the hospital several times a month with her. luckily we saw her for a day or two before she was admitted again. landon loves his 'friend' ayden and had a great time playing with him. tuesday we went with my family to the salt lake children's museum in gateway. it was so much fun and well worth the money! currently there is a 'bob the builder' exhibit that was perfect for toddlers. we went with my mom, three sisters, and eight grandkids- plus justin and me. it was a great time! unfortunately landon lost it after lunch so we went home for naps. that afternoon we visited a community pool in american fork. unfortunately we got there 30 minutes before closing time but we still had so much fun. landon was even able to go down the big slide with justin- twice!

wednesday we visited the hogle zoo- a first for all of us! it was great and also well worth admission price. landon's favotite part by far was the train ride. mine was when a tiger also sprayed us with juice... that wasn't pee. thursday we visited the aquarium with my family and my bff8 caitlin with her two girls. this was kind of a disappointment. this place was recently renovated and didn't have that many exhibits or a map - or a place for kids to play. i guess we were spoiled by the monterrey bay aquarium. it was so much fun to see my friend and her darling girls but again, a landon temper tantrum cut that short. that afternoon we drove up north and settled into our hotel in brigham city. we had fun at the pool then visited my mom's property in deweyville. it is seriously a boy heaven. tractors, ATVs, barns, old cars, dirt everywhere! all of my family [except bree who was in the hospital and my two brother in laws] were there. the last time all the siblings were together was at my grandpa's funeral- which was a few months before landon was even conceived! i do not know how my mom survives- little to no hot water, no air conditioning, no laundry facility, barely a kitchen- not my idea of fun but she enjoys it. landon loved riding the tractor, playing with his cousins and seeing the pond/troll bridge. my favorite part was driving the polaris! so much fun!

the next morning we went back to deweyville for the parade, which did not disappoint. small town parades are the best! candy galore, captain america, firetrucks- you name it! afterwards a plane flew over the ball field and dropped candy [attached to walmart bags] out and the kids had so much fan! poor landon got trampled but some grown up gave his to landon and it made his day.

that afternoon we came home to my sister's and had a bbq with our family before we hit the road to vegas. so while the world was admiring fireworks, we drove the long drive back to vegas [and missed all the traffic from the construction near the gorge]. it really wasn't a big deal to us, especially since they kids were going to be asleep anyways [they didn't fall asleep until we were past cedar]. i'm glad we came home a bit early so we had two days to put our house back together before justin had to work again. it was a great and hectic vacation- now to look forward to disneyland in september!