Utah Trip

Kirk and I bought plane tickets in February with grand plans.  We were going to fly to Utah, leave Cade with Kirk's mom and spend a week backpacking in the Wind River Mountains.  We bought a book and a map and looked online to find the best trip.  We talked to everyone we knew trying to convince them to come with us.  The beginnning of July, these plans changed.  Now I am getting fat and pretty soon (March 9ish) we are going to have 2 munchkins in our house. 

So there went the backpacking trip.  Kirk still wanted to do it, but couldn't get anyone else to commit to spending a week in the wilderness with him.  So, we made plans to spend the time in Utah.  I was pretty sick with Thing 2 growing in my belly (Cade has been Thing 1 since we brought him home).  I actually ended up changing my plane tickets and going out a week earlier than Kirk so I could have some help with Cade etc. which was wonderful! 

We had a fun trip.  I spent most of my time hanging out with the family, eating, playing with Cade, eating and relaxing, then eating again.  Kirk was able to fish or hunt almost every day he was there.  We also got to see Scott and Kara (Kirk's bro and SIL) that we haven't seen for like a year and a half.  Here are a few shots of the highlights of our trip:
Cade started walking the day before we left.  He really took off quickly.  My parents have this grocery cart and Cade would run all over the house pushing it. 

 He and Melissa really liked the sandbox.  Melissa was intent on digging a hold and burying Cade in it. He actually had a lot of fun climbing in and out of the hole. 

 One of my favorite things we did there was go on a picnic up AF canyon. It is so beautiful and peaceful up there!  Cade loved the water and tried to jump in.  I ended up taking his shoes and pants off so he could wade a little. 

 My mom and I went out to Olive Garden's all you can eat soup/salad/breadstick lunch and it was soooo good.  Then we took Cade to Thanksgiving Point Petting farm.  He wasn't scared of the animals at all and wanted to touch everything.  This horse was very friendly--and big!

 One of the funniest moments was letting Cade run through the sprinklers.  He giggled and played the whole time.  My dad had set the timer for 10 min and when the water disappeared, Cade was very concerned and almost hurt.  We asked Grandpa to turn it back on for a few minutes and by the end of that one, Cade was shivering so we decided to be done. 

 It took a few days, but the bird and Cade learned to get along. 

 Since I was pretty much chained to a kitchen, having to eat every 2 hours to stay feeling ok, Kirk found some new fishing partners. 

It was his mom's first time ever fly fishing and she caught this nice cutthroat trout.

 Scott went out with Kirk one day too. 

 Tom gave it his best effort, but came up a little short.  :)

 Even Kara got in on the action!

Cade loved the dog.  Skeeter was very patient with him, even letting Cade climb all over him!

We celebrated Cade's first birthday while we were there too.  My mom bought Cade a helium balloon which he thought was the greatest thing ever.  He got to open a few presents and dig into his own chocolate cake too.  What a lucky guy!

 

I also got to visit my Grandpa Smith a few times, see an old friend from UCLA  and eat at Cafe Rio.  We had a great trip.  I totally didn't want to leave.  Luckily, Lisa and Connor followed us home, driving a car out for us since we don't have our civic anymore.  They stayed to visit for a week and play here before taking off again. 

 

Now all our visitors are gone and we're on our own again.  Luckily, I am starting to feel a bit better--some days are better than others.  Cade is awesome, he is at such a fun age right now.  It truly keeps getting better and better.  Kirk is enjoying his residency and starting to look for jobs, so if you know of someone who needs a pediatric dentist, let us know!