Kanab

We had a long and wonderful weekend with lots of family and fun in Kanab! Originally we scheduled the trip because the date made the most sense. We were thrilled to find out that was the same weekend as the hot air balloon festival!

Grammy and papa had driven to our house on Thursday night, Getting a head start on the long drive. Then in the morning, We made a last-minute decision to send Z and E with them! I'm sure their drive was much louder and chaotic than ours! But this meant they got some one-on-one time with their grandparents and had a lot of fun. They arrived early enough to go to Grandma great's house and play with her for a while before settling into the hotel for the night.

Husband and I waited to get in a full day of work and dance practice before we were able to leave. So we arrived around midnight and snuck the girls into the hotel putting them right to bed.

On Saturday morning, Grammy and Papa were able to go watch the air balloons launch! Our girls could not be roused after our late arrival so we missed that unfortunately. But some of the cousins went and it sounded amazing. Once we got our kids up and had breakfast, we drove around town looking for balloons and especially Z was ecstatic! He would squeal and point them out every few minutes, bouncing up and down and his seat begging to go look closer.

We went to the park to meet up with cousins and make a plan for the day. The cousins were thrilled to play together. L and mimi helped watch the babies. A led the way in a fantasy imagination game that involved lots of exploring and dramatic scenes. E liked burying her cousins in the foam. Papa, husband and my brothers disappear to help fix a plumbing problem at Grandma greats house. I am so grateful for their talents and willingness and eagerness to help. Then we joined them for lunch at the pizza buffet. All the kids loved it but the winner of the meal was definitely Z! I can't believe how much that kid can eat!

The afternoon at the Sand Dunes was my favorite part! We took a snowboard and the two ski bikes and all the boys and the cousins took turns riding them down crazy steep hills. There were plenty of wipeouts and definitely tons of cheering watching these daredevils, including my own miss E! It was such a blast and the kids loved it.

We grilled hot dogs in the park for dinner and from there we got to watch the balloon glow. All of the hot air balloons were parked only a few yards apart from each other, lining Main Street. And they took turns lighting their fires up to keep them inflated. But they effect is incredible. I loved watching them light up, seeing all the different colors. We hurried back to the hotel and we're able to walk right up to the balloons and get a closer look.

The kids begged to go swimming, despite the broken heater. So I declined joining them but was happy to watch them play with cousins. From the pool we got to watch the lighting of the lanterns and see the sky filled with their glowing lights. So magical!

On Sunday we attended church with Grandma great. And then went to her house afterwards to have dinner and the girls played piano for her. Then we went to the cemetery and got to show the girls different headstones and tell stories. And then back at Grandma's house again, we started asking for more stories about her life. We even took a walk down memory lane as she opened up one of her to Cedar Chest and told us stories about every item in it. She found a box of handkerchiefs that she received for graduation and let L and mimi each pick one to keep. She gave me a beautiful white crocheted shawl to use at the temple. And we even found an apron that I crocheted as a gift for her when I was a little girl!

Eventually we made our way back to our hotel where we spent the evening watching figure skating on one channel during the commercials and Guardians of the Galaxy on another Channel 😆

Monday morning, the girls slipped back down to the pool to play for a while before we started our long drive home.