I was really looking forward to Thursday in Utah. My parents would be driving into town and we were going to meet them up in Northern Utah (Fielding) where my Grandma's sister and 2nd cousin live. It was a place that my family went every summer growing up. I have very good memories of Fielding and Tremonton and staying with my relatives over there. My 2nd cousin Krisy is about a year younger than me but we always hung out every summer and were even pen pals during the rest of the year. That was when we didn't have email and had to actually write a letter and send in the mail. I hadn't seen them for about 12 years so this was a big treat for me. My cousin Krisy and I actually lost contact over the years...until Facebook brought us together about a year ago.
Kaiya stayed the night with Kaylee so we drove up to pick them up on the way. Kaylee had a nail appointment that ran a little late (actually a lot late) so we went and grabbed some lunch at Einstein Bagels (yum) and then drove around where Kaylee lives. One of the places we drove to was the This Is The Place Monument. It was very pretty. Cirdan and Ella got out for some pictures.
We then headed up north. When we got to Rae's house (Grandma's sister) my parents, Grandma, Stacey and Casey were already there. My cousin Krisy and her 3 kids and 1 of my other Grandma's sisters were there that I have never even met before. We visited inside the house for a bit and then went outside to watch the kids play. They had made some strawberry shortcake for us which we gobbled down. The kids all got along great and Ella and Layne hit it off right away.
I have played in this yard many, many times in my life and it was fun/crazy to see my own kids now playing and running around like I once did.
Hanging out on the front porch
My parents have a picture like this when they were younger...engaged or just married I think. I need to go to my mom's and find it so we can put the two pictures side by side.
I loved these big trees in the front yard.
Kaiya's middle name is Rae. I really wanted Kaiya to meet Rae and finally got the chance! I hope Kaiya will remember who she was named after.
Ella and Layne
Krisy and her daughter Paisley
On the way out we drove by my Great Grandpee's house. It is only about a block away from Rae's house. We would go back and forth between the 2 houses during the summer. This is where my Grandma grew up and I also spent time there when I was little. I remember sleeping under the carport one summer and waking up about a million times; afraid a spider or some weird bug was going to crawl over me. There was also a little store/post office down the road where we would walk and buy candy.
I never realized what a small town Fielding is. It feels like its in the middle of nowhere.
I wanted to stop in Brigham City on the way home to take a close look at the new temple they are building. I saw a picture of it in an Ensign or something and it looked absolutely beautiful. Up close it was even more breathtaking.
We drove past my Great Grandma's old house (Grandma Donna's mom). It was sad to see how much it has changed. I remember it with a nice big tree out front and it was a pinkish color. It used to have beautiful flowers around the yard. I have a memory of sitting out front with my family and Great Grandma one summer. She was getting Alzheimer's and it was also the summer that I got my hair cut really short. She asked my dad what his son's name was...referring to me. My dad thought that was the funniest thing ever (especially since he hated my hair short). That's when my dad started calling me Joe or Sam. It has been a joke ever since.
That night we went and ate dinner at Cafe Rio then went back to the hotel. It was a fantastic day!!
