We just got back from a whirlwind trip to Idaho and back again. McKenna and I flew to Grand Junction to pick up Grandma Mary. She hates flying, so we decided that we would drive her up to Idaho so that she would get a chance to go too! We left about 6:30am on Wednesday and got into Grand Junction CO around 12:30. Grandma picked us up and we drove to Salt Lake, getting there around 8-ish. Now McKenna had been driving all day, no nap, no structure, no healthy food, and she actually did okay! She definitely was tired and passed out that night!
--Kenna watching the airplanes in Denver--
--we had pizza margarita for lunch, she didn't want the "green things" on hers, but ended up liking basil after all. We are just goofing around here :) --Thursday we drove on to Idaho Falls getting there around 1pm. Gary, Susanne and Brandon all got in that night as well! Another day with no naps and McKenna was pretty agreeable, surprisingly enough! Maybe she will be ready for Disneyworld in September after all! That evening we played cards, ate dinner, and just had fun catching up! Kenna thought it was really cool that we got to sleep in my dad's camper!
Friday we went to the church for rehearsal and Kenna got a nap that afternoon. (She really does much better with a nap!) The wedding wasn't until 5:30 so we did more gabbing and game playing. Then we went to the wedding. It was not that formal, but Brandon and I, and Brooke and Hannah (Julieann's daughters) all stood at the front during the ceremony. It was a Lutheran service with a preacher in a formal robe. At one point McKenna asked my Grandma "why is that man wearing a dress?" What do you say to that. It was all I could do to keep from laughing standing in front of everyone! She was in the front row and kept coming up and standing by me, then going back to sit by Grandma...oh well, she did good for having no idea what was going on!
After the ceremony we went to Johnny Carino's, a local Italian place. They had a buffet with pasta and salad, and a huge dessert buffet as well. We ate, said Hi to people we hadn't seen in a long time, and went back to Dad's after that. Another night of game playing and chatting and relaxing!
--Grandma, Dad, Kenna and Brandon--
--Brandon, Dad, Kenna and I--
--Kenna and my uncle Gary--
--Dad and Julieann--
--Julieann and her daughters Hannah and Brooke--
--this teddy bear is "grandpa" it was made out of his favorite sweater, bolo and hat. He got to come to the wedding too :) --
--kenna, hannah and brandon waiting for wedding to start--
--Julieann's family--Saturday Kenna, Brandon and I headed to Menan! We had a GREAT day spending time with all my relatives on my mom's side! They were so nice and everyone brought salads and desserts, chicken and rolls, drinks, the whole shebang! Kenna had such a fun time playing with her cousin Isabelle and Shawnte! The girls played all afternoon together! I pretty much had to force her to leave at 7 that night! It was so nice catching up with everyone. It has been two years since I have been back to Idaho, and the trip was long overdue! I got to see everyone briefly in September for Chelsey's wedding, but wasn't long enough!
--grandma and kenna--
--isabelle and kenna, they had such a fun time together, Kenna didn't want to leave!--
--my cousin Lindsey own's a horse named Seniorita, she gave Kenna a ride--
--Kenna wasn't scared at all, must be because of Gona's horses--
--we have the most AMAZING family. They put on a huge spread with chicken, salads, wonderful desserts...and you couldn't beat the company!--
--Table #2--
--Kendra and her family at the end of Table #2--Sunday we went swimming! Julieann has such a neat arrangement with 11 of her neighbors! There is this huge property in the middle of 12 houses. There is a park and a full sized swimming pool with a slide and diving board. Everyone pays yearly to fund the pool and those 12 families get to use it! We went to Walgreens and bought cheap princess life rings, and Kenna and Julieann's niece Zadie swam for at least an hour! Those little rings were the best $2 ever spent! After a day of swimming we left for Salt Lake that evening. We pulled into the Hyatt at around 6 and walked down the street to California Pizza Kitchen (one of my favorite places!) We had dinner and walked back, then Kenna and I went swimming again in the hotel pool! She is going to LOVE swimming lessons here in a few weeks!
--this is my new stepsister Brooke....I think we will get along great..both goofballs!--
--kenna and grandpa bob...the little princess life-ring made her feel invincible--
--quite the little swimmer! She even attempted the waterslide a few times! Zadie and her dad are swimming too--Monday we drove back to Grand Junction, went out to dinner and just went to bed early. Then Tuesday we flew back to Des Moines. I had class that evening (last one of this semester, woohoo!) Wow, I am tired just writing this one!
--pretty desert--
--cool views from a rest stop--The drive was quite pretty, and Grandma and I chatted the whole way so time went by pretty quickly! Although it was a crazy trip, we had such a great time, and Kenna is quite the little traveler! Of course the portable DVD player and endless supply of princess movies didn't hurt ;)
