About our trip...careful..this is crazy long!

Here's our trip...if anyone is really that interested:)

We left Tuesday evening and spent that night in a hotel in Chicago. That was not fun...we were all sick with colds and coughs and Natalie coughed ALL NIGHT! I think that I slept for half an hour total. Blah. I was just hoping that the kids would all sleep on the plane. Everything with the flight was uneventful (just the way we wanted it!). We checked everything right off the hotel shuttle (curbside) and that was nice. The kids did ok on the plane. Sam was on my lap and that was not great...the poor lady in front of us had to deal with her chair getting kicked and pushed and yelling right behind her head. We bought a seat for Seth and he rode in a carseat. He fussed for a bit, but not too long. We survived!

Mom and Dad met us at the airport, we picked up our rental (and got charged a ridiculous amount above what I paid on Priceline...ugh) and went to our little hotel suite and got settled. It was SUPER nice. If you are going to SLC, I highly recommend the Microtel on Tommy Thompson road. So nice, free breakfast, great staff! Yes, I would be on their commercial:)

Thursday we spent at my parent's apartment, swimming, playing and relaxing. So nice!

Friday, we spent with our good friend Beth sightseeing at Wheeler Historic Farm (I would NOT be on their commercial), seeing the Joseph Smith movie (tear-jerker and a little scary for the kids) and dinner with my folks. I LOVE seeing my parents on TMSQ. It brings back so many wonderful memories for me when I was serving there. And every sister missionary we ran into would say, "Oh, I LOVE the Lyons!" It made me smile:)

Saturday, we took a tour at the Beehive House (not a great tour for young kids:). My parents are currently the directors there. After that we went south to visit our friend Andrea and that was perfect!! The kids could run and around and play with toys. Just what they needed! And it was nice to visit! Thanks, Andrea!

Sunday was so nice. We drove north to visit our friend Joan and her family. They live way back in the mountains. The view was absolutely AMAZING! Church was usual...you know, out in the hall most of the time. But I did get to attend RS which was a wonderful, spiritual experience! We went back to my parents house and did a tour of the Conference Center. Very cool. The CC opened and was dedicated back when I was serving there. The sisters gave tours then...it was fun to take a tour and be reminded of everything there.

Monday, we had lunch with our family up from Provo. It was great to see them! And they played with my kids...always gotta love that! We swam a little and after that headed south to see our friends the Jenkins and the Truesdells. Lots of talkin and playin going on. Perfect for our group. At this point, our kids were having a rough time. Plus, we wanted to stay later than was good for the babies because we were having such a nice time. That night was a bit rough in the hotel. No one slept well. Which was actually unusual...we did pretty well considering there were 6 of us in one hotel room:)

Tuesday was our hike to Ensign Peak. I frontpacked Seth and George backpacked Sam...good times! It was quite the hike and quite the view! I am so proud of the Nat and Levi for getting up there. The coming down was much easier and quicker, but a little scarrier for me. It's fairly steep and loose gravel and I really didn't want to fall forward! We survived! After that, we went to Liberty Park for lunch (Artic Circle corn dogs, fries, and fry sauce!) and then we visited with our friends Thelma and Ceci and her new husband. Thanks for letting us hang out! The kids were again, a mess by this point. We ended up buying pizza at Little Ceasars and eating it in the car on the way home. Ah, the things you'll do in a car that's not yours:)

Wednesday was pack up and leave day. Mom and Dad came to see us off and help control kids while I packed. We then said our good-byes and headed to the aiport to go on our "air-pane" as Sammy calls it. Again everything went smoothly for us at the airport. We found a "play-place" at the airport (ha! only in SLC) and played there for a while. It's actually pretty nice to be at the airport with kids. People are fairly helpful and understanding (for the most part). Plus, you don't have to wait in line much. They see you coming and make way! The flight home was fairly empty so Sam got his own seat (much better!) and there was lots of room to walk around and not bother everyone!

We got back to Chicago and had to wait forever for our shuttle back to the hotel to get our car. You should have seen us with 2 rolling suitcases, a HUGE bag with 3 carseats in it, 2 backpacks, each kid had a backpack, and a double stroller. Oh, and a diaper bag. It was CRAZY! Levi had to pull the suitcase that weighed as much as him! It was a bit rough to get back in the car for 4 more hours. I was SOOO tired and glad that George was driving. I have no idea how he stayed awake. I would say, "I'll keep you awake..." and then I would be asleep. I was no help at all.

The trip was THE BEST!! We had fun, parts of it were relaxing, parts of it were crazy and stressful, but on the whole, it was wonderful! I miss my parents already, but I know they are happy and doing a wonderful thing! Thanks for letting us visit!