Salt Lake City

On June 25th we packed up and left for a quick trip to Utah. Jon's old mission companion and dear friend from Sweden was going to be there with his family. Jon has not seen him since their mission, so I have never met him. Jon was very excited and I was too. The kids did great on the almost 11 hour drive and Andrea and Blake were kind enough to let us crash on their floor for a few nights. (thanks guys!) The first day we drove to the Great Salt Lake and it was the worst smelling place I have ever been to. We didn't even go up on the beach because it was so stinky! So we took some pictures from afar and went to the gift shop. Jon bought some salt and the kids got some salt water taffy. Then we drove to Jon's old house in West Valley City. He lived there when he 3 until he was 7. It was fun to hear him reminisce about his childhood there. Some stories that I hope Derrick never hears. I don't want him getting any ideas! Then we went to meet up with The Syvanen Family. I knew how happy Jon was to see Antti and it was such a pleasure for me to meet him and his wife Linda and their 3 beautiful children. Antti and Linda speak English very well but their children don't speak any. When we told Emma she wouldn't be able to understand the kids she was a little freaked out by it. But then after about 5 minutes of being with them Emma came up and whispered in my ear, "I actually do like them!" She's a funny girl! Kids can play no matter what language they speak! We toured Temple Square with them and then went to dinner at Jon's old Mission Presidents house. The Taggert's are amazing people. I don't think I have ever been into a strangers home and felt more welcome and at home. We had dinner with them and the Syvanen's and another of Jon's companions, Eric Price. It was fun to listen to them talk about "The good ole days". The kids enjoyed pizza and played outside. It was a really great visit.
The second day we took the kids to the Hogle Zoo. They had so much fun! Derrick's favorite part was, of course, the train ride! That night Andrea watched the kids for us so we could have an adult dinner with Antti and Linda. We went to The Garden Restaurant at the top of The Joseph Smith Memorial building. It was good food and the view was gorgeous! It was fun to just talk with Antti and Linda without the interruption of kids. We are going to try and meet up again in April for General Conference.
We left on Sunday morning and told the kids we would stop at The Grand Canyon on the way home. Well, we didn't realize how far off the highway it was. So we promised them a special trip just to the Grand Canyon and as soon as we mentioned a train ride, Derrick agreed! So that is another trip in our future! We had such a great trip to Utah. The kids really did awesome in the car for that long and running all day long. I'm glad we were able to make it a family trip and I look forward to going back!