The Fun

 Ole's...new restaurant in Sugar City!! Good Philly Cheesesteak!

 The boys, reading while waiting for Uncle Devin to perform

 Uncle Devin is in the group, Collegiate Singers at BYU-I (their most elite, classical choir), it was neat to hear him sing!

 Eating at Sammy's (home of the PIE shakes...put a piece of pie in your shake & mix 'er up!). I got a black-bean burger, sweet potato fries & pumpkin cheesecake shake--super yum, but pricey (thanks go to Dina on that one)!!

Grandma Dayton love

 Eating my FAVORITE yogurt pops (homemade yogurt!!) with the ladies

 2nd annual epic sleepover/wii party!!

 should I keep it, Mom? Are you kidding?! How the heck did you do that?

 Some of Devin's singing group, walking around the I-Center, caroling in different spots

 And what trip would be complete without a visit to the frozen yogurt serve-it-yourself place. New one-Kiwi Loco

Those pink pretties are something I've never seen/tasted before...Boba (?) balls...they burst in your mouth with juice...super good & not too sweet!

Saying good-bye much too soon...

 After becoming fast pals, saying goodbye to cousins Beck & Parks was hard!

Sarin & Jared were there for a couple days & Spence & Meagan were there just one night...just not enough time!!

The funeral

    

Remembering...

 Her memories & years in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir were cherished, she had pictures in her front entryway so she could show them to newcomers & be reminded herself

 I love this because Grammie is well-known for her sticky notes everywhere...this is her sticky note calendar of everyone's b-days, anniversaries, special occasions--she ALWAYS remembered them & usually presents were distributed well ahead of time. She gave

 our Christmas presents from her for this year about a month ago so it will be so special to open them & think of her. 

Her fridge o' love--the most recent pictures of all of her children & grandchildren.

After 20 years, Grammie & Grampie are together again!

She bought this & hung it in her entryway because she said she always loved swings & it reminded her of herself as a young girl. Notice the wings...our angel Grammie :)

Temple Square

Not sure how many years it's been since I've been to Temple Square but I really wanted to squeeze it in for the boys (that's what the entire week was like...squeeze squeeze squeeze!!). The lights are so magical & I forgot how much I love them!!

 But first, a little nose-bite from Rhett to Aunty Sarin

 We stopped in at the new Deseret Book right across from the temple & got to see the AMAZING 'gingerbread-making machine' complete with a free gingerbread cookie & hot chocolate.

 My Grammie & Grampie started the tradition of meeting every year possible for conference so in combination with her singing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for 20 years, I saw a lot of this temple growing up. I never tire of its gorgeousness & now it means even more to me because it reminds me of her & her dedication to family.

 Not great quality, but it's the boys watching the nativity scene on the lawn by the visitor's center. I loved watching that growing up. It's nice to know some things haven't changed.

The boys truly enjoyed walking around both visitor's centers that we went in, listening to the videos, looking at the displays, etc...it was like they were each in their own little world. I wish we would have had longer to enjoy all of the amazing things there.

This is the amazing 'new' (to me, anyway, I'm not sure how new it really is) model of the Salt Lake Temple, you can see how it's right across from the real thing. The detail was just breathtaking!!!

Bitter-Sweet

This is my Grammie (dad's Mom). She is one of those people in my life I'll be talking about for the rest of my life, she was that influential. She passed away the day before Thanksgiving after a relatively quick bout with liver cancer. I'm so grateful it wasn't long & drawn-out & we were able to say good-bye to her, but it was still so hard for me. True to her incredible family-dedicated self, she set aside some money so the 'far-away' grandkids could come for her funeral. I debated a ton about who was going to go, but in the end left Ari in Tony's capable hands (& some angels from the ward) & jumped on a plane with all three lil' boys to head to Utah/Idaho for a week. HERE is the tribute I wrote to/about her awhile back. I love her so much!

Buh-bye Daddy-o.

No matter how many times the boys have seen planes (& they've seen plenty since they've flown at least twice a year since they were 2) they still love looking at the jumbo jets take off & land.

And this is the outfit he pooped through on the plane while we were taking off--"No, sorry, Maam', you'll have to wait until we're at 10,000 feet before we can excuse you..." 

Hard to see because of the fog, but my aunt & uncle's house in Ogden is overlooking the whole valley & the boys enjoyed getting their wiggles out on the tramp with a 'new' cousin.

Uncle Jared definitely is one of the 'faves.'

Golden Corral...one of Grammie's favorite places to take all of us.