Spontaneous trip to Utah: March

[Going back to March]  We moved into our house on a Thursday.  On Friday we found out our stuff could be delivered on Saturday, and early Sunday morning we hit the road headed to Utah.  Hyrum didn't have to start work for another week so we thought it was a good chance to see family.  (The drive was about 9 hours without stopping.)

The night before we left (after the movers were gone) we hurried and unpacked the necessities (ie: bedding, clothes we hadn't been wearing for 2+ weeks, towels) and cleared a space for us to 'live' in when we got back.  It was nice to come back home and have beds cleared off to sleep on.  Aside from a few areas though, the house was a pretty big disaster of boxes and half-unpacked stuff.

Back to the trip, though.  The drive there was surprisingly pretty.  We drove across I-70 most of the way to get to Vernal, our first stop.  First we passed a bunch of snow-covered pine trees.  That felt like a world away from the 75 degrees we'd just left in South Carolina.  Then we crossed over the mountains and hit desert in western Colorado.  It was just a long stretch out in the middle of nowhere.  Hyrum said it was the prettiest drive he's ever done.  I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it was nice.  On the way home, we went across I-80 (slightly shorter) and Wyoming definitely isn't as pretty.

At one point the GPS took us on a dirt road to connect to another highway.  It was pretty strange, and we were afraid the road would just stop.  But eventually we got to pavement again and our tires were still intact.

Hyrum's sister lives in Vernal, so we spent Sunday night with them.  It was a great way to break up the drive.  (We didn't stop for the 6 hours. Thank goodness for diapers.  For the kids.)  Their three girls are quite entertaining for my kids.  They like to hold babies and sing songs.  What's not to love.

 It was beautiful weather so we laid around in the backyard and let the kids play.

Back on the road the next morning to go all the way to Farmington (about 3 more hours.)  We realized on the drive that we'd be passing through Heber, where Matt works, so we stopped in to see him.  (And buy some chocolate-covered pretzels, caramels and apples.)

For this drive we did some seat-rearranging in our van, different than we'd had it on the drive from South Carolina.  We put two carseats in the back row so it was easier for me to climb into the back if needed.  (Extra seat in the middle.)  The kids did okay on the drive, but the 3 hours to Farmington felt like FOREVER.  We just wanted to get out of the van!!!  But those chocolate-covered-everythings sure helped.

The rest of the week we were there is a bit of a blur. I have a few pictures that tell the real story: we mostly hung around the house and ate!  There were several people I could have gone to visit, but the thought of loading my kids in the car and driving more than 5 minutes was overwhelming after driving across the country.  So they didn't really go anywhere except to see their grandparents.

I love showing up in Utah and having my siblings all come over.  Matt and Kayla came over that night, along with Amie and Jenna.  We saw Amie several times that week; she's on maternity leave and just came over to hang out with her baby.

One of the fun parts of this trip was surprising Hyrum's parents.  We didn't tell them we were coming, and on Tuesday we drove to their house in Ogden.  Hyrum called them, and asked if they wanted to Skype.  Once they could see us on the video, he said, "Let me show you our new house."  Instead, he showed them their house.  And his mom said, "Oh!  Nice.  What pretty flowers!"  Then it was like, "Wait, where are you?  Is that our house?  Are you in front of our house?  What??"  She came running out the door, completely shocked and thrilled to see the grandkids.  It played out just like we'd planned.

 It's a rare occasion when these girls are fully clothed, with shoes and coats.  So let it be documented. It was around this time that Siena started walking, too. (She's in the blue coat.)

This picture below is blurry, but one day Hyrum and I went on a date.  I love having my parents watch my kids. [We were actually planning to go to the temple together, but after we were dressed we realized Hyrum hadn't brought his recommend.  whoops.]  We we went shopping instead (nothing exciting... a white shirt for Hyrum) and then ate lunch at a fairly nice place at Farmington Station.  It's certainly not a place we'd take our kids, so we felt pretty fancy. (Except yes, Hyrum is wearing a soccer jersey, so it probably wasn't that fancy.)

This is Talia, Amie's baby.  My girls enjoyed stealing her pacifier. They look huge compared to her.

 On Thursday Lilly had a birthday party at the park.  Hyrum ditched us to watch a soccer game, but Tiago had a blast with his abuela.  She spent over an hour playing with him, so I had fun conversations with the adults.

Thursday or Friday (?) night we went to see The Messiah performed by the Tabernacle Choir.  My mom got 4 tickets, so my parents, Jenna, and I went.  Hyrum brought the kids to his parents house while he watched another soccer game.  It's fun to go out to events child-less, and although the concert was about twice as long as I needed it to be it was beautiful music.  During the intermission I found Leslie there and got to chat with her for a few minutes.  I wish I'd had more time to catch up.

I did a decent amount of shopping while we were there (again, because I could go kid-free) but didn't have a ton of luck.  It seemed like I'd find a cute shirt, but then it wasn't in the size I wanted.  I've resolved to stop buying stuff unless I really liked it and it fit well, so I felt stuck.  But then one day my mom and I randomly went to JCPenney and I found a ton of stuff, and it was on big-time sale, so I got a lot.  :)

One day for lunch we met up with Grandma Hatch and Ira.  The people who are there always seem to shift around, but lunch with Grandma seems to be a fairly regular weekly event, and every time we visit we get to eat with her at least once.  She gives the great-grandkids a dollar when she sees them.  (Except her eye sight is actually not very good these days, so she technically doesn't 'see' them, but she sure heard them.)

And one more thing I didn't take a picture of... My mom had the Young Women come over one night to use the hot tub.  It was about 7:15, and Tiago was already dressed and ready for bed. The next thing we know, he's out there, in just a diaper, with my mom helping him into the hot tub.  He was the happiest kid in the world.  He really get spoiled by his grandparents.  (Limitless candy and drinks in the garage fridge?  It's like a kid's dream.  And mine too, actually.)

Saturday was "Easter" for us since we drove home on Sunday.  We spent the morning with the Hyrum's whole family and the afternoon with mine.  Tiago is like royalty around his cousins.  There's always someone to hold his hand(s) and show him fun toys.  And plenty of adults around to hold the girls.

 The kids had a fun Easter egg hung and then we ate lunch.

 Clearly none of the kids were interested in a family picture.

It turns out I took zero pictures of the Hatch gathering. I'm sure we were all there, and it was delicious, and really loud.  (Why don't I remember more?!) I remember the kids looked for Easter eggs and Tiago ate too much candy.  I also remember my girls were loud and really crazy, so once they finally went to bed (early) I LOVED hearing Amie's baby cry, knowing it wasn't mine.

On Sunday we drove home.  My mom offered to come back to Colorado with us and help unpack for a few days, then fly back to Utah.  It worked out great.  She was helpful with entertaining the kids while we drove.  Tiago kept asking for 'the monkey' which is an app on her phone where you interact with a monkey.  He absolutely loves it.

We stopped (for about 60 seconds) at the Devil's Slide, which is this vertical rock formation in Utah.  We were able to pick up our Accord at my aunt's house in Berthoud.  We've been storing it there since my parents drove it across the country for us in February.  It was nice to see it again! We like that car.  After a quick visit, and stretching out our legs, we made it the last 2.5 hours to Fort Carson. [I messed up my lower back that morning while packing, and was so stiff by that afternoon that I couldn't actually stand up straight.  I looked like a hunchback walking around their house.  It was better within a few days when I wasn't sitting so much.]

My mom was super helpful with unpacking. On the first day, we did the kitchen and parts of the bedrooms.  By the end of day 2 we were done with most of the boxes downstairs and had the kids rooms completely organized.  It would have taken me weeks on my own to do what we did in 2 days.

In addition to unpacking, we did a lot of shopping.  I think I spent about $500 while she was here (thanks, Costco) buying stuff for my house, particularly the fridge/pantry.  She also entertained my kids and probably sewed something for us.  And that was all with a partially functioning shoulder.  I don't know where she gets all her energy.  I remember mentioning that we needed to hang up our clocks, and the next time I came into the room she had already done it.

One other funny thing about coming home: before we left, I cleaned the freezer, and apparently didn't put the ice-catching container in the right spot.  When we came back a week later, our freezer was full of ice.  It wasn't too big of a mess to clean up, but kind of ridiculous at the same time.

Hyrum had Monday off work, so we drove to the Garden of the Gods, a park with red rock formations not too far from our house. It was a beautiful day and we got food for a picnic.  There are a lot of hikes we opted not to do, but maybe another day.

And on Wednesday afternoon she flew home.  It was back to reality.  Hyrum was back to work.  And since then life has been fairly settled.  We're at the point that I always look forward to before a big move: our stuff is in its place, we have a routine and know where the playgrounds are, and I know a few people I can call to do stuff with.  March was crazy, with a lot of fun mixed in, and I'm happy to be back to 'normal.'  Even if its sometimes boring.