Summer Vacations

Every summer we make the trek.

Utah is so hot and dry in the summer. We were there for pioneer day, and I pondered the state of minds of our forefathers as they came into the desolate valley that July. I guess after the trip they had made, the Salt Lake valley was an answer to prayers.

It's been nearly 150 years since William Wignall brought his family across the plains in the Willie Handcart Company. We often discuss the trials they endured on the westward voyage, but it seems pretty clear that the trek was just one of many hardships. They arrived at the valley! Yeah! Now what? No home, no cleared farmland, no neighbors, and no certainty about where they would be sent (Brother Brigham sent William's family to Payson. At least it wasn't St. George!).

We enjoyed our trip. There are always more things to do than there is time. We stayed at my parents' home in Farmington, encroaching on Jenny's new "dorm-apartment" in the basement. Barry's brother Mike came down with his new wife Christine and their 4 kids (ages 1, 2, 2, and 5!). We shopped and ate in Centerville on Friday. On Saturday, we shopped and ate in Park City. On Sunday, we rested. On Monday, we shopped and ate in Layton. A good time was had by all.

Seriously we had a good time. On Saturday, I went with Barry to buy a new desktop computer for their home office. We went to several retail outlets and had a miserable time dealing with salespeople. I'm writing this here as a reminder to myself: Dell.com

We made a trip down to Payson to see Dad. He was very lucky; that was Amelia's happiest day of the whole trip. She just smiled and played with him the whole day. He grilled some great steak and salmon. I was glad that Amelia finally got to meet Grandpa Dave and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Mark and Cleo. Amy and Renvic were also there. Their kids are getting big fast. I remember going to the twins' first birthday party soon after I got home from Honduras. They'll be 8 this winter. The younger boys are adorable and they love grandma and grandpa (of course).

We got to see Sabrina and Grandma Shirley as well. Both were excited to see Amelia. Emily and I are grateful for the many wonderful people who love our daughter.

We visited Spencer and Jenny Smith at their home in Sandy. Their kids are loads of fun and I wish I could see them more often.

We briefly visited Brian, Courtney, and Todd in Provo. We anticipated seeing them a few weeks later at Ashley's wedding (!), so we just went to dinner and visited at Todd's apartment.

There are many places in this world that I would like to see, but when it comes time to plan a vacation, the people I want to see are more important. To Utah!

I'm grateful that there are so many people we want to visit. I wish we got to see them all more often.