A trip back home to visit for Grandma and Grandpas 70th wedding anniversary ment...it started with a road trip!(and another marathon post....) Jacob was able to come with me, so on our way home we stopped at Vegas, for Jakes first time! It was so much fun! We spent about five hours there, walking around the shops, doing a little shopping, watching entertaining people on the strip, and eating at one of my favorite places from NY, and brought to Vegas.......
SERENDIPITY! For some reason I love this restaurant! Maybe its because of the movie, maybe its because I am obsessed with oversized yummy desserts? Well, I think I got Jake hooked on chicken wings, or chicken fingers in wing sauce. Its what he wants for every meal when we go out, at any place we go to. But hey..I'm not complaining. If I were stuck on a dessert island and could only eat 5 things chicken wings would be one of them. (gummy bears, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, neds crazy subs and steak would probably also make the list. oh and maybe exchange one of those for Hawaiian haystacks).
Have you ever tried a fried oreo? If not..its time to try one. It was not my favorite thing I have eaten, or one I would recommend to eat often, but its worth a try. The desert was good, but nothing beats their chocolate cake sundae.
Well, after arriving in Arizona early in the Morning, Jake and I were able to play and talk with grandma and grandpa for awhile. Next we got to play with the fam! Heres two of my cute sisters with little Alyssa!
My mom is always whipping up a meal, and everytime it is good! She is such a great cook! 
Breann and Gavin. Such fun/cute kid! Look how cute little feet are!
Alyssa just cracks me up! Oh she is such a ham. I was dying laughing when she was up on this little window ledge. She was acting like she was trapped inside and it was the worst thing ever. Maybe as a child I would feel the same if I knew there was a magical land waiting outside for me to come play in to.
Morgan and dad.
Kelsey and Jacob. On our first couple of days in being in AZ, Jake got to experience "Sweet Cakes," "last chance," and meeting some of my childhood friends, Aimee Anderson Gurr and Scarlett Banks Bindixon. We all got to go out to dinner and have a fun time! We also got to see Aimee and her husband Brandons new house they just built. It was so cute! Aimee had done such a great job of decorating. I was so proud.
Breeann and mom. I think they look alike in this picture. Same noses?
With grandma and grandpa in town, we got to spend time with family we don't always get to see, which was awesome! This is my uncle Steve and aunt LeeAnn. Sometimes I am lucky and get to see and play with them back at school.
There are many reasons why I think Jake is the greatest, but here are two of them: Jake will help with anything. He was great at making cookies with, and helped them look so nicely displayed.
#2 Jake is not only great with kids, he LOOOVES to be playing with them. I think it is because he is a little boy at heart. (giant stuffed squids, dino toys...) But thats what makes him so fun! This is Jake playing with my cute nephew Shane.
Jake, Kelsey, Grandpa, Grandma
How cute is this?! So sweet. I have never seen a couple so in love. It has been so great being able to spend time with my grandparents. They are such great examples to me. Especially on how to show kindness and love to others.
Dad took us for a tour at his office to show grandma and grandpa the changes since they have last been back west. Uncle Steve and I had a little to much fun on these rocking animals. I think its because we were so amused that they made animal sounds when you rocked on them!
Playing on the display playgrounds.
Cute grandma getting wheeled around in a comfy chair! Great idea dad :) Grandma did love it!
This is a spinny thing. It was intense.
Getting some great one on one with grandma!
Aunt LeeAnn is defiantly the crafters, of alllll crafters! Oh she is good! Early in the morning her and I set out on some adventures to find some great fabrics for a craft night. We also got some cool vinyl fabrics to make some fun notebook covers. She's so creative. She taught my sisters, mom and I how to make 2 new kinds of flowers! It was a great time! Thanks LeeAnn!
Gavin and Bryce really bonded this trip! They played nitendo on this chair for hours.
More visitors arrived! This is Paul and Aunt Lee! The big day has come....ITS GRANDMA AND GRANDPAS 70TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!! WAHOO!
Mom always prepares a feast! She is so good! The relief society president in our ward is an amazing cook, and she was so sweet and knew that guests were coming over so she made several kinds of focasia bread for us to eat. Well I got to be honest, I have never eat such soft, luscious, tasty, unstoppable eating bread. I love bread and have eaten many great breads, but this is one of my top favorites! I must learn how to make these someday!
Mom always has such a variety of food for everyones tastes!
Sweet and Sour meat balls! What a great hit! Mom has such good friends with great recipes. Her friend Mindy got this recipe from the Lion House. They were soo delicious!
The famous cook herself!
Grandma and Grandpa welcoming all their guests that have come for the day!
Eating around the table, getting time to catch up and talk to eachother!
Uncle Mark, Aunt Lee, and Mike. Mike used to live by my grandparents and became a member of the LDS church in his teenage years. He has kept in contact with my grandparents, and they have been great friends since.
Grandpa and Jacob became great friends this trip. Grandpa loooves to learn new things and is working on his computer skills. He does a great job, but had a few questions. I think Jake is great #3 because he loves to help others. He sat down with my grandpa more than multiple times to talk, be on the computer and help him. Jake is such a great example of patience and service. Grandpa emailed Jake the cutest email after the trip. That sealed the deal on friends forever.
As Hayley would say (and sadly we all missed Hayley and her family on this trip) "this picture is frame worthy). I think this is such a cute picture! This is bree brees and Aunt LeeAnn.
Oh yes.........so the night before the party I got really sick so the party day was a pj day for me. Jake was so sweet and toke care of me, even though he knew he may get sick himself. (and sadly he did, and was still sick for 3 weeks after. poor jacob) *notice* great white socks....dads! oh, how I have such great memories of dads socks, and how I love to wear them. I was freezing so dad got me a pair of his fresh socks to wear! He's the best!
Uncle Vick came to say hello. He has the cutest smile of all time!
Mark, Lee, Dad, Mom, Mike, LeeAnn, Steve, Grandma, Grandpa, Vick
Alyssa is looking good in these sweet shades.
Amazing women.
Nothings a party without a pool party in Arizona! Here is Bryce jumping off the diving board. He is such a handsome boy.
Shane was great jumping off the diving board! He would go all by himself!
Jake was such a big boy to and ventured off the diving board by his self to. I think he would of felt better if someone was waiting at the bottom to catch him.
Paul is so sweet. He pushed Alyssa around the pool in her floaty and would occasionally lean her back and they would give eachother kisses.
This is the year for Gavin, to learn how to swim! He was doing so good, and his skills are looking good! Way to go Gavin!
Amber has always been a supurb diver!
Grandpa was so cute and wanted to watch all the pool adventures. He decided to wait behind the fence so he didn't get wet. Probably a good choice.
Jeff and baby Dean. Getting on some sun screen to have a little protection from the hot hot sun.
Bree and Amber had a great time together in the pool. Amber would lift Breeann higher and higher in the pool. They played for hours. She would keep coming back to Amber to tell her to keep jumping her. I love Brees lovely long hair, and Ambers cute smile. Cami and Dean were excited to watch.
Aubrey became the official child catcher at the end of the slide. She was perfect for this job. She really made every child feel special, and that they were in good hands.
Gavin is happy that swimming is starting to click with him. He is going to be a great swimmer! He already is.
What is a trip, without a trip to the "Golden Corral Buffet?!" We got to eat at the Golden Corral and it was so yummy! I love it there! Really good food selection and fun easy going environment to be in! My grandma is a party animal. Every night we would stay up and watch fun old movies with her. I think thats where I get my late night gene from! After a great trip, relatives all left, Jake left, and we toke grandma and grandpa to the airport. I was sad to see them go, but so glad I got to spend some quality time with each of them!
During the days everyone had left, I got to make the 2 quilts. Amber and John and their family were with Johns family on a trip. They then came back to AZ before they headed back home. Here is mom and Amber at Pei Wei, as we all had dinner together.
Best dad in the world.
Cutest mom, and little Paul. Paul loves ears. He is great at doing ear tricks and massaging ears. He also has the cutest dimples around.
Amber's family loves the pool so we spent a few days at the pool with them. It was so much fun! Amber and I reminisced the past doing diving board competitions, treading water, underwater handstands, george washington hairdos, how many spins in the water can you do, the Arial the mermaid pose, water sit-ups, and more. So great! I love love being able to spend time with my sisters! Especially the one on one time! So special.
Paul is one to wear floatys well! Look at this great technique going off the diving board!
Amber and John. Two of my favorite people!
Well, sadly..fun trips come to an end. But the fun did still keep on coming. Jake flew down to Arizona to help me drive back up to Utah. Before we drove back we ate at out back with the fam, and then Jake, my mom and I drove up the cabin. There we saw the movie "despicable me." It is now officially one of my favorite movies. I lovvvved it! It was not at all what I expected! We got to look at the pretty view, take a sauna and eat yummy food at a fun down town place called "kendals" its a burger joint and very good! Sadly Jake felt very sick. On our drive back to Utah we decided to drive back threw the Grand Canyon. This was my first time seeing it! Someday I hope to hike it! During the drive it got a bit windy and rainy. You can see the rain showers coming down in this picture. Cool!
We passed by a place called Jacobs Lake! Ment to be.
Almost home!
This drive was absolutely beautiful! It was such an enjoyable ride with so much beauty all around. In a time span of 1o hours or driving, I felt I was in many different beautiful states because of the drastic scenery changes.
What a great trip! Thanks family for a wonderful time :)
