It feels GREAT to be home.
Looking back, I'm not sure we could have packed anything else into our visit. And if you looked up "spoiled" in the dictionary right now you would find a cute, shiny picture of my 4 children- smiling with all their might! (We're currently undergoing some serious vacation-detox.) It seems we went from one party to the next, saw all the family and friends we could cram in, and hit a couple of amusement parks just for good measure. It was great - completely exhausting, but absolutely FUN! We're so grateful for the time we had with family and the wonderful memories. Thank you to everyone who fed us, housed us, entertained us, put up with us- we're so thankful and anxious to return the favor (since Potsdam is high on everyone's travel list)...so come visit!
OH! (ha, the reason we went in the first place) AND, Ben's dig went well. He survived the drama of some very interesting students and got a little further along in the research they're working on so I think he's pleased. He also had some good publicity that you can check out at www.ksl.com/?sid=11612499&nid=148 and the www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/50008651-78/iosepa-pykles-desert-lake.html.csp. And we were all super glad NOT to be living in a trailer in Tooele- much better living arrangements this time around.
And because I love lists, I thought I'd record this summer-o-fun with a list of all that we actually did. Brace yourselves- it will make you tired just reading it!
TIME IN UTAH:
4 wheeling, horseback riding, backyard camping and cookouts, fireworks, swimming, swimming, swimming, fishing, movies, "Grandpa basement" movies, baseball games, exploring yummy restaurants (which we have none of in NY), shopping, Opera Festival-wonderful!, Lagoon, Gateway fountains, AMAZING family reunion, ice cream trips, temple trips, zoo, duck feeding, hiking, boating, tubing, sprinklers, seeing our good friends the Knights, cheese factory (ha-only in Logan, Ut), great visit with Grandpa and Grandma Godfrey, SLC Temple Square, SLC cemetary hunting, raceway in Tooele, 24th of July parade, Bingham Copper Mine, Cove Fort, dinosaur museum, Zion National Park, more swimming, and Tarzan at Tuacan- Awesome!!
...tired yet?
TIME IN CALI:
Visit with our good friends from Philly- the Judkins (love their new house), tidepools, San Diego Zoo, beach day, Legoland, sand castle competition (incidentally the kids and their cousins took 1st and 2nd in this competition-they were awesome- who knew!?), Mormon Battalion center, Science and Dinosaur Museums, and Rock Band with the cousins.
Yep, we did it all.
Thanks again! We love you all.
