A Few Malihinis: Utah Trip, Part 1: A Rough Start, Jumpin On It, Horses, and Fall Leaves

I get overly sentimental about our visits to Utah. The cousins, the siblings, the friends, the seasons, the food, the opportunities for kids and families, and the change of pace from our lovely, sleepy island all contribute to this nostalgia. We loved our six years there, and we would live there again.

I booked tickets two and a half weeks before our trip for an amazing deal. My doc shot it down, though, so I canceled and tried to get over the disappointment. One week before the trip, my doc gave the okay, so we rebooked and scrambled to plan our days. We left with hardly anything warm.

A few days before the trip, Zachary started running a fever. We were not terribly concerned (although definitely rolling our eyes, because there is nothing like a trip to the mainland to trigger illness in our family), but when I spoke to his teacher at school and learned about three kids out with strep, I took him in as a precaution. Sure enough, he had strep. He took his meds and was still feeling yucky on our trip, but no longer contagious. Kate came down with strep a few days later. Although technically not contagious when we arrived, she was really not feeling good, and combined with the sudden appearance of Brady's terrible pink eye (PINK EYE!), we decided to lay low at Mom and Dad's house in Heber.

Zac: "I love Grandma and Grandpa's house but it is more fun when they are here."

Cory and Kristen called us Thursday (the day of our arrival) and told us to come down for dinner. We were most concerned about the pink eye, but easily convinced. Our kids surprised their kids on the doorstep, we ate delicious tomato soup and fresh mozzarella grilled cheese, watched the kids play their hearts out, watched a football game, and talked late into the night about women and confidence.

Friday morning, we set off for the BYU bookstore to buy some gear for game day. It was chaos, but Brady and Kate snagged a shirt, and Zac and I got some chocolate cinnamon gummy bears. I always fall for those things, and they are always gross.

We met up with Mary for lunch. Mary!! Newly pregnant, best bud surfing and camping pal! Kate was so excited to tell her that she still sleeps with the blanket Mary got her when she was a newborn. She was also excited to say that she now understood that this Mary was not the mother of Jesus. Miss her so much!!

We went straight to "Jump on It" with Kristen and the kids.

Kate and Rachel picked up right where they left off a year ago. Rach is so patient, holds Kate's hand everywhere she goes, and has an adoring fan in Kate.

It blows my mind that Walker and Kate are the same age, and I think I forgot what it means to have a toddler boy. Busy! Very entertaining!

Zac watched Blake's tricks and tried to replicate them.

Kate surprised us with some sudden bravery.

Ellie is another cousin with Kate's heart. Zac was so excited to play with Ellie and Walker.

Friday afternoon, we ate Kristen's killer Taquitos before heading out to the BYU game with Cory and Kristen and Kristen's parents and brother (who all sat several rows ahead). Our hearts raced as we went into the stadium and found our seats, and truthfully, all I wanted at that moment was to sit in the student section again. Sigh. At least there was the crazy BYU fan in front of us that helped me feel less exposed as I screamed and cheered (Brady would have joined me a little more in all of that but he felt terrible).

We played Utah State, and on one of the first plays of the game, a Utah State fan was crossing directly in front of us as Taysom threw a 50-yard pass, accidentally blocking our view of the field and the monitor. Ugh. We felt better about things when we saw Taysom hop into the end zone a few plays later. The Cougs weren't looking so good and the score was 34-14 (BYU down) when Taysom ran and was pulled down and injured. Poor guy fractured his leg and messed up his knee again. He's out for the season and likely ruined his NFL chances. BYU got blown out by a team we were expected to dominate, and as an independent team, our season was over.

*At this point, we started counting strikes on this trip, mostly for laughs. Strike 1: Zac sick. Strike 2: Kate sick. Strike 3: Brady sick. Strike 4: Brady stressed at work. Strike 5: Engine light goes on in the truck. Strike 6: BYU game.

Saturday morning, Zachary and I met up with Erin at the park with her family. We love the relationship we have with her and we think our whole family is lucky to have her, especially Zachary. Her girls are so sweet and she and Zachary had some really cute moments running around together. Zachary was super excited to show her his missing teeth, talk to her about school, and show her how fast he could run.

Brady picked us up from the park and we zoomed up to Salt Lake, where we met up with Eric with his companion. He got special approval from his mission president to have lunch with us, and we snagged them between conference sessions and introduced them to salads that taste like candy and soups that melt in your mouth from Zupas.

Saturday afternoon, we spent time scrambling to make extra reservations for the Southern Utah section of our trip, including getting a car, finding another motel, and double checking all my cancelations and reservations. Cory took Kristen's dad and brother, Blake, and Brady to the Conference Center to watch the priesthood section that night, and finished off with Bombay House.

The girls took the kids on adventures. When our kids found out we were going to Utah, they listed off things they were excited to do, and one was "HORSEBACK RIDING!" Kristen took them riding last time we visited, and we quickly told them that horseback riding wasn't something we could do on this trip. Then we got to Kristen's and found out that they actually were going to ride horses again. Ellie and Rachel are taking lessons, and the teacher let our kids ride, too. The kids haven't stopped talking about this since.

Ellie, leading Zachary.

Rachel leading Kate:

I love the doubled-up pictures.

It's this kind of stuff that makes me say, "REALLY?!? Really, Utah?" Mountains in the background, wholesome recreational activity, fall air, and cousins. Argh. Beautiful.

Walker waiting for his turn:

10 hours apart. Love this shot.

Zac kept saying, "I'm ready to go FAST!"

Peek-a-boo Walker.

The cousins wanted to show my kids the chickens. My kids were super excited about this, too, apparently forgetting that we also have (lots of) chickens.

We took the kids home for dinner, and ran off to the park. Zac said, "Mom, the parks here are better than the parks in Kauai." Agreed, bud.

Kristen's mom treated us all to Orange Leaf--a kid paradise where for $3 a cup, you can load up on ice cream and candy. It's kid heaven. (I promise Zac ate about 1/3rd of this before he burnt out.)

Look how disgusting this is:

Kiwi, candy corn, and chocolate...

Claire and Kristen:

I think this experience ranked in Zac's top 5, ever.

After a late Saturday night, we rolled out of bed early Sunday to take a walk in the canyon before Conference. This was our first real taste of fall on the trip--and it was freezing!