Utah Finale (Which Should be Titled, "Baby O Gets a Whole Lotta Love")

Sunday morning, we went to church with Mom and Dad, Ryan and Karen, and Cory and Kristen.  It was funny to hear people behind us trying to piece together which children belonged to each family.  

Baby O loved Cory.  I can't wait to try and tease Owen later, trading him between Brady and Cory.  Cory's hair is longer which may be a giveaway.

 Everyone was nice to hold and dote on this kid, who is now a chronic drooler and spits up a lot.  I think the spit up issue emerged because of all the night feeding, but the bottom line is my kid is wet constantly.

 We had dinner that night at Ritchies, where Scott and Natalie joined us.  We all had a fun night chatting and watching the kids run around and interact.  Lots of laughs.

We also took a huge family picture, but I haven't seen it yet.

 The next morning, we went with Ryan and Karen to a bounce house.  These places are so gross but the kids loved it.  We said goodbye to R&K from there.  So nice to see them before their move to the tri-cities area.

We hit the outlets for an hour on the way home and then caught the second half of a soccer game with Logan and Parker.  Their team was unbelievable and the game was wildly entertaining.  It was also freezing, so we came back to Angela's and had hot cocoa.

 Tuesday, we went to Provo to see Grandma and Grandpa Richards.  I love this woman so much.  She has major memory loss right now and I don't think she knew who I was for a good portion of the visit.  She remembered me from when I was young, and kept talking about my piano abilities and playing duets with me.  That happened when I was about 14.  She knew there was something unique about my kids and rediscovered that Zachary was adopted 6 or 7 times during our talk.  It was hard to see but also so sweet to see my very sharp (wit and knowledge, not unkindness) grandmother so vulnerable.  When we said goodbye, she cried and cried.  I wondered if I would see her again and Brady and I were both pretty emotional leaving her home.

 Grandpa is bed ridden but in the best mood I've seen him in for the past 10 years.  He's lost 100 pounds this past year.  He's not well, either, but we loved our visit with him as he teased and laughed.  I'm including this picture even though my head looks gigantic.

 That night, Mom and Dad made homemade pizza.  Mom is gluten-free and I think she is a saint for making food she can't eat.

 We introduced Owen to rice cereal while we were there.  It was a little anti-climatic because he didn't react and gag as much as Zachary or Kate.

By the end of the trip, we were ready to be back in Kauai almost entirely because we couldn't wait to get baby O back to his sleeping schedule.  Now that he's sleeping like a champ again, I'm able to look at this trip a little more fondly.  Hehe.  We LOVED our time with family and friends, and like all trips, it seems so worth the hassles to have these memories stacked up forever.  We felt so much love from everyone and we look forward to our next trip!

For the record, here's our top 3s.

Zachary:

1.  Playing in the snow in Colorado
2.  Goblin Valley
3.  Grandma and Grandpa's house with cousins (he couldn't decide which was better--the reunion house in CO or in Heber)

Kate:

1.  Goblin Valley
2.  Rachel and Ellie
3.  Playing in the snow in Colorado

Me:

1.  Southern Utah
2.  The drama-free Nufer reunion in CO
3.  Workouts with Kristen, Ang, Brady and my brothers

Brady:

1.  Goblin Valley/Delicate Arch with lunch at the hotel in Southern Utah
2.  Eating at Tsunami
3.  Kids playing in snow in CO