On our last day in Utah, we had plans to go to the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake, but it closed early, so instead, we went to Liberty Park, which had received a major upgrade since the time Jake and I were living in Salt Lake. We drove past Jake’s dilapidated old bungalow house he lived in during college when we met, not far from the park. Memories! Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mike met us at Liberty for some playtime.

Meredith had the time of her life on the swings. Her soft little tufts of hair are totally irresistible– it’s the softest penguin fuzz ever!

Best. Day. Ever.

Swing us!

After Liberty Park, we visited our friends, Alex and Hillary, in SLC. Their little girl, Ann, was a great sport sharing her toys with all the girls. She took Meredith’s poking and prodding like a champ!

Practicing chop stick skills.

We had a whirlwind week of fun in Utah and the girls were sad to leave Grammy’s… until they found out Grammy and Grandpa were coming with us part of the way on the return trip! Jake’s nephew was getting married in Vegas, and we had arranged for my parents to caravan down with us to watch the girls while we were at the wedding festivities. Not only did they come with us, my mom offered to take the twins in their car on the six hour drive to Vegas so that we would just have to worry about getting ourselves and Meredith there on time! Talk about gluttons for punishment… grandparents of the year!

We loaded the twins and gracious grandparents up with snacks, coloring books and movies in the minivan and wished them well! Meredith slept most of the way to Vegas and it was a very peaceful road trip on our end… it almost hearkened back to our pre-kids days!

Grammy found an awesome park in St. George, which was perfect for getting some energy out, and when they arrived in Vegas, they took the twins to see the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater Show (dog and cats dressed up and doing tricks) downtown.  Other than that, we didn’t hear much about their car ride… I’m assuming Grammy and Grandpa blocked it out of their memory!

Can’t believe we’ve never stopped at this St. George park before– looked awesome!

Meanwhile in Vegas… Meredith was on her way to get ready for the reception.

When we arrived at the hotel, we realized Jake had accidentally packed my bag in the minivan, which my parents were driving. Not having anything to change into after being in the car for six hours, unshowered, I decided it would be best if he went to the luncheon while I hung back with Meredith until the minivan arrived. She was bored with the hotel room in about five seconds, so we walked around the grounds and went to the pool while waiting for Jake.

Jake’s nephews and niece on the Calaway side: Mason, Keitra, Alex, his bride, Bree, Reagan and Ben. 

After a long day, the twins were pretty cranky when we met up at the hotel, so we fed them quickly and left them (screaming from being overtired and confused) with my parents. We took Meredith to the reception with us and she mostly slept/was passed around and admired by all the family.

Jake with four of his brothers, Jarom, Tyler and Ben.

Some of the Whitehead siblings and siblings-in-law: Tyler, Gigi, Jarom and Jen.

Jake’s sister, Juliette, thought it was nice to hold just one baby for a change (she has two sets of twin boys, who are now in kinder and elementary!)

 The next day, everyone woke up refreshed and ready to play. Jake’s family stayed at the same hotel, and we had breakfast with some of his family, as well as the girls and my parents. Then, we headed to the pool to burn some energy before going home.

The twins hung out with Grandma Celeste by the koi pond.

Meredith loves silly Uncle Kip! They have the same expression!

Jake (conveniently) forgot to pack swim gear, so it was my turn to be in the pool with the twins for a change! It was a nice day, but the wind made being in the pool freezing.

Snack time with Grammy.

One of the pool servers apparently took pity on us and made it her mission to bring us extra lemonades, beach balls and suggested we go use one of the cabanas for free.

Thanks, Grammy and Grandpa for all your help! I’m sure the girls would have rather turned around and gone back to Utah with Grammy and Grandpa, but we hugged goodbye and went our separate ways. After exhausting themselves at the pool, we had the most peaceful drive back to California in history. We didn’t have to make any stops, and all of the girls slept for three and a half out of the four hours. Record shattering!

We ate out and let the girls run around the park by our house before getting home and collapsing from the journey. While waiting in the car for Jake to run in and grab some food before the park, we entertained Meredith with silly sounds. Meredith didn’t know what to think of us pronouncing Sammy’s name with a snake-like long “S” sound… she was simultaneously entertained and spooked!

Other than that, it was a cry-free trip home!

Lots of love,