Summer Trip to Utah

I haven't posted in a long time because I don't know if anyone is reading my blog.  If you are and you want to see more posts please comment at the end.  If you don't then this is my last post. I will still post photos on Facebook and Instagram but not on blogger anymore.

In preparation for our trip we bought a new Toyota Sienna Van.  For two years we have been considering buying a new van as ours is old. This summer we decided that we didn't want to risk driving it to Utah in our van because it could break down so we replaced it.

I was very sad about losing my old van.  This van was my sidekick for 12 years and was so easy to drive and park.  It didn't have any high tech features which I loved, since that meant fewer things to break.  We were fortunate to sell it in just a few days after we bought the new van.  The old van was a 2002 (we bought it used) so it worked well for 14 years which is quite impressive.

 Another thing we did before heading to Utah was take a new family picture.  We were going to be dropping off our oldest child Holly at college in Utah so I wanted to get a new family picture before she was gone.  I plan to use this picture for our Christmas card this year.

Our new van drove us safely to Utah and was able to hold a ton of cargo inside which was wonderful. One of the first things we did in Utah was go to Target with Holly to stock up on the supplies she would need for college.  We got there a few days before the college rush so the Orem Target was still well stocked.

We were also able to reconnect with a few old friends in Utah.  Here we are the Youngquists who we knew when we attended BYU.  They were in the same Riviera ward with us and were dating each other the same time Scott and I were dating each other.

 Here are our kids together.  They have a beautiful house in Bountiful which we got to tour.

 We attended church with Grandma and Grandpa and then posed in their front yard after church.

 That afternoon I took Megan, Emily, and Holly and we went to Lehi to visit the Criddle family.  They were in our ward in Arizona and were some of our best friends.

 Me and my friend Beckie

Sunday evening we visited the Provo Temple and a nice guy took our picture.

Wednesday morning we packed up our van with all Holly's belongings and headed to BYU to check her in.

The hallway in her dorm had been festively decorated by the R.A.

This Bulletin board was especially cute.

 Emily and I stayed with Holly for a couple of hours and helped her unpack and set everything up.

Here Holly is trying out her new high bed.

Scott brought the rest of the family to see her dorm after we were done setting it up.

We found two nice piano practice rooms in her dorm's basement which Holly has been enjoying ever since.

Here is a picture of Holly with her 3 roommates.  They are all nice friendly girls and they are best buddies already.  I'm sorry this picture is so blurry. We have a new computer and the photo program doesn't work like my old one.

 She's doing well at college so far and we made it home safely from Utah.

Today I am thankful that:
*I got to go for a walk with my mom.  It really is special living so close to her.
*My kids had a pretty good first day of school and were willing to go back today.
*Holly sends us frequent texts so we can hear about her fun experiences.