Brothers

While we were in Utah I had Alex's 2 year and Coles 6 month pictures taken. Love these two!!

Flying Solo

Al had a work tripped planned and was supposed to be gone for a week. I got up the courage to book a flight for me and the boys to visit Utah.  Al's trip got cancelled the day I booked the ticket, but I decided to go anyway since I knew he would be working a lot.  I was more nervous about maneuvering my way around the airport than I was flying on the plane with 2 kids.

My first mistake was buying Alex a bottle of apple juice and letting him drink the entire thing.  Whoops

Alex got his very own window seat which he loved.

I gave him a wipe and he cleaned every inch of his tv and tray table.  Yes that's another cup of Apple juice I gave him.

Our first day there I met a couple of my friends at the Children's Museum at Gateway.  Alex loved every inch of it.

Unfortunately we arrived when there was 2 or 3 field trips so there was a lot of kids.  When Ashley got there I went over to say hi and I couldn't find Alex for about 4 minutes.  My heart dropped thinking did he get on the elevator, did he go in the other room. I finally looked up the stairs where he tried to go when we first got there and sure enough he was almost to the top of the stairs, thank goodness.  

We decided to go get lunch and come back later when the crowds died down.  We wanted to eat at our  Happy Sumo.  Tonya and I used to got there at least once or twice a week when I lived there, but we weren't really sure how they would accommodate 6 kids.  

After lunch there was hardly anyone at the museum which was so nice.  We could sit down, watch our kids and actually catch up with each other.  Alex was in heaven with the kitchen.  Hopefully he continues to like it and I will teach him how to cook.

I remember doing this same thing at the old children's museum when I was little, so fun.

He had an obsession with licking his fingers after they got wet in the water area, yummy.

and his favorite thing was the helicopter.  This picture makes me laugh and is one of my favorite Alex expressions.

After the Children's Museum we walked around Gateway.  What was once such a fun place to shop and hang out is kind of depressing now.  Over 1/2 of the stores are closed and it's just not the same.  Alex fell asleep in his stroller which is so rare.  He barely even takes naps anymore.  I misplaced my parking ticket and was freaking out about how much it would be to get out of the garage. I must have forgot I was in Utah because it was only $7.  I pay that just to park in the garage at Alex and Coles Dr appts for an hour, ha. I miss how cheap everything is in Utah!!

That night we had dinner at Lonestar with Grandma and Uncle Ryan.  My mom always thinks Alex won't remember her, but he does every time.

Grandma and Cole.  

Day 2

Day 2 was packed full of fun.  We had breakfast at McDonald's.  Alex had his first Play land experience and kept crawling up the tubes.  Luckily Ryan was there and finally agreed to go after him and take him down the slide. 

Alex got a little freaked out at the top, but I told Ryan just put him on your lap and come down the slide...lol   He didn't want to go back up after that.

I finally made it to City Creek and I was so impressed.   Utah has really stepped it up lately with all these great places opening including Lulu, H&M even though it's over rated, Pinkberry at the airport, and Trader Joes.  

The views at this mall are amazing and Ryan totally agrees by the look on his face.

Alex is attached to his Grandma Ranes.  He was in heaven playing with her phone, keys, and anything else he wanted.

I showed him the fountains the kids were playing in, but I think he was a little overwhelmed with the craziness, so he played with a rubber band instead.

He loved the infinity fountain.

I let him stand on it for a second and he didn't want to get down.

He loves my Aunt Liz's dogs especially Wyatt.  Wyatt just sits there and lets Alex pat and lay on him.

 A couple times he got a little rough, so I've been trying to teach him what soft and gentle means.

That night I went with my cousin Jess and Elisha to one of our favorite restaurants, Bombay House.  I'm sure I've already said it at some point on this blog, but I have never found better Indian food.  The atmosphere and service makes you feel like you're in India.  Cheers with some Mango Lassi's.

We discovered a new dish and I wish I could remember what it's called.  It was basically the Indian version of Fajitas without the tortillas, so yummy.

We got a little greedy and ordered 3 things of Chicken Tikki Massala and 4 Garlic Naans.  There were a lot of leftovers.

We even had our favorite waiter Maninder, it was great.

Towards the end of dinner their cousin Scotty showed up.  I haven't seen him since I was a little girl, so it was fun to catch up.

I've been craving Sno Cones, but only the good ones with cream and ice cream in them.  We made a stop at Bob's Brainfreeze.  I found the Iron Man mix and figured it would only be appropriate since Al was doing his race in Idaho the following day.

Bob's ice was not doing it for Elisha and I.  It was too icy, does that make sense?   

We went on our way to another favorite called African Ice.  Their ice is like snow, so much better and they don't charge extra for cream.  Call us Sno Cone connoisseurs, but it's all about the ice and then the flavors.

Yay for Summer nights and Sno Cones

1 Year Pictures

While we were in Utah I had Alex's 1 year pictures taken.  I'm still convinced that Utah is the best place to get pictures taken because everyone is a photographer there and it's sooooo cheap compared to LA.  I don't have the files yet so the resolution isn't great on these, but here are some of my favorite pictures from Alex's 1 year pictures.

The next one is my favorite.

The next one shows his personality perfect.  He is always walking around our house talking with his hands.  He's very expressive!!