Utah July 2009

July 22nd through the 26th we flew up to Utah for the Golding Family Reunion. I was super excited because we were going to be camping and because I had never been to one as a married Golding (I went to one for about two hours once when Jason and I were dating but I hardly count that). Well, I thought that it would be a lot cooler because we were camping. Boy was I wrong! We camped near the small town of Tremonton and it was ridiculously hot and humid! But it was still a lot of fun. My best friend since I was a baby is Jason's cousin and I grew up around her family a lot, so seeing most of them and all their kids was great for me. Each day they had something planned out for us and each day they provided breakfast, lunch and dinner. And of course they had lots of Otter Pops readily available for the kids, and adults too. The area where we camped was really green and lush. It had a couple of nice trails and a river too. Jason, Griffin, and I stayed in our own tent near his parents and little brothers. Our camp was a little down the road from the main camp, making it easier for us to get Griffin to sleep at night and nap. The reunion started on Wednesday, but we came up on Thursday so Jason, Grif, and I could spend some time with his immediate family. We left on Saturday and spent one more night with his family and our Grandparents before we left for Phoenix on Sunday evening. 

The first day we got to the reunion, the group went to Crystal Hot Springs. It had two pools, one cold and one warm, a hot tub, and two giant enclosed water slides. When we got there Jason took Griffin on the water slide and he really liked it. We rented a life jacket for him and then he proceeded to go down the water slide with either Jason, his little brothers or his Dad the ENTIRE time. He would not sway from the water slide. He must have gone down at least 30 times. It was adorable, of course. 

Griffin with Uncle Ryan and Jason coming out of the water slide.

I took this picture of the mountains out of the car window and I really like it. I adjusted the color a bit on my computer. I am definitely an amateur at best when it comes to that kind of stuff, but I just had to have me a pic of the beautiful mountains.

This nest was outside Jason's parent's garage and I though that it was really neat looking.

Griffin with Jason's parents, Grandma Raeleen and Papa Joel. Griffin is the only grandchild so he gets a lot of attention from these two.  I love Jason's parents, they are also very good to us. They paid for our plane tickets using their Frequent Flyer miles. 

Here is Griffin and all of Jason's siblings. From left, Blake 20, Jason, 26, Nick 28, Ryan 19, and Jessica 23. They are so fun to be around and of course they love their nephew to pieces. 

And this one I just threw in because Kim is in it. She is Blake's girlfriend and she is so sweet. Also I think they all look super cute.

My Grandma LeeAnn's beautiful backyard in Orem.

When we went to my Grandma's house, she was outside watering. Griffin absolutely adores being outside and so of course he wanted to help. My Grandma is so good and patient with the little ones. She let Griffin help her do everything around the backyard. He was in heaven. 

This is at the reunion when they were all playing a game of softball. This is Lyssa, my bestie, being the catcher. I just love this picture. Doesn't she look so excited?? (:

This is Lyssa's baby Christian. He is 8 months old and I just got to meet him for the the first time! He was born in Doha, Qatar, where Lyssa and her husband Dave live. They have come back to Utah for the summer and I'm so happy! I got to hold him a lot, though he is quite attached to his mama. 

This is Griffin holding the Golden Spike at the reenactment we saw. 

The reenactment was interesting, but for the most part it was boring for the littles. Since there was plenty of dirt and gravel, Griffin took right to it and played and got dirty to his heart's content.

The actors in the Golden Spike reenactment. The guy in the maroon coat is Jason's uncle Jim. He and his wife were the hosts of the reunion this year (he also married us) and so they picked him to be part of the cast. I linked the Golden Spike because if you did not go to school in Utah, you may not know what I am talking about. (;

Papa Joel, Grif and Jason waiting for the show to start. At the beginning and the end (when Griffin wasn't forced to be quiet) Griffin loved being there because of the Toot Toots! He loves trains and so that was pretty awesome. 

Griffin always wants to help, especially the men. Here he is biting off more than he can chew with the tent rods.

And here is just a cute pic of Griffin and Jason at Promontory Point. Griffin was having a blast pulling his dad's hair. Jason said it really did hurt!

And here is a pic out the window of the plane. It was the first time we had to pay for a ticket for Griffin since he had just turned two, 2 weeks prior. On the way there we sat him in the middle of Jason and I but on the way home we let him sit by the window. He did great for the most part. Around 45 minutes in though, he wanted to get out of his seat and he kept messing with the seat belt. The plane seat belts are really easy to unbuckle so, keeping him occupied was a must. We are lucky that the flight to SLC is only about an hour and and half. We had a great time in Utah, and later I can blog about how we went back just two weeks later, but to a whole different county and we drove...

P.S. I LOVE Utah but I HATE the mosquitoes!!!! Yes, that requires mucho explanation points!!! I got around 14 bites even after bug spray and four of them got infected. They were on my legs and boy were they attractive!