Utah in the summer....mmmmm

Growing up in Utah, you take for granted what a beautiful place it is. I love the view from my parent's back deck. I never realized how lucky I was to grow up in a place like this until I moved away. Every time we come to visit this is one of my favorite spots.

I also feel so lucky to have a picture taking mom. Ever since I had Pierce and seem to have too much in my hands all the time, I've had to rely on my phone for photos and don't take them often enough. Her beautiful photos that capture the best moments remind me to get out my good camera!

Pierce too awhile to get used to all the love and attention. He was kind of on and off at times, but over all loved having all these crazy people around loving on him. 

 As a kid, there is nothing better than cousins (or suckers)!

Chillin.

When we come back for a visit, we are usually lucky enough to see my awesome Gummy and Gumpy. They put people half their age to shame, traveling all over the world doing good. I hope to be just like them when I grow up.

It was also so fun to be able to see Mitch and Kelly's new house! It is darling and perfect for their family. My boys loved "breaking it in," and Pierce loved showing Maddy how to dump rocks into the baby pool and get soaked. I'm sure Kelly and Mitch were so glad we stopped by :). 

Parker is so sweet and loving with the little ones. They all adore him too. One of my favorite things is when Pierce and Maddy see each other they yell, "Hop! Hop! Hop!" and jump around together.

A place on our "must visit" list was Cup O Sno. It is the best around.

Ellie was obsessed with Parker and wanted his attention all the time. Parker was such a good sport and he just naturally loves being kind. We are so lucky to have him. 

We also got super lucky and were able to hit the last day of the Brett Family reunion. We love being with the Brett side of the family! There is always lots of fun, food, energy and music and everyone is always so kind and loving to our family. The boys loved swimming in the pool and reconnecting with cousins and second cousins. We also loved meeting Baby Tagg for the first time. He is a gorgeous baby!

If there is wild fun to be had, my boys are in!

So, so grateful that we were able to see Grandma Bear for just a minute or two. We were so sad that Grandpa Bear was too sick to come :(. Mimi was looking awesome and the boys were so glad to be able to spend time with her and Papa for a couple of hours before they had to leave. 

We did not get nearly enough time with Baby Tagg at the reunion, so we had them come up for an afternoon so we could really enjoy and get to know him. Such a cute little baby and Bryce and Lora are great parents already! 

Jace and Parker love new babies...Pierce, not so sure.

Bryce also got the super cool uncle award for taking Jace to the new Percy Jackson movie. Jace looked forward to it all week and was thrilled to have "guy time" with Uncle Bryce. How lucky are we to have such great family?

No visit to Utah is complete without a trip to the zoo. It was a warm afternoon but still lots of fun. 

Too hot to stop for pictures and Pierce did NOT want to share those fish!

We bought the 7 Peaks pass of all passes and took advantage of the bowling. Such a great activity for boys.

Of all the places in Utah, my boys' very favorite is Hollywood Connection. Words cannot express how much they love it. You really can't beat it...hardly crowded and tons to keep you busy all day!