We weren't planning on visiting family this year, but Micah came home one day and decided that we needed to with all the different things happening: Family Bash, Itlians coming to vist, and my birthday.
We flew out very early in the morning and I wasn't sure how Clara would do. We lucked out for the three hour flight and had a seat in between us so Clara could move around. When we arrived Micah's family was there to pick us up. Clara was able to meet her Aunt Sara for the first time. Clara was pretty tired and wasn't too excited about leaving my side. We met up with the rest of the family and after nap time, headed to the Rec. Center. It was a blast playing on the water slide and the lazy river. Clara was even brave enough to venture on to the kiddie toys. She loved it! The day ended in a night full of games, good food and laughter.
Saturday everyone woke up early in order to arrive at Boondocks right when they opened. Micah's family loves the family-fun centers, especially Micah. He had been saving his spare change just for the arcade. Mom and Dad even took the little ones home so the adults could have a good time. We played some shooting games, raced go-carts, bowled, and even hit the bumper boats. We had a fantastic time and stayed a lot later than we thought we would. Everyone was glad to have the free time with Clara though. With me and Micah gone she actually had some fun with her Aunts and Uncles.
Sunday came and somehow we made it to church on time. Afterwards we took family pictures. Everyone looked fantastic and the pictures turned out great! Then we celebrated Clara's birthday with some delicious brownies. It took a little while for Clara to warm up to it but she eventually loved it. Later that evening Clara decided to be brave and take her first few steps. She always waits until family is around for the big milestones :-) We were sad to say goodbye to everyone but we had such a good time and made a lot of memories.
Monday was my birthday which we spent with my family. I have always been a big fan of the zoo and so we made a family trip out for those who could. We started with some lunch and cupcakes. This is where we found out just how much Clara loves BBQ chips. I thought she wouldn't like the strong flavor, but boy was I wrong. We enjoyed seeing all the animals and the new exhibits. Clara loved the elephants, as usual. We also took her on her first carousel ride and on the train. In the gift shop she found a large stuffed snake and didn't want to put it down. We spoiled her and took it home with us (She still loves it and calls it Ease). She was exhausted when we got home. After a nap we headed to my dad's ward BBQ and played at the park.
The next day we stopped by the aquarium. Clara loved the aquarium! I think because everything is always moving, for the most part. It was absolutely adorable. Later that night some friends and family came over. We had a good time chatting and laughing at Clara's funny sounds.
Wednesday we decided to take it easy, which was well needed. Micah spent the day making his amazing lasagna. Then everyone came over for dinner before heading to take family pictures. Luckily our photographer was a family friend, because we got a little silly. Afterwards Micah and I took Clara up to the temple to take pictures of where we became an eternal family.
The rest of the week we spent time with our friends from Italy. They had been traveling the west coast and made their way to Utah. We spent a day with them in park city looking through the shops on Main Street. Then we stopped at Settebello for dinner. This is one of our favorite restaurants and it's the closest Italian food Micah has found. One of my best friends and her husband met us there so we could catch up. The next day we stopped at Temple Square and spent some time looking around. We then drove to Draper and explored Snowbird. They had Oktoberfest going on which made for an adventure. Everyone had a blast on the alpine slide and the tram to the top of the mountain. Sunday morning came and we headed to the general conference center and enjoyed Music and the Spoken Word. We had such a great time with them and they are such dear friends. It was extremely hard to say good bye!!!! Hopefully we will be seeing them in Italy next time.
Later that night all of my family came over to celebrate mine and Clara's birthday. It was fun to watch Clara's face open the gifts. We even gave her a piece if chocolate cake. She loved it and became pretty messy. She didn't like it on her hands though and kept wiping her hands on the tray.
We flew out the next day, and not knowing when we will see them again, made it pretty hard not to cry. Clara was great on the flight and slept through the longest part of our flight. We had a blast in our trip but were going non stop. We were definitely exhausted and being sick didn't help. We were sad to leave but were glad to be home and back to our schedule :-)
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