I had been looking forward to this trip to visit my little family since I left in February! Finally school ended, I hopped on a plane the next day and here I am. Things have changed a bit since February. Biggest change is the new house! During our last visit (check a previous post) we had spent a lot of time house hunting. Shortly after we left, this lovely home below was offered to Brad and Tanja from a member of their ward who was planning to sell. How lucky... right across the street from the little farmhouse but sooooo much bigger! Room to grow.
I arrived very late- thank you Tanja for picking me up at the airport at midnight! So of course William was asleep. The next morning, I woke up before everyone ( I'm still on Maine time) I saw Brad before he left for work, he was also asleep when I arrived. After Brad left, I heard Will stirring in the crib so I snuck in quietly and said good-morning! He had a shocked look on his face but allowed me to get him up, change him and find him something to eat. He gave me the scowly face the whole time until I helped him find his way to Tanja.
After breakfast (awesome smoothies) we played for a while in the backyard and I just enjoyed being there with Will and Tanja! First day in Utah! Feels so great!
The daily routine included swimming lessons at 1:00. Will wasn't always happy about it but he is doing so much better than his Dad did at that age. He goes all the way under and even learned to jump off the edge this week! Uncle Logan would be so proud!
Evenings in the backyard were always fun...
and neighborhood basketball in the driveway!
The next day (Thursday) my brother Bob Atwood met me in Layton and after a tour of the new house we headed out to Antelope Island for birding. We saw some great birds and we even saw a herd of Antelope Below is the Garr Ranch where we enjoyed our picnic.
When Brad got home from work we dropped Will with a friend for the evening and headed for Ogden. We enjoyed a pizza dinner by the Ogden river and a temple session in the new Ogden Temple!
On Friday morning Tanja and I headed to Home Depot to pick up some materials for our project... mulch, flowers and planters. The shopping took longer than the project- we finished it before Brad came home from work! Looks good doesn't it? Probably should have included the before pictures. But take my word... it's amazing!
This evening Brad's office had a get together in SLC for dinner and the Bee's Baseball game. We started off at Pat's Barbecue - great pulled pork sandwiches! Then on to the game with little man!
For most of the game, Will couldn't keep his eyes off the train that rolled back and forth past the outfield. He wanted a ride on that train so....
He's getting closer... it's almost his turn...
He's on the train!!
Such happiness.... Great night at the ball park!!
Saturday was a a busy day... here we go!
First Brad and I took Will to his "My Gym" class. A colorful gym with enthusiastic coaches who help the little gymnasts explore the many areas of movement.
The Maze
The Slide 
The Hanging Bar (with help from Dad)
The Ball Pit 
The SwingWhen we got back from Gym class we headed right over to the movie theater for Will's very first movie theater movie. We saw Inside/Out ... such a great movie! Will was interested for most of it. He only needed a couple of breaks to walk up and down the stairs in the theater and dash around in the hall. He also enjoyed his big popcorn until the entire bowl ended up on the floor.
Later that afternoon it was time for Will's Birthday Party! Guess how old...
Brad borrowed a bounce house and with the family trampoline the kids at the party were well entertained!
Tanja looked all week for a "Curious George" cake... finally found one at Target- yay Target!
Curious George makes Will very happy!
After everyone had left we called up G-Pa on the computer and he shared in Will's present openings. Will loved present openings especially since most of them had something to do with Curious George!
This was a needle point I had made for Brad when he was little so I framed it and gave it to William
After church on Sunday we headed up to Logan to visit the Atwood family. First to Uncle George and Aunt Joyce. They surprised me by having many of my cousins over for the visit too. Wonderful to see them all and their adorable little ones!!
Cheryl, Chelsea, Me and Jenny
George, Joyce, Angie and Emmie
Steve Atwood, Brad, Tanja Will and Chelsea's two little boys, Boston and Ryker.
Then it was across town to my brother's house for dinner with Bob, Annie, Jonathan and Michele and their three kids below Charlie, Bailey and Jackson. Bailey had just given herself a haircut.
Backyard games with boxes...
My last day in Utah, I started off with a walk in Kay's Creek. My favorite local birding spot. Here's a picture of the Lazuli Bunting. Not the best picture of a very pretty bird but the best I could do with my phone.
This evening we went to Brad's softball play off games. This brought me back to the Mansfield Stadium days with Brad making great catches in center field. We had a lot of fun cheering them on and the first game was a close 17-16 loss but so exciting! The second... well they had left it all on the field the first game. The bright side of the loss was that we got to go home earlier for pizza and a game of Settler's of the Catan (first game I've ever won against these expert settlers)
I had a wonderful week with my little family and it was sooooo hard to say good-bye. Tanja drove me to the airport and we tried to rip the bandaid off quickly but still tough to leave. I will look forward to their visit to Maine in August. Until then, wonderful memories of a fun family week!
