the rest...

We left for the big wedding on Wednesday evening...after work...after football practice...at around 7:00 PM. Our estimated arrival time into Cache Valley...3:30 AM.  Not fun.  While Matt drove I tried to sleep and the kids were great.  Morley and Drew were on a Harry Potter marathon and Brayden and Ella crashed pretty early.  Around midnight it was officially my time to drive while Matt slept.  I was wide awake after our ice cream stop at Little America.  Driving at night scares me because of all the wildlife that *could* cross the road.  Thankfully I was wide awake because that is exactly what happened.  Right before Bear Lake, a HUGE elk crossed the road right in front of me.  I slammed the breaks, waking nearly everyone in the car.  Thankfully I saw the elk before it was an accident issue but man, that guy was gigantic.  My heart was racing and I told Matt it was his turn to drive again. 

We made it to our hotel around 3:45 am with very sleepy kids and slept until almost nine.  Breakfast was fabulous at the hotel...which I found on priceline for just $45 a night!  Check out this cool pancake maker!  We each had our turn and they were awesome!  I think I want one!

While Matt went out to fish work for the morning/afternoon with one of his vendors, the kids and I hit the town.  I had to do wedding apparel shopping for Ella and I, we were on the search for pink and teal items.  They were troopers shopping with me at nearly every clothing store in town.  We found what we needed and then it was time for some kid fun.  We went to the cute little Willow Park Zoo in Logan after our lunch at Chick-fil-A.  I told the kids stories of our outings to that park with friends while we were in college.  The zoo was just as I remembered and just as cheap, only $6 for the five of us!

No matter where you go, feeding the fish is always a highlight!  The ducks and the fish were very hungry that day and kept the kids very well entertained.

Drew loves his new hat and I think he wears it very well.

When I hit my "melting point", I met Matt back at the hotel to unload the boys.  I had a pedicure appointment and treated Kalee to a little rest and relaxation.  Ella was pretty excited to tag along also have her toes painted.  It was fun to chat with Kalee and spend some time with her alone!

Matt and I had a fun time taking the kids around to our first home (townhouse) we lived in, where Morley was born and where he used to work.  It is amazing how Logan had grown since we've been there, nearly 11 years ago!  It was fun to be on campus again and pointing out the different building to the kids where we took our classes.  We couldn't leave without a stop at the bookstore and a few souvenir shirts and a hat.  Morley thought it was cool he "attended" classes at Utah State University too...eventhough he was just in a stroller!  The boys were still in their wedding clothes when we were on our way to the bookstore and they caught the attention of some of the cute college girls!   The girls said, "looking good boys" and my boys just blushed and ducked into the store!  It was pretty cute!

After the wedding and luncheon on Friday, we headed out to Rexburg, ID to continue the celebration.  Somehow we managed to cram 18 people into Matt's parents home, a minor miracle.  I wish I would have taken pictures of how some of the kids chose to sleep!  Saturday morning Matt woke up early with Brayden and headed out to...fish.  It's work, right?  While he was enjoying the outdoors I enjoyed some shopping time with Margie, Sarah, Ellen and Haley.  I bought a little bit of fabric and more beads for watches.  After lunch at the delicious Fongs restaurant, we started on our wedding task of the day.  Our job was to cut all of the fruit for the cute little shish kabobs for the reception.  It was a great time with all of the Haley ladies in the kitchen...it was a rather, um, fun experience!  Sometimes I feel like an outsider being a "sister-in-law" and other times I feel like I have grown up with the girls.  The conversations never disappoint!

On Sunday after we all slept in way too late, we watched Kalee and Vince open their wedding gifts.  The little kids had a fun time making an assembly line to hand them the "next" one to open.  Afterwards we all headed out to Mesa Falls and Warm River to feed the fish.

It was gorgeous and I couldn't believe Matt had never taken me there before!

the cute newlyweds

Brayden loved his time with Grandpa Haley.

The Warm River was beautiful and the fish were not very hungry.

Monday morning we hit the road to come back home, it felt like we had been gone forever.  We love our family and feel very blessed to have the opportunity to travel.  We have been able to see a lot of family this summer and it is definitely a summer to remember!  The kids did homework for hours in the car on the way home and thankfully no one got sick.  We also stopped at the Fossil Lake visitors center and enjoyed some time out of the car learning about fossils.  We arrived "home" somewhere around 10 pm...but it was very weird pulling up to this house this isn't "ours" after a trip.  Hopefully we will have our own place by the next time we hit the road!