Salt Lake City: Vacation Fun

In addition to all of the Wedding festivities and the LDS attractions we did do some traditional vacationing.

We enjoyed swimming in the pool at our hotel.  Amelia liked riding on our backs as we swam and she liked when the Daddy Shark would attack and blow bubbles under her in the water before tickling her.  Our hotel was not a place we would stay again but the pool was great.  It was hot while we were in Utah and the pool was a great way to cool off and relax.  Plus, Amelia loves to swim.

Monday was our only real free day, and we flew home Monday night.  We made the most of it by attending the Hogle Zoo in SLC with Ian, one of the young men from our ward who is spending his Summer with Family in Utah.  Amelia loved the animals and especially loved the safari train ride and the carousel.  She wasn't a fan of the animated dinosaurs scattered throughout the park, she would say "scared" and would refuse to walk past them.  After the zoo we went to the Natural History Museum for Aaron.  As soon as we walked in he asked where the insect exhibit was.  The Museum was 5 floors and bugs were on floor 4, so we took the elevator to the top and worked our way down.  Amelia slept through floors 5 and 4 but woke up to enjoy the exhibits about erosion and mountain formation as well as dinosaurs, fossils, and archeology.  She wasn't afraid of dinosaur skeletons and enjoyed some of the hands on exhibits.

After the museum we went back to the hotel.  Aaron and Amelia got one last swim in while I packed us for our trip home.  It was a great trip, packed full of events, friends, and activities.  We wish we had more time to see everyone we love out west, but our focus was the wedding this trip.  Next time we will stay longer to see more loved one.  We loved Utah but it is great to be home in New Hampshire.

Swimming on Daddy's Back

Fun in the Sun

"Amelia Look at the Camera for our Swimming Selfie"

Watching the Giraffe and Zebra

Drinking from the Lion's Mouth

Crawling through a log in the Rocky's part of the zoo

Huge Tiger!

SO CLOSE!!!!!

Riding the Safari Train

Our little archaeologist  

       

Salt Lake City: Deep in Mormon Country

In addition to all of the wedding festivities we were able to squeeze in some tourism as well.  Friday was Pioneer Day.  Pioneer Day to us is an LDS (aka Mormon) holiday.  It is the day we celebrate the pioneers arrival in the Salt Lake Valley after crossing the plains in search of a place they could safely live and have religious freedom, their Zion.  In Utah it is also a state holiday because it is the beginning of Utah's history.  There are parades, fireworks, and celebrations.  Friday morning we attended the SLC Pioneer Day Parade.  This was our first real day in Utah after being too tired to function the night before.  The parade route was only a few blocks from our hotel.

It was really awesome to get to watch a parade in which our values and history as Mormons was celebrated.  There were lots of genealogy based floats as part of this years theme.  It was especially exciting to see Elder Henry B Eyring in the parade with 4 of his grandchildren.  He had more security than the govern.  Elder Eyring is the 1st Counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS church.  Amelia also enjoyed seeing horses, floats with bubbles, and all of the princesses "Miss Utah, Miss Salt Lake City City" etc.  After the parade we walked to up to temple square, just for the sake of finding it and got some ice cream.  It was 98 degrees and we were pretty hot.  We got ice cream at Farr's Cafe and Creamery.  We were shocked by 1) the amount of ice cream, 2) the inexpensiveness of the ice cream, and 3) the deliciousness of the ice cream.  Amelia got Play-Doh flavored ice cream which was a colorful blend of three fruit flavored ice creams.  I enjoyed Coconut Almond with hot fudge.  It was like eating the best almond joy bar ever.  Aaron can't remember what he got but it was good too.  It was so good that we stopped back the next day for more.  

By the time we got back to our room it we were late for the pool party, so we got ready fast and took off.  After the pool party Aaron took off to the lobby to read his work book and Amelia and I watched TV and napped a little before the dinner celebration.  

On Saturday we spent the day at Temple square.  We visited the Tabernacle, the South Visitor Center, a number of monuments, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for Lunch, the Family Search Center (genealogy center for the church) and the Temple grounds.  Amelia loved running around temple square and all of the water features.  She also loved listening to the organist play in the tabernacle.  By the afternoon, when we were attending the wedding, temple square was packed with tourists and wedding parties.  In the Family Search Center they had a play area for kids which Amelia enjoyed with some other little girls while Daddy tried to solve the mystery of his ancestor Sophia Stopyak's parents.  As a genealogy hobbyist I have spent a lot of time trying to finding this information for Aaron with no luck.   Sadly they weren't able to find it for him either but referred him to a specialist in the 2nd floor who would be better equipped to help him.  We never had time to go there but someday we will figure out who her parents were.  

After leaving the Family Search Center and enjoying our 2nd ice cream at Farr's we went to Deseret Book, and LDS bookstore.  We wanted to buy everything but settled on 5 books, 1 DVD, and 1 CD.  A clerk was helping track down the books on my list when a woman asked him a question about the start of a new sale.  He answered her and then as we walked toward the section with my book he whispered to me that that woman was Sister Nelson, the wife of the Elder Russel M. Nelson President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  Aaron and I were very much LDS tourist and were giddy to be so close to her.  We know they are normal people, but they are special people too who we usually only see on TV and read talks from in books and magazines.  And to make our Mormon sightings complete, Elder Oaks, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles along with 3 members of the Quorum of the Seventy were in our Sacrament meeting on Sunday.  We restrained ourselves from hugging and autographs and behaved ourselves in all of our Mormon sighting experiences as if we lived in Utah and saw them all the time.  Tourists, lol.  

Parade Fun, and Amelia had the Best Seat for Watching and Resting.

Elder Eyring in the Parade

Ice Cream at Farr's after the Parade

The view from the mall bridge.

Walking through Temple Square with Daddy

The SLC Temple

Running in Temple Square, "You can't catch me"

Listening to the Organ in the Tabernacle, Amelia loved this part.

Trying to get to the water.  There were many water features in temple square and Amelia loved them all.

Throwing in her penny.

Admiring the Flowers

Our Temple Selfie, we couldn't see what we were doing because of the sun. But we laughed.

The SLC Temple

One of the beautiful water features

Resting....

The replica of the temple in the South Visitor Center

The inside view of one side of the replica.

Tired and Hungry waited for the wedding to be over.

"Fine Take My Picture"

Guarding "Her Tree" from other children

It was a hot day and the crowds were hogging the shade.

"Look Mom"

"See Mom"

More Running in Temple Square

Playing in the Family Search Center

She loved playing house with these girls.

The chapel in which we attended Sacrament meeting in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (before church started).  3 wards meet in this building.

                 

Salt Lake City Trip: The Wedding

So the purpose of our trip was to attend Ashley and Jared's Wedding.  Like I said in a previous post Ashley was the missionary who knocked on Aaron's door many years ago in Virginia and taught him about the Gospel resulting in his baptism.  She holds a very special place in our hearts.  We credit a great deal of the happiness in our life to the sacrifice she made leaving her friends, family, and life for 18 months to serve a mission.  Alot could be said, but short story is we LOVE her and are forever grateful to her.  Ashley has witnessed all of Aaron's ordinances, including coming to our wedding 5+ years ago.  We were so happy to get to be a part of her special day, and to meet Jared.

Friday we attended a pool party at Ashley's Aunt and Uncle's house.  It was a great time, and the first time we saw ashley on our trip and met her soon to be husband Jared.  Aaron loved Jared right away and kept saying all weekend that he was very impressed with Jared as a person.  Friday night we attend Ashley and Jared celebratory family dinner with all of their extended family.  We honored to be the only friends invited.  They had someone from each family stand up and introduce their family and say how they knew the couple.  Aaron talked about how Ashley changed his life and how much we love her.  He said it very eloquently and made a few people cry.  We loved both of their families and enjoyed getting to know them and Aaron got to tell his conversion story a bunch of times which is always great.  We left Dinner a little early because Amelia was very tired (time change troubles).

Saturday was the big day!  Aaron attended the ceremony while I waited with Amelia outside.  In the LDS church only temple recommend holding members can enter the temple, so that means no children.  Aaron said there wasn't even standing room left, so many people attended.  He also said the ceremony was wonderful and profound.  Outside a bridal party exited the temple about every 15 minutes, and Amelia was so excited to see all the "princesses".  When Aaron came out Amelia was in terror mode.  She was hungry and tired.  We tried to wait for Ashley and Jared to make their big exit but Amelia didn't have it in her so we left and got some lunch at the cafe in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  Yummy!  And Utah is so cheap compared to New England.

Later that night we attended Ashley and Jared's garden reception.  Amelia fell asleep on the way there and slept until a few minutes before we left.  It was a beautiful garden party with large framed pictures of the couple hung on the stone fireplace and from trees.  There was a man making fresh pressed apple cider and a lady serving homemade pies in addition to wedding cake.  It was great to see Ashley so happy, to meet Jared, and spend time with their friends and family.  We loved Utah, but I wonder how much of that love is because we truly loved the people we were with.  That was the end of our time with Ashley and Jared.  We wish them the best and hope our paths cross again soon.

When Ashley came to our Wedding Nov 2009

Ashley and Jared Newly Wed

Ashley ("Princess") and Amelia at the Reception

Flying with a Toddler

We had the pleasure of attending a wedding in Salt Lake City Utah this past weekend.  The missionary, Ashley, who found Aaron and taught him resulting in his baptism into the LDS church was sealed on Saturday.  It was a special occasion for someone very special to us.  It was Amelia's first time meeting Ashley, and a lot of other firsts.  

I was a little stressed about flying with a toddler.  I was worried about her ears handling the pressure, if she would be scared, would she be desperate to get out of her seat, would she use the plane toilet if needed.  We had a total of 5 flights round trip.  If the first one was horrible we would still have to endure 4 more.  I tried to plan for every possibility as much as possible.  I packed her some of her favorite toys (a stuffed dog, some hot wheels, crayons and markers, and paper).  I also packed her kindle and a battery back-up.  We brought lots of snacks and a sippy cup to fill with juice once we were through security.  I packed a change of clothes, and dressed her in layers and packed a blanket for her.  I decided to bring her car seat, one because we would need it for the rental car when we landed, but I also figured she would be more likely to sleep on the plane if she were in her car seat (since she sleeps so well in it in the car).  This meant getting a special dolly made to wheel the car seat around (also great b/c it turned the car seat into a stroller she could ride).     

On Thursday at 3:30am we arrived at the airport.  Amelia was surprisingly happy to be awake and traveling.  We got through security fairly easily and bored on time.  We had been upgraded to first class for our first leg which was wonderful.  Amelia and I sat in the first row.  She loved watching everyone board and enjoyed entertaining the flight attendant.  Taking off we said "Weeeee" and Amelia enjoyed the flight from then on.  She was an excellent flier.  Our first stop was in Philadelphia, PA.  Amelia enjoyed riding the moving walkways, and we all enjoyed a yummy breakfast at legal seafood.  

Our next flight was 5.5 hours.  Thankfully Amelia and Mommy slept the first 2 hours.  Then Daddy napped for a bit.  Thankfully the flight attendants on this flight were pretty relaxed.  We weren't in first class this leg of the journey and being cramped and seated for 5 hours was not in Amelia's ability.  She stood in the isle for little breaks, and sat in both our laps.  She loved looking out the window.  When we finally arrived in Phoenix, AZ we were ready to stretch our legs. We had some lunch at some sit down restaurant that was also very good and then went in search of the kids play area.  Amelia was so excited to play with other kids.  They had some of the same mats and boxes that she uses in gymnastics class so she showed Daddy her cool moves.  Some of the big kids were stacking up the gymnastics blocks and doing tricks off of them, and Amelia was right there with them jumping and diving fearlessly.  

The last flight that day was a short one to Salt Lake City, UT.  We were in first class for this flight as well, YAY!  Flying in first class makes traveling with a toddler so much nicer.  In first class her car seat doesn't overlap into my seat and we don't hold up the line trying to get our toddler, carry-ons, and car seat through the plane.  In couch Daddy has to carry the carseat up above the seats because it doesn't fit down the isle.  When we arrived in Utah at 4:30pm utah time (6:30 NH time) we were all tired and hungry.  Amelia said "no plane" as we waited in line for our rental car.  We got our car, made it to the hotel, and went in search of some dinner on foot.  We ended up a fancy restaurant for lack of better discovery and by the time dinner came we were to tired to eat it.  So we went home and went to bed.      

Flying home we were in coach both flights, but at least we were in the second row so we didn't have to wrestle our stuff to the back of the plane.  The first flight was a red-eye.  We arrived at the airport at 8:30pm for lack of anything else to do and got some dinner.  Amelia had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the airport and remained asleep until shortly before boarding the plane.  We brought her to the airport in her PJs, which ended up working well.  Aaron and I had dinner at a sports bar and she never woke up, but I saved her some just incase she woke up hungry.  When we boarded she ate a few bites but quickly went back to sleep.  I couldn't get comfortable so I didn't sleep, but Aaron slept some.  At some point Amelia woke up begging to be held.  I held her for what felt like forever, until my bottom was asleep and legs and feet were cramping at which point Daddy took over.  She slept well the entire flight as long as we held her.  We arrived in Philadelphia, PA at 6:00am, Amelia happy and energized, Daddy and Mommy very tired.  We hit up legal sea food for breakfast again since it was so good the first time, but this time it was mediocre at best (I think because of the time).  We had a long layover so Aaron found a bench and took a nap and Amelia and I played and talked to Nana for the first time in days.  There was a little boy, less than 1 year old near by who kept trying to hold Amelia's hand but she wasn't having that and gave him dirty looks insead.  When we finally boarded the plane to NH we were ready to get home.  Amelia and I slept the entire flight and Daddy read the book he bought on our trip.  

Overall, Amelia was a very good flier and did well in the airports.  She loved riding the plane and the moving walkways, escalators, and elevators.  She would run down the walkways and when Daddy would say "Back Against the Wall"  she would immediately stop and leaning against the wall until we caught up to her again and Daddy said "Ready, Set, Go".

My advice to people travelling with toddlers is to be brave.  Be excited and hopefully they will be to.   

3:00 am, here we go.

Ready to fly, first flight and she travels first class... spoiled, lol.

Daddy in the Row behind us.

Mommy and Amelia, ready for take off.  And Teddy of course who somehow snuck onto our trip.

Playing games in the sky,

Looking out at the clouds

Nose squashed against the glass.

2nd flight, all together in coach in row 17 but doing well.

Wake "Up Daddy"

Kisses to wake the sleeping prince

Lunch in Arizona (which was 105 degrees that day).

Playing in AZ before the other kids got there.

     

Asleep as we arrive at the SLC airport for our overnight flight.