The Western United States

A few weeks ago the kids and I embarked on our tour of the western U.S. My dear friends Deb and Dave came from PA to do their own tour (3 weeks!) of the west and we accompanied them up to Idaho Falls then onto Yellowstone (with my Dad's cabin in there somewhere too).

Mesa Falls

A herd of buffalo came between us and Old Faithful. Awesome.

A little geothermal activity.

Deb has always been dubbed my "Pennsylvania Mom" and I love her dearly. She and Dave are the sweetest people you will meet. Can't wait to see you guys again!

From my dad's cabin the kids and I drove back home to Utah, picked up Nic, and drove to Vegas. We stayed in the Hilton ($50 on hotwire!) and got an upgrade on our room. Nice.

The next day we got up and drove on to San Diego, where we met our awesome friends Matt and Heather and their two kids Paxton and Lincoln. We rented a condo so we could all stay together and turns out it was right above the San Diego airport. Mason was in heaven (and we heard about it in the form of a shrill voice screaming, "BLAST OFF!!" everytime a plane took off.)


Lincoln and Sage.



The first full day we were there we went to Sea World. I hadn't been there since I was little and it was awesome. Mason really loved it.


The crew (sans Matt who was taking the picture).


We got splashed by Shamu, an event Mason is still talking about.


Mason's first "ride". He couldn't get enough.


The next day we decided to take it easy. So we went to the park...


...and to the beach. It was pretty cold, hence the good lookin' jacket/swimming suit combo.


Despite the cold Mason literally dove right in.



The third day we took on the San Diego Zoo. Another awesome day.



Mason loved the tram. He wasn't so interested in looking down on the animals, but rather he wanted to see the airplanes flying right next to us. What can I say. The kid loves ALL modes of transportation.

Mase and Pax. They had so much fun together. As did we. Thanks Matt and Heather for providing us with the best company we could ask for. We miss you guys.

From San Diego we drove to Phoenix where we were able to take in a last minute Pixies concert. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

Shay and Eric came along.

But the real reason we went to Arizona was to meet this little cherub. Could he be any sweeter?

My Dad gave Brighton a beautiful blessing. It was nice to meet some of Eric's family and spend some time with our own family.

Not pictured was Sagie's first time swimming (I need to steal the pics from Penni).

So after 13 days, 7 states, minimal melt downs and innumerable diaper changes we finally drove home. Well, Nic and Mason drove home. Sage and I chickened out of the 11+ hour drive and flew home. The perfect end to a perfect trip. (Nic's ending, although much longer, was pretty good too.)