What a TRIP!

**My apologies to everyone not pictured...I can't believe all of the times I DIDN'T get my camera out!**

8 glorious days of vacation with my husby and kiddos. We are usually just passing through Utah, but decided to go a few days early so that we could visit all of the friends and family we rarely get to see. Most of the friends were meeting Tyler and my kids for the very first time!

14 hours in the car brought us to Pleasant View, UT at 3:00 a.m. on Monday

2 fun, relaxing days with my grandparents in Pleasant View, UT (with a trip to Burger Bar...yum)

Isn't it cool that my kids get to hang out and make memories with their great grandparents?! I love it!

We call them Grandma and Grandpa Great...but Kelly called them Grandpa and Great.

My grandma (a.k.a. Great) loved it.

Me and my boy...see the mural on their garage in the background? A bunch of my family worked on it.

1 4-mile run is all I got in the whole time...doesn't bode well for the half marathon I'm going to do this Saturday...aack!

2 hours visiting my Granny Mann in Hyrum, UT

Such a nice visit

Meeting Everett for the first time

1 hour to Centerville to visit my MTC companion, Sara, and her cute family

1 night's stay in West Jordan, UT, with my dear friend Val and fam

3 glorious - but much too short - hours with Emily, my dearest friend of 25 years (we met in kindergarten), and her girls

She's the reason I dyed my hair red for so many years...I always wanted her red hair and freckles

1 hour catching up with Carrie Taylor - Ty's college friend and now mine - in Sugarhouse

4 cute kids played whilst a good meal was prepared by, and shared with, my trainer on the mish - Veeda and her husband Brendan

4 1/2! wonderful people greeted us at the Huish's in Orem, UT where we spent the night, were treated to a delicious breakfast, and the kids got some toy animals that became the highlight of their trip

5 1/2 glory years were relived by Tyler as we spent a few hours on BYU's campus...I did some homework while he and the kids went on "adventures" (that included both Ty and Max giving 'lectures' in one of the classrooms) and then spent some $ on overpriced BYU paraphernalia

4 more hours in the car (bless my beautiful babes for travelling so well!) took us to Zion National Park for the annual Mann Fam Reunion!!!

16 kids ages 7 and under played and explored and imagined and loved each other up

Enjoying the loot from the Candy Fairy

If I just close my eyes maybe he won't see me here

Wilson, Kelly, Gentry and Delaney

Delaney, Max and Lily

Buds. Max, Jack and Coleman

Countless are the ways that I love these three men in my life!

Delicious

Oh, I'm so in love

2 dips in the pool (Everett's first time ever)

Kelly was attached to Papa Dan's hip the whole time

1 amazing (amazing because we pulled off so many shuttle trips with the whole lot of us and never lost a single little person) morning/afternoon at Zion National Park...oh, and the scenery was pretty darn amazing too!

Weeping Rock

See? Totally attached.

Braving the rapids :)

I love this kid.

Love her. Scruffy hair and all.

Cute little tie-dyed kids

2 1/2 very fun-filled days with some of the people we love the best

The crew minus Uncle Mak

SO many cute little people!

Meeting for the 1st time - Sam and Everett. They're 1 month apart and Sam is ADORABLE!

Papa the Jungle Gym

Annual Dad's Competition - this year it was a Minute to Win It. Good job, Beth!

SO fun to watch!

My man was the WINNER!

Oh joy! Now we get to display this in our home for the next year.

The kids in their tie-dyed shirts with Grammy and Papa, compliments of Aunt Jenn's craft

Grammy and the Ev Man

Everett LOVED Grandma and Grandpa Great especially

1 hour 45 minutes for my husby to finish the hike to Angel's Landing - the 'strenuous 4-5 hour hike' described in the park's pamphlet. He totally rocked that hike! That man knows how to impress me.

Plus he's totally hot...that impresses me too!

14 more hours in the car Sunday to Pasco, WA and the Red Lion Hotel for BATHS and a good snooze (we almost didn't wake up for the breakfast that closed at 9:00 a.m.!)

4 FINAL hours of driving brought us HOME. Love this place. The humidity felt wonderful, the trees are oh-so-beautiful. The one downside is that nobody cleaned the bathrooms and floors I didn't get to before I left. Oh well. It's good to be home!

I have to give props to my three kiddos for being SO amazing in the car. There were only a few annoyed/annoying moments with Max and Kelly. Everett was the champ of champs. I really wasn't expecting it out of them on the way home after being in the car, like, all week...but they were so, so good.

Some record-able moments:

We were in the car and part of the gorgeous rock formations of Zion came into view. I said, "Max and Kelly, look! Isn't it beautiful?!" Max replied, "Well...it's not a LOT beautiful. I think it's kind of weird. It has a flat top." It was the way that he said it..."it's not a LOT beautiful."

Kelly had been annoyed with Max a few minutes before she fell asleep in the car one time. She'd been sacked out for a while when she lifted her head toward Max and yelled, "Nooooo, Max!" in her most annoyed voice. After her scolding she was right back out.

We were playing I Spy and it was Max's turn. He said, "I spy with my little eye something that can choke." Say what? "Something that can CHOKE?" I asked. "Yep. It's my HANDS!" I know, it's kind of awful, but it was so out of the blue we couldn't help but laugh.