Last weekend we took a trip to Arizona to welcome Miles’ brother home from his mission where he served two years in the Philippines. While in Arizona, I took a few family pictures.

We took a wonderful, very needed, and well deserved vacation last week. We spent ten days in Utah visiting family and friends. It was definitely one of my favorite trips to Utah—we didn’t want to come home!

We left on a Saturday morning. Overall Link did very well while we traveled but he did have a few moments. We installed his big-boy car seat for the trip. I haven’t yet decided if I should turn him around again. I don’t know if he’ll let me!

Our first stop was my hometown of St. George. It was HOT there! But it was actually kinda refreshing if you can believe that! Miles and I commented that it actually felt like summer. We spent a lot of time in the water to keep cool. One of my new favorite places in St. George is this little water park. It’s perfect for toddlers! For those of you familiar with the area, it’s on Tabernacle and Main. After all that time in the sun we walked across the street to the little Judd’s store. We enjoyed sipping on bottled soda and satisfying our sweet tooths with our favorite childhood candy. That place brought back memories!

We also spent some time at the “river” by my parent’s house where we skipped rocks and the boys did some spontaneous “cliff” jumping. We celebrated my brother-in-law’s birthday with the family and lots of food. I think I gained 3-4 pounds on our trip. We did LOTS of eating!

One night we got a little crazy and took what a friend of mine calls “surprise photos.” It’s where you violently shake your head back and forth while the camera snaps away and you get. . . art

The best experience of the trip was seeing my sister go through the temple for the first time! It was such a sacred and special experience. There is no other place in the world where you feel more love from the Lord and for your family! It’s something I will cherish forever. (see said sister in above photo. hehehe)

Midweek we made our way up to northern Utah where we would meet Miles’ dad, sister, and grandparents. We took our sweet time and made a side trip in Provo where we visited BYU and our past employers. We had some good times on that campus, and we have wonderful memories from that area!

From Provo we continued north up to Snowbird ski resort. Miles’ grandpa owns a timeshare at the resort and we were invited to stay in a lodge with them for a few days. It was heaven—beautiful, fun, and relaxing. We spent time in the spa every morning, did some hiking, rode on the zipline, and took a tram to the top of the mountain where we enjoyed the view at 11,000 feet.

One of those nights we meet some good friends of mine for dinner. We hadn’t seen each other for a couple years and it was really fun to catch up. Though I now regret taking Link with me. I was so distracted trying to keep him from screaming that I’m afraid I wasn’t a very good conversationalist. I’m sorry girls! It was a realization to me that there are just certain things we can’t do with Lincoln anymore. Next time I’ll leave Miles home to babysit and we’ll have a girls night out!

We headed back to St. George on Saturday morning. While there we had another family get-together with more food. We really and truly had no desire to come home. But we dragged ourselves out of bed Monday morning at 4:45am to get on the road. It’s nice to be home, but it was just so awesome to not think about life and responsibility for a time.

Well I thought I’d join the blogging world in posting a tribute to the World’s Best Dad!

Truly, you’ve never seen a prouder daddy! I mean come on, Link was born on his dad’s birthday, and he shares the same name. Though we’re told Link looks much like his mamma, he gets most of his personality from Daddy.

This weekend, Miles took Lincoln to an overnight Fathers and Sons campout. Link was by far the youngest child there. This act alone says much about Miles as a father. He’s willing, loving, fun, and has a great attitude. It was so sweet to see them the next day. I could tell they had literally bonded over night.

In this video there is a segment that reminds me so much of Miles and Lincoln. It’s when the father is sleeping outside with his infant son (his only son) waiting to go fishing in the morning. Definitely a tear jerker. Definitely worth watching!

I too thoroughly enjoyed myself with the boys gone. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I was alone overnight in my own house. Even when we didn’t have Link, I think Miles only left me once for a school interview. I went out for sushi for the first time with a good friend who doesn’t have any kiddos of her own yet. It was so nice! However, one night was plenty! I was very anxious to see them the next day!

It’s official! We survived the first year of Link’s life! It’s all down hill from here, right?! Though this year has been littered with many trials and difficulties it also held some of my life’s most meaningful moments!

Lincoln is such a joy, and it’s an honor to be his mother. We are growing and developing together. Things he’s learned this year include: smiling, laughing, sitting, crawling, standing, talking, and soon to be walking. Things I’ve learned this year include: smiling more, finding just the right spot to tickle, sitting still just holding my boy, playing on the floor, getting on my knees and asking for the Lord’s help, and taking one day at a time. And until now, I never knew I could love so much.

Here are just a few recent photos of the one-year-old.

Eating with Daddy. He always wants to eat our food. But who could blame him!? Please forgive the unkempt hair!

At playgroup with his good buddy Benji.

After finishing off a small In-N-Out fry.

We have high hopes for Link becoming and In-N-Out employee. Yummmm, family discount.