Utah: Tueller Swim Party

Another highlight from our Utah trip was the annual Tueller family swim party. We hadn't been in town last year, so it was great to make it this year. It's always a blast!

 As per usual, Mya was pretty cautious at first, but once she was finally coaxed into the water she had a great time :)

Just for old times sake, this was Mya at her last Tueller family swim party in 2012 - just about a month old :)

 Mya and my mom

 Bryn jumping off the ledge with Logan

Bryn and Mya with some of their Tueller second-cousins.

Utah: Clarke Reunion

One of the best parts of our Utah trip was our reunion with my extended Clarke family. Bryn had been talking about the Clarke Reunion ever since last year and was so excited to go back! It was the highlight of her 2013 and this year didn't disappoint! Like last year, we stayed at the Timber Moose Lodge in Heber, Utah and it was awesome! We were missing a few families who live out of state and couldn't make it, but it was so fun to be together with almost everyone.

 The tire swing was one of Bryn's favorite parts. She rode on it a million different times with lots of different cousins, but here she is with her second-cousins Maren and Avery.

 Cute second-cousins in the pool

 The kids had fun doing a little relay race in the pool where they had to swim through the hoops, gather rubber ducks, etc. 

 We played the funniest game this year! I don't know what it was called but it was basically rugby with a watermelon. The boys were really getting into it and it was so funny to watch!

Staying at a cabin with a big indoor pool was a dream come true for these two little girls! 

Other activities at the cabin included playing pool, air hockey, or ping pong in the game room, playing on the big inflatable obstacle course/bounce house, lots of board games, running around with cousins, and of course- dress ups! Here are a few of the pretty girls....and my brother Jordan :)

 Mya is definitely entering the dress-up phase and it's pretty cute :)

 Treats with grandma

 Doing some serious building in the Lincoln Log room

 Watching videos from past reunions....so so funny!

 Lots and lots of games with cousins

 Mya and Braden (and Bryn) shared a room at the reunion and it was a little wild at times :) They kept each other up at night with their giggles and toddler talk, and then woke each other up in the morning and from naps with their cries and calling out. But reunion is never a time for sleep, right?

 Each family was in charge of a meal at the reunion. We made Cafe Rio salads/burritos and had a fun time doing all the meal prep together. Thanks to Logan for bringing his speakers and compiling the perfect "Dance Party while Making Dinner" playlist!

 It's always a treat when Jae and my beautiful sister-in-law Amy are in town from San Francisco. 

Mya and Braden entertaining themselves with dirt and rocks.

Such a fun, fun weekend! I'm so grateful to be a Clarke!

Utah: Fun Outings

 We spent most of our Utah trip relaxing at my parent's house, but we did venture out a few times and do some fun things. 

One of the days when Josh was with us we went to the Bean Museum at BYU. The museum had been totally renovated since our last trip so it was fun to see the changes.

 We went to the museum with my mom, brother Jordan, sister Marie and my nephew Braden. Braden and Bryn were cute little buddies, holding hands as they walked around the exhibits. 

 After the museum we met up with some of my Tueller family members for lunch at In-N-Out. 

Bryn had fun with her second-cousin Ollie. Ollie just moved from NYC, so Bryn had fun asking him his recommendations for fun things to do in the city :) (Central Park was at the top of his list and Bryn is anxious to check it out herself!)

 Another day we had fun hanging out with my cousin Allie and her three cute kids. Bryn and Raquel get along great and it's always fun to see them play. 

 Mya, Marcus, and Reagan had fun playing in the water table.

 We visited my Tueller grandparents in Provo a few times. Bryn always loves reading with Grandma Tueller... I think I have a picture like this from each of our trips to Utah!

It was also so fun to see my uncle Mark while he was in town. We used to live half a mile from Mark in Huntington Beach and we miss him! When Bryn was a toddler she and Mark used to have this tradition of "running in circles" in our old living room, so Bryn thought it was so funny to run around with Mark again :) 

 We checked out a few different parks in my parent's area, but the most unique/strange park was definitely Bear Park. Lots of weird, old play structures!

 Mya and my mom were nice to play along as Brynlee's "circus animals".

A totally dangerous dinosaur climber and a high-heeled boot slide.... they just don't make parks like they used to :)

Utah: Night in the Canyon

Bryn really wanted to go camping while we were in Utah, but since Josh was gone in California most of the time I just didn't have it in me to plan a camp-out with the girls. We did the next best thing - a fun evening up the canyon with my parents, hiking around, playing in the river, and roasting s'mores.

 Bryn and her poses....

She got a little too dramatic with all her posing and dancing and it wasn't long before she fell in and got totally soaked.

 Fun night! 

Utah: Our 7th Anniversary

 While we were in Utah Josh and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. Josh had two weeks of training in California, but he flew back to Utah for the weekend and we had a fun anniversary date of dinner and hiking. We drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon and had such a great time chatting about the future and all the upcoming changes with the new job, new baby, new home in New Jersey, etc. The hike we planned on doing was closed, so we did a big of hiking along some random trails and then decided to drive back down the canyon and hike to Bell Canyon reservoir. 

 I sure love this guy! These have been the best seven years of my life!

Great night with my favorite guy!