Nathan, the kids and I headed up to Soda Springs mid morning on Thursday the 12th. Pops and Julie were already there. Packing was simplified since all we had to worry about were our clothes, Nathan's bike, and a few toys for the kids. Pops and Julie took care of everything else, including all the food and drinks.
The house we stayed at was very nice. Since we were the only family joining Pops and Julie for the first two nights, we were able to have Faith in her own room, which made our first two nights much more restful. The following two nights all four of us were in one room. Bryce slept in a bunk bed that ran perpendicular above our bed. He thought it was really neat to sleep up high.
The first afternoon Pops and Nathan went for a little bike ride. Julie took Bryce outside a helped him to build a snowman, which Bryce named "Mr. Tall Foot." The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing with the kids. That evening we celebrated Tom's birthday. Rather than having a cake, Julie put candles in some chocolate chip cookies. Bryce thought that was great. Each night after he wanted to know if we could have candles in the cookies.
The next day we went sledding. We drove out a long dirt road, covered with snow, until we found a good spot. It was very beautiful as we had a view of the surrounding snow-covered mountains and valleys below. Bryce had a blast. As he barreled down the hill he would yell "heave those halyards" or "man the long cannons" both lines from Peter Pan. At the end of one run, he tipped forward off the sled and landed face first in the snow. I was sure it would be the end of sledding for him, but he stood up, brushed off the snow and was ready for more. He carried the sled up the hill on his own without complaining at least 40 times. Faith also enjoyed her rides down the hill and equally enjoyed Julie pulling her around on the sled.
That afternoon Nathan and I went on a long walk through the neighborhood while the kids slept. It felt good to get out of the house and get a little exercise. We were hoping Em and Justin would be coming up that evening, but unfortunately Justin got bogged down with work and they weren't able to make it.
The next day we hung out at the house until Julie's kids arrived. We really enjoyed getting to know them and the kids played really well together. Julie had told me that Caitlin and I had a lot in common and that our family structure reminded her of Ryan and Caitlin's. Meeting Julie's daughter, Ally, and her boyfriend was also great. That afternoon we went back to the same place we sledded the previous day. The snow had melted quite a bit, but there was still enough left for sledding. The kids all enjoyed it. On the way back Joey's car got stuck in the snow. The guys had to go back and dig him out. Later in the day Nathan and I went on another walk around the neighborhood
The following day the guys went on a bike ride and us girls and kids stayed home. We played in the snow and the kids made another snowman. That afternoon we all went for a walk. Julie prepared a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner that afternoon. We ate until we were stuffed. Tom and Julie gave each couple a wonderful poetry book, and each kid received a blessings book.
We left to come home the following morning. Pops and Julie - thanks for a wonderful trip.
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