The Last Stop: Out In The Nature Of Utah

The leg of our trip together was Utah. We spent every moment we could outside. And we ate all the good food that we have been missing for the last year. We had done a bucket-list of activities and places we wanted to eat while in Utah, just like we had for Florida and Hawaii. We were able to do all of them except one. That will have to wait until the next trip. 

The first up on the list was eating at Cafe Rio! Koala Bear has been asking for a quesadilla and Tres Leches from Cafe Rio for months! So that was the first place we stopped after landing in Utah! 

Lady Hiva went to go get her hair done by her favorite hairdresser--we have tried people all over the world and nobody is better. So the Muggles and I went to the Aquarium to see my old stomping grounds. We always love being there

We were all excited to see Mumbai on the direction pole. 

Before Lady Hiva's dad died, he gave her a passion fruit from his vine in his yard. She saved the seeds and grew a plant. I hated that plant. But she babied it. (I babied all the plants outside, but inside they just bring bugs). When we moved abroad we donated it to the Aquarium and it is now thiving! 

These two had so much fun pointing out animals that they had seen in the wild. For example, the turtles that they have seen in Hawaii. Or the sharks they swam with in the Maldives. It was in that moment I realized how cool of a life they are both living. 

I made Lady Hiva model her freshly done hair! She is a amazing! 

We spent as much time with family as possible! We played cards, laughed, ate and had an amazing time. The kids loved being around family. 

This day was at Deer Creek. One of the many lakes we enjoyed during our time in Utah. 

We did the 24th of July in Beaver. It is the largest celebration in the small town. We have always tried to be there for the day. This year we talked all of Lady Hiva's siblings to join us! It was fun to have all of us together.  

WE watched the parade and were excited to get our flowers from the Nursery and cheese from the Creamery. 

So much candy to catch and enjoy! 

One of the nights we played "Fugitive." Which is apparently a game the teenagers play. We run from one chapel to another chapel 2 miles away in the dark. You have to run and not get caught by two cars that are searching for you. We had so much fun. And for days we were rehashing stories of our experiences. Clearly, some of us are better fugitives than others. 

One day we had a pickleball tournament. That was fun! We are all competitive, but the right amount of competitive. Just enough to have fun, but not to be mean or angry if we mess up! 

Do you like my post-cancer outfit? 

This girl loved the stand-up paddle board. She stayed out there nearly the whole day! 

Everyone that wanted to, were able to ride a horse. 

We skipped all the crowds and went cliff jumping! The water is straight snow run off high up in the mountains. So the adrenaline rush of jumping and the cold water is so shocking it takes your breath away. But it is SO worth it! 

Our brave Koala Bear did not waste any time jumping in! 

The good thing about this reservoir is that the cliff are a gradient and that means there is different heights for different comfort levels!

We went up into the mountains and we did some camping with the family. IT was so great to be in nature and just unwind a bit. 

One day this guy and I were the only ones awake. So we went for a ride in the ATV side-by-side. He drove and I was so proud of the way he picked it up so easily. 

Off-roading is too bumpy to get a good photo!

Using a log a floation device, this girl was soon all the way out in the lake! 

We found a rope swing that someone hung. It was so much fun to swing off of it!

Driving lessons can never start too early! 

One day we just took a few side-by-sides and we rode all over the mountainsides. There was beauty all around. 

Lady Hiva was not taking a chance of being in the sun OR dust! 

Finding geodes. 

The after fire regrowth. 

Then we had to start the journey home! So we started to pack up all our many, many suitcases!

We stopped by and saw some of our amazing friends and neighbors from our old house. It was sad to see how the garden was not being taken care of. But these kids could have played with their friends all day. 

I could not find these two in Target. They told me they were going to look for toys. But instead I find them in the book section! YAY! Makes my heart happy. 

While we were in Utah we celebrated Lucky Dragon's birthday. He had a few requests. We were able to make all of them work but one--to eat at Haku Ramen. We did a pinata that he and his sister broke open. 

Then he just wanted to go to All-star, a game and arcade place. We invited all the cousins. We bowled, we played games, we laughed, and we told stores. 

Koala Bear was so proud that she won the 1000 tickets! She has never done that before. 

Lady started to get really good at the ticket claw game. 

Look at all of those tickets that she won! 

These two were walking around the temple trying to see what flowers they loved. 

This group wanted to see everything that was in Lucky Dragon's pockets. It took nearly three people to hold it all! Then I realized why he asked for all of his new clothes to be cargo shorts! More pockets to fill!

We ended the day eating REALLY BIG ice creams with the family. It was fun. 

They came to sing Happy Birthday to him. It was loud and in front of everyone. We thought he would be embarrassed, but he actually seemed to be eating up  all the attention! 

Then the sad day came to send Lady Hiva back to DC. And a few hours later we went to Mumbai. We will have another few months to not be in the same country. 

Pluba and Papa dropped us off at the airport. We were able to get in a few last hugs.