A Quick Stop in Utah

On our journey we made a quick stop in Utah. We had intended to be there longer but Lucky Dragon had his first day of orientation for school so we had to rush back to DC. So we packed in all the activities we could. 

We were not able to see nearly all the people we wanted to see while we were there. There are so many people that we love and wanted to see, but there is so little time. We were lucky that Leni planned a family day at the pickleball courts so we were able to see all the family who could make it! It was so much fun. I had to work to stay out of the direct sun, but we played pickleball until the lights went out! 

These two loved being with cousins. They could not wait to be with them. Some of their favorite people are their cousins. We love that because Lady Hiva and I both grew up with cousins being like family to us. 

Cousins and dirt, there is nothing better! 

Rain followed us even to the desert! Rained in Mumbai, Rained in Paris, Rained in DC, Rained in FL, Rained in UT! 

We loved making it to our ward in Eagle Mountain. So many people there that we love and miss. We were able to get hugs from many of them...but still missed so many others. 

We asked some people at the park to take a family photo of us...but we are unsure why she thought we wanted to rubbish bin in the photo! HAHA

The Muggles were so excited to be in Beaver for a few days and see the animals. I am not sure either of them came inside until it was late and dark. One of their favorite things from the entire trip was harvesting vegetables from the garden with Papa. 

At any given moment these two were with the dogs. One of the down sides of being in the Foreign Service is how hard it is to have an animal. All the moving does not really make it feasible. 

We decided to go ride horses one of the days but Koala Bear was on the back of a horse with one of her cousins and the horses started to run. We were happy that Lucky Dragon stayed on for the ride (a city boy that does not ride much). Sadly, Koala Bear thought her hat was going to blow off so she reached up to grab it and fell of the horse when she did. I was keeping my eye on them from a few fields away and all of a sudden I saw that two of the people on horses had stopped. I knew that they would not stop unless something had happened. I jumped in the car and took off towards them. At each group of kids I assessed how they were doing and if they were all on their horses I sped off to the next group. 

Sadly, it was Koala Bear who had been hurt. She was covered from head to toe in road rash and blood when I reached her. Tough girl was up trying to walk home though. Luckily, I had been watching and we got to them in a matter of minutes. We rushed to the hospital. I was glad she did not rebreak the arm she just fixed. Poor girl. She was banged up really bad. BRUISES everywhere. 

The before photos. 

The after photos. This guy was so good to come and be with her while they did all of their evaluations. She asked for a blessing and that was good too! We were so happy when they told us that it was all bad bruising but nothing was broken. And no internal bleeding. 

Lucky Dragon loved this sign in the hospital. Lady Hiva and the kids watch videos from Nurse John and quote them all the time. One of their favorites is the video about the PACU. Lucky Dragon wanted a photo. 

Heather bought two pinatas for all of the cousins to hit as a "back to school" experience. They loved that. Koala Bear just had to watch because she was so sore. We covered her in aquaphor (we love that stuff)

This guy could not wait to head back into the garden with Papa!

We made one last stop to say goodbye to Lady Hiva's siblings before we left. 

We stopped and ate at our favorite Asian food place--Haku Ramen. It was SO delicious. 

One of our really good friends was adopted from GOA. We wanted to see her before we left. 

It was a quick trip, but we were able to have plenty of fun! And we will be back.