Our 2008 Family Vacation

We just got back from a fun week long vacation to Rexburg, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a long, busy, and fun week. First, we went to Rexburg and we were able to spend time with Seth’s mom and dad, and his brother Mark and his family. Not only was it great to see them but it gave Seth and I opportunity to “Remember When” on our years at BYU-I. We were able to visit the campus, eat at our favorite places, and drive around remembering things that we used to do.

One thing that we were able to do was go to Bear World. In the three years that we lived in Rexburg we never went even though it was just done the street. Bear World is a park that you drive through in your car and can see bears, deer, a mouse, and other kinds of forest animals. They also have some kid amusement rides that Ethan just loved. Then we had the opportunity to go on a special tour where you actually feed the bears. We all got onto a special bus and they gave us trays of food. They then drove around the park where they would let us feed the bears from the top of the bus. Let’s just say you got real up close and personal with some of these bears.

Seth and I also had the opportunity to attend a session at the Rexburg Temple. What a special experience that was for us! The Rexburg Temple is so beautiful. Words can not express how gorgeous it is inside, and the opportunity to attend a session will always be remembered. This was one of my favorite parts of our whole vacation.

After church on Sunday we gathered in front of the beautiful temple to take some pictures with everyone. A little later we walked around the campus. They have done a lot in changing, fixing, and adding to the campus but in a way it is still the same. As we walked around the campus we felt the same special spirit that we felt as we did as students.

On Monday we were able to go to a local splash park with everyone. The kids loved playing in the water, riding the carousal, and playing at the park. It was fun to spend the weekend hanging out, talking, and catching up with everyone.

After leaving Rexburg we went to visit the church sights in Salt Lake City. We spent a half a day walking around temple square, touring the visitor’s centers, touring the Beehive House (Brigham Young’s House), and watching the Joseph Smith Story in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was wonderful to learn a little more about the gospel and have our children feel the Spirit.

Then for our last fun adventure we were able to go to Ragging Waters Water Park in Salt Lake, thanks to some great family connections. Though my camera battery died right when we got there and I did not get any pictures we had a great day riding the rides and swimming. Ethan especially loved the kid section with slides that we could go down by himself.

We had a fun filled week and were able to create great memories with our children. The kids did great traveling so far in the car and sleeping in hotel rooms. Ethan was so excited to go on our vacation. For some reason he thought that staying in the hotel was called a vacation. So during the day we would be out doing things and then he would ask if we could go back to our vacation. After many loads of laundry and some extra sleep things are getting back to normal!