Nevada, Utah, and Back

Well, we didn't fall off of the face of the planet - we just went on vacation and then have been procrastinating getting the pictures up. We love visiting family, but we certainly take a ton of pictures while we're there. So, here's a sample from our very fun trip over the Thanksgiving break.
Bridget braved the airplane trip out west by herself with the two kids to go early and visit our more southern relatives. People were so nice to help and except for a diaper that blew out all over Bridget and Ian's clothes, they made it there relatively intact. We were greeted by Justin's wonderful (and exciting as you'll soon see) brother Parker and then we got to meet the newest Lee, Payton. He is absolutely adorable and it will be so fun when these three little boys get together in a couple of years. However, Grandma and Grandpa's house might not agree.
Ian kept trying to figure out this cute little thing. Kelli was a great guard to keep her baby protected from our little steamroller.

The next day, Nana and Grandad picked us up for a quick tour of our favorite Vegas spot, the Bellagio. Here we are in the gardens that are all decorated for fall.
Water was shooting over the archway and of course that meant that Rachel wanted to get wet. Bridget let her get a drop and then...
Grandad let her get soaked! Grandparents are up for anything!

The most beautiful part of the Bellagio is the lobby ceiling (all hand-blown glass). Definitely worth checking out if you're ever in town.
Here, Nana is braving a toddler in a glass-art store. Thankfully, no damage was done!
What says happy Thanksgiving better than a cute girl in front of huge pumpkins?

Rachel loves her Nana!

Cedar City was beautiful while we were there and in the 70's most of the time. We spent a lot of time outside and here Grandad was helping Rachel roll down the hill behind their new house.

Then, Rachel convinced him to do some jumping jacks. What a good sport!

Ian loved all of the attention and was a great baby on this trip. What a cute baby.
Here are our Hollywood-star shots. Nana gave her some fun sunglasses and a great necklace (which she insisted on wearing for the rest of the day). Doesn't she look fabulous?
And a smile to match!
It was so much fun to see everyone in Cedar and we're sorry that we didn't get pictures of Uncle Brian being so cute with the kids. He let Rachel "play a song" on his guitar and was a great sport all-around. He's now moved onto Boston and we'll miss him the next time we visit. Good luck, Brian! It was also so nice to see Brooke, Elaine, and Jenny. Everyone needs to visit us because we're in family and friend withdrawls now...

On this trip, Ian got some baby food for the first time. Here he is enjoying some delicious baby peas. Since then, he has been chowing down and hasn't turned down any of the vegetables or fruit we've given him.
You were promised exciting pictures of Parker and did we deliver, or what?!? One night we were greeted with this Power Ranger running up the stairs. All we can say is WOW!
Needless to say, he's probably hating us for putting up these pictures!

While we were in Farmington, we were able to go and see the lights on Temple Square. They are so beautiful and Rachel loved looking at everything. Christmas time somehow doesn't seem complete without seeing these beautiful lights surrounding the Temple!
Ian even had a smile in the freezing weather.
Here's the kids with Grandma and Grandpa in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.
We even squeezed in a shot by a fountain at the Conference Center. And, even though we don't have any pictures, Justin and Bridget were able to go to the temple a couple of times together which was wonderful (we usually have to go separately in MN). Our anniversary fell on Thanksgiving this year so we celebrated on Wednesday (7 years!). We went to the Salt Lake Temple for a session and then stuffed ourselves at the Rodizio Grill. It was a perfect day!
And then, there was a delicious Thanksgiving feast. Here, Rachel is helping Grandma with her perfect rolls. The main event at Thanksgiving this year (and hopefully only this year) was an eating contest. We got out the precision scale and put an hour on the clock to gorge ourselves. Really only Parker, Justin, and Bridget competed, with Justin gaining 3.5 lbs (.9% body weight increase), Bridget gaining 4.5 lbs. (1.5% body weight increase), and Parker gaining 5 lbs. (.9% body weight increase). So, even though Parker officially won, Bridget was also a "winner" because she was the only one who kept down her food. At one point Parker was throwing up in the toilet when Justin had to jump over him to get sick in the tub. GROSS! I wonder why people think Americans are fat and disgusting?

Ian loved Sadie and she was so sweet to let him feel her fur. She must be able to recognize temperament in babies, because she'd always run away from Rachel. Just reaffirming what a sweet baby we have.
Here's Parker, Kelli, and the baby boys.
Uncle Brady got in some serious Rachel-spoiling before he left on his mission to Oakland, California (Spanish-speaking). Otter pops before bed, of course! He also built an awesome fort for her with his wonderful girlfriend Kassia. They then watched a movie with her in the fort. They also took her shopping on Black Friday and were so sweet to let her tag along the whole trip!
Ian is a moving machine these days and he started his serious forward movement (not quite crawling) with this ball as a goal.
What determination!

Could any little girl love an uncle more? She was on cloud-nine with Brady during this trip. Thanks, Kassia for sharing him!


Brady reported to the MTC the Wednesday after we got home and is now doing really well. We'll miss him so much and it's not going to be the same the next time we visit Utah. But, we're so proud of what a great person he is and are sure he's going to be a fantastic missionary.