Our "We love River so much we'll drive to Utah for his birthday because he wants to" Trip

First stop: Lynn Famliy
Cousins Rock.

River really wanted to go sledding on his birthday.

Wish granted.

The bigger kids (and Dads) had a blast

Tubing

In Park City.

The littler kids (and Moms)

Not quite as much fun waiting at the bottom.
(Next year you'll be big enough, Seeky)

Meadow, striking a pose, any chance she gets.

Happy Birthday, dear River!

I got brave one morning and went for a run (IN THE SNOW!) with Kami and my cute nieces, Kora and Hali. (Heaven joined us for the picture, but NOT the run. Smart girl.)

The kids had so much fun

Hanging out with their cousins.

Bye Bye Lynn Family, we'll be back!

Next stop: Martinez Family

We spent Friday

Touring around

Downtown Salt Lake City.

Favorite spot? Temple Square. We all felt the special spirit there, and were full of love for the Savior and each other.

Back at the Martinez Home,
Meadow and Kate played in the snow for hours.

Heaven and Kate "Mommy-ed around" to their heart's content,

And River threw an "I hate you, Dad!" giant fit.

After writing, "I love my Dad" several times,
River enjoyed a beautiful birthday cake

Baked especially for him by Ileana.

Saturday morning we headed over

To a fun Dinosaur Museum

Where we just about left Secret behind
(a "Mother of the Year" award is just around the corner for me)

We ate a yummy lunch,

Then River entertained all the kids

With an impromptu "Bunny Hop"

Bye Bye, Martinez Family

We'll be counting the days till you come out to AZ!

Last Stop: Kare-Bear!

Sunday afternoon we all loaded up into the van (where River could not stop trying to "wow" Joe with all kinds of useful information like, "Did you know my Mom tried smoking once? It's a good thing she didn't get addicted!" and so on and so forth)

We wanted to show our kids the house we met at:

And the first house we lived in:

Don't be too impressed. We actually rented out 1/2 of the attic that had been converted into a studio apartment. It was exactly 15 steps from one end to the other. It was tiny and cozy and perfect for us!

That night we Rocked out at the Morrison's!

Raven sang "Eye of the Tiger" approximately 5 times.
River stayed glued to the drums all night long (he was really good).

Meadow tried her hand at the guitar and also sang back up with Mama once.

The boys made a big snowman.

Okay, so it was a tiny snowman.

The little girls loved having a sleepover with Miss Ava.

All the kids cried on Monday morning when we loaded them up to drive back home. We had such a good time! It was a quick, whirlwind of fun. The added bonus for me is that this was one of the first vacations that actually felt like a vacation in a very long time. Yay for kids getting bigger! Yay for no nursing baby!

Does a mother really do this to her baby?

There's something about the month of January that makes me do crazy things to Secret's hair.

Last year I did this:
(shaved her head bald, in hopes that it would grow back thicker)

This year I let Rhea-Rhea do this:
(full on weave with foils)

When Rhea-Rhea told me she had a cute hair cut in mind for Secret, but that she thought "Secret would need highlights to pull it off", I was sold. The thought of my baby girl with with highlights was too funny.

What do you think?
I think she's "pulling it off" and then some.

Rock and Roll, Baby

Twenty Six POINT Two Miles

And We're Still Smiling!

Are we CRAZY? Maybe.

After finishing, I was promptly SMOTHERED

In love and adoration.

I loved it (the smothering, adoring love, that is).

Me, Nee-Nee and our most devoted FANS.
(River's first question was, "Did you win?" Almost, River, almost.)

After the marathon, we went out to lunch. The tables were bolted to the ground, which meant no shoving tables together. The seating arrangements turned out in my favor:
Nee-Nee, Shashie and the vast majority of the kids.

Me, Jare-Bear, Gail and Seeky...

But that was only because Seeky was sleeping as we walked into the restaurant. The instant she woke up and weighed her options, she was a goner. The Auntie-Pants always win over the Mama-Type.

Here is the funny thing about my regular life vs. running a marathon: Every time I got tired or "over it" during the marathon, I just thought about what I would normally be doing during that time if I were home with the kids. Every time... the marathon seemed easier. I guess that's what happens when you're a busy Mama with 5 kid-lets.