UTAH

We drove back to Utah and spent another week with Kaitlyn and Alex.  Kaitlyn took us all around her favorite shops.  Utah is a shopping wonderland.  Each day we were pleasantly exhausted after our treasure hunts.  Whether it was good eats or cute boutiques they were equally enjoyable. 

  

(Apple cider slushy💓 )

Home made caramels were everywhere(even the grocery stores)! 

 

I follow a lot of accounts on Social Media that have shown really good places to eat that I wanted to try while we were there, so we found a few.  Five Seeds was one of them.  We went and enjoyed a Father's Day brunch, as well as checked out the farmer's market while we were in town(Park City).  So fun!

And the books stores...…Oh how I loved the book stores💜💛💚💙💗.  I bought so many Children's books(my favorite) we had to borrow one of Kaitlyn's oversized backpacks to bring them all home.

(This was a fraction of my book purchases😂)

It probably weighted over 50 lbs.  Sorry Casey...

 

                                            We also did some Antique shopping - Always Fun!

Kaitlyn took us to get some really good cookies.  They give you samples and have so many 

different flavors.  It was really hard to choose.  They were all SO good!

                             They use real ingredients, which makes them even better😋

CLICK HERE FOR DELICIOUS DETAILS!

Casey helped with some yardwork(his specialty).  

 

We enjoyed so many good eats and Treats, and Casey got to enjoy some of his favorites while on vacation.  He doesn't drink soda anymore, but for some reason he decided to "treat" himself while we were traveling. He knows I'm not a fan.

 

We also were able to meet up with Grandma Ritz and Uncle Loren for dinner.  It was nice to visit with them - Hard to be so far away from family💗

We enjoyed our 2.5 weeks of travel. It went by way too fast.  Thank you Ryan for staying home(because of prior commitments) and taking care of the homestead.  You did awesome - Thank goodness for facetime!  You have a steak dinner coming your way😂 

                                                OREGON & UTAH we LOVE you forever💕

Oregon

My nephew was graduating, so we decided to fly out west and visit with family since it had been awhile(thank you covid).  Casey and I flew into Salt Lake and Kaitlyn drove with us to Oregon for a week of fun festivities.

Flying is a little crazy right now, so we were very lucky to make it there in one day, considering everything that's been going on lately in the skies.  We were delayed on the runway for 30 minutes because of  weather. When we were finally ready to take off we couldn't, because the Pilot's fly time had timed out.  I don't even understand this, but they had to find a new flight crew to take us to Salt Lake.  So, they made us de board the plane and told us to come back in 30 minutes and they would get us back on the plane.  In the mean time we were hearing all kinds of horror stories from other people on the plane and their inability to get where they were going and it was taking them numerous flights and days.  We didn't have time for this, as we were scheduled to pick up a rental car and start driving to Oregon early the next morning. Thankfully after 30 minutes they did exactly as they said they would, and we were off!  We arrived in Salt Lake 5 hours later than scheduled, but we were there and we were thankful!

We started off early - 4:30 am to be exact😐 The views were amazing, but it was a looonnnggg 14 hour drive.  There was also some sitting still for road work in Eastern Oregon in a couple spots. There was sketchy signal all through Eastern Oregon as well, so it was probably the hardest stretch of the trip.

We were the first to arrive of all the family, so we took a couple days to chill and adjust to the time change.  We went to the Myrtle wood Factory and Casey enjoyed all the wood available.  We also ate at a couple of our favorite Restaurants and, of course, picked up some Bigfoots to enjoy!

                                                                                                              

                                                                                                       (marionberry lemonade💗)

(marionberry cobbler💗)

Greg wanted to go crabbing when he and the family came in, so we all went out to enjoy the ocean while they were on the boat. It's really not crabbing season, so they only got about 10 crabs and ended up giving them away.  I do miss fresh crab.  Maybe one of these times we will be there during crabbing season(August). 

 

Sunday was Braydon's Graduation reception at the house. There were several families that came to wish Braydon well and enjoy some good eats.  One of my very favorites was my childhood/college/life-long friend - Jami(since kindergarten).  I had texted her letting her know when we were going to be there in case she was able to come.  She made the 3hr. trip from where she lives, and we spent the day reminiscing.  It was so fun.  I wish we could do it more!  We have so many fun stories and memories.  We spent so much time at each other's homes we were more like sisters growing up.

Spending time with family is always the best!  We don't get to see each other nearly enough.

        Elijah(My sister's son) and I spent a morning in Grandma's garden and playing catch.

        He's a sweetie💓

Braydon has such a good dog - Tucker.  He is so well behaved. As I've said before, I'm not really an animal person but Tucker won me over.  I loved playing catch with him💙

Before everyone left we celebrated Elijah's birthday! Happy #8 Elijah🥳

We stayed a couple days longer than everyone else, so we hung out and did some more site seeing and enjoyed spending time with my parents.  

We went on a drive through the hills.  So beautiful!

And (of course) we enjoyed a beach sunset💓

It was a beautiful night.  Oregon is full of so much natural beauty.  I miss it so much💗