So I may not have mentioned this but Todd and I left town for five weeks a few weeks ago. So far the trip has been epic and full of driving, family, friends, flying, boating and a lot of other things. I have thousands (yes. Thousands.) of pictures and no idea how I am going to sort through them all considering I was behind on my pictures from before we left. But I WILL do it because this trip has been too awesome to not post the millions of pictures that are sure to find their way on to this particular blog.
So what I have seen and done so far?
Day 1: (Ky, IN, IL, MO) We drove through St. Louis and attempted to go up the arch but tours were full for the day so we settled for pictures. Stayed the first night in Independence, MO outside of Kansas City.
Day 2: (MO, KS, OK) Toured the Independence Visitor Center the next morning, drove through Kansas City and then drove to Oklahoma City where we stayed the second night. Toured the memorial for the OKC bombing which is beautiful.
Day 3: (OK, TX, NM) Attempted to make a long drive to Flagstaff but decided to stay the third night in Albuquerque. That day we dined at the Big Texan in Amarillo, TX which is a steak house frequently featured on the Food Network.
Day 4: (NM, AZ) Made our way to the Grand Canyon where we quickly learned that the thought of Fisher at the GC was just as scary as we imagined and so most of his time was spent in the car. Todd and I watched the sun set over the Grand Canyon which is something we can now cross off our bucket list. Beautiful! That night we stayed the night in some po-dunk town outside of the GC.
Day 5: (AZ, Las Vegas, NV) Made our way to Las Vegas, the next day to visit my brother and sis-in-law. It was so fun seeing my niece and nephew and brother, Ken & sis-in-law, Alicia. We were able to check out their house which we had not seen (and which is very cute!)
Days 6-8: (Vegas) I have to say thank you to Alicia for watching my kids that weekend while I had a RITL weekend with my three best friends, Amy, Michele, and BreAnn. We spent part of Friday, all of Saturday and part of Sunday catching up, pampering ourselves, laughing, talking and eating. It was wonderful!
Days 8-9: (Vegas) After the girls left it was more time spent with my family. My parents were kind enough to come into town to help watch the kids, keep Todd company while Ken was working, and drive me and the boys back to Reno while Todd is in Utah. Monday, Ken went back to work, Todd was on his way to Utah and my dad flew home so it was a girls' night with Alicia & Mom with chick flicks and take out. Thank you so much to Ken & Alicia for opening their home to us. It was so wonderful seeing you guys! Ken, thanks for taking time off from work to spend time with us! It was so fun spending time with you guys and I know Todd had fun hanging out with you! Alicia- thanks again for all of your help. We can't wait to see you guys for the boys' birthday.
Seeing my siblings makes me wish we all lived closer together.
Day 10: (Las Vegas-Reno, NV) Tuesday my mom, Cooper, Fisher and myself were on the road for a 7 hour drive (made longer by driving with two kids, one of whom that happened to be having diarrhea into sage brush all the way across the state of NV) to Reno. It was so nice to make it to my home away from home. I love being able to return to the house I was raised in. It just feels like home the moment I walk in the door.
Days 12-15: (Reno) Thursday night Todd was able to come and spend the weekend in Reno. Fun! Sunday he was back on his way to Utah.
Days 16-19: (Reno) Me and the boys spent the next week through Thursday afternoon in Reno playing and having fun with G & G Lund. We took walks, played in the yard, on the trampoline, at the park, at Karen, Sariah & Camden's, worked out, got hair done, walked Yonder, rode the polaris and Cooper got in to everything.
Days 19-23: (Seattle, WA and the "Twilight Tour") Thursday I took Cooper on a airplane where we flew to Seattle to visit my little bro and sis-in-law. Our time here has been spent touring Seattle, driving and taking two ferries (there and back) to Port Angeles, Forks and La Push. It was awesome. I have laughed a lot and had a great time. The scenery was breath taking and the company has been fantastic. I am 1) convinced I want to live closer to my siblings and 2) Convinced I want to live in the North West. So Ken & Steve- you guys are going to have to move up here :) Robbie, thanks for taking time off from work and indulging your sis. :) Erin, thanks for putting up with me and thanks for the laughs.
Day 23: (Seattle) Tomorrow morning Cooper and I will hop on another plane to head back to Reno where we are going to stay for another week. I plan on visiting with more family & friends, having a joint 1 yr old birthday party for Cooper and his cousin Ethan.
We will then drive back to Utah with my sweet husband (who I am so excited to see!) and then we will gallivant around Utah to visit the sites, family and old friends. After that we are going to make the drive home back to Kentucky and just hope and pray that it is still standing when we get home and that nothing has been stolen.
Whew! It made me tired just listing everything everything. I think I am going to veg in my pajamas for a week after I get home...
I still need to post about Cooper's first birthday (and the whole trip) but I am trying to keep up on all the new pictures too. 
We returned home from our trip, unpacked our suitcases, got the laundry done only to turn around and pack back up to head to Cincinnati to visit G & G Church. After the couple hour drive, Fisher was itching to get outside. They moved into a new house with a fun back yard that was perfect for Fisher to play baseball with Uncle Jedd. He even started connecting with the ball.
Cooper wanted to join in the fun but it was so hot outside and we didn't want to go out there.
The boys loved G&G's new pad and loved playing with the moving boxes.
They made little beds inside of them. Well, Fisher did. Cooper liked crawling in and out of the boxes.
The next day we spent some time out in the back yard while the boys golfed.
Eventually Cooper and Fisher found themselves digging in the planter. It was a perfect place for the boys to play and get dirty.
This dirt was just the beginning.
Fisher was dripping sweat off his face, mixed in with the dirt. He kept complaining about "water" stinging his eyes. While I love how green and beautiful it is out here, I absolutely detest the hot, muggy summers.
Me and Cooper tolerating the heat.
Taking a break in the shade.
Showing his first tooth. (His two canines broke through but have not popped up yet.)
After all the dirt, it was straight into the bathtub.
G&G supplied Fisher with lots of poppers.
He even started doing them into a box so he could see the spark.
Then Daddy decided to bust out the sparklers.
I like this one.
Fisher was a little nervous at first, as you can see by his face.
He got over his fear as long as they were far from his body.
He started really enjoying himself.
Eventually he was marching and dancing while parading around the back patio.
In the end, they were a huge success.
After playing by ourselves as a family, we decided to join the neighborhood party.
They literally block off both entrances to the street and it becomes party central.
Kids and adults are everywhere, music is blasting, candy is passed out, the kids have a parade of bikes and scooters, games of corn hole were played, there was a water slide for the kids as seen above...It was pretty insane.
Even the older generation got out and enjoyed themselves :)
The loud machine gun sounding poppers and smoke things were doing off like crazy up and down the street.
We all just sat on the front lawn and people watched.
It was really hot and muggy out.
Fisher rode in the parade. Everything started off okay aside from the fact that he was one tired little boy.
Then he fell trying to keep up with all the big kids. In this picture you can see him yelling at all of them telling them they are stupid because they are all faster than him.
He continued to stand in the middle of the road so that he was in the way.
Finally, in a burst of tears, he left the road and cried like only a tired, disheartened, four year old boy can.
So we did what any responsible parent would do and kept him quiet by stuffing his face full of sugar.
Cooper desperately wanted down on the ground so he could run around with all the kids but it was too chaotic to let him go free.
As soon as it started to get a little dark outside the fireworks began.
It was a pretty impressive fireworks display considering they were being launched from a driveway 3 houses down.
Although Fisher missed the big show, Cooper stayed up with us and LOVED the fireworks. He would point in between launches as if saying he wanted more and started making this "Ooooh" noise that was really cute.
I have a lot of random pictures of fire works.
One of those ones that shoots off the ground.
Cooper & Grandma having some one on one time. We played together while the boys went out golfing.
Fisher is really into jokes right now. This is the look that appears on his face when he's heard a good one.
I went out to grab some lunch and came back to find Fisher & Grandma soaked and playing in the kiddie pool out back. It was quite the water fight they had and defintely a sweet day to remember.
Drying off and eating a popsicle. Perfect ending to a fun day.
