We went to Utah! (a month ago . . .)

So while Chuck was off traipsing about in the mountains last month, the little boys and I opted to get out of town and head south. My mom had also been pondering a visit to Utah, so she hopped in the car with us and away we went. It was a really nice trip, simultaneously very relaxing and extremely exhausting (let's just say I have more empathy for homeless people who have to sleep in their cars because I did it two different nights on the trip . . . but we'll get back to that).

Cute little road tripper #1 . . .

and cute little road tripper #2.

We started in Provo to visit Quinn and Eden for a couple of days. Sam and Terri and Bailey came down from Salt Lake and we headed to Provo Canyon for a picnic dinner.
Will was delighted to be reunited with Aunt Eden and worked hard to ensure she was always within an arm's reach, lest they be separated again.

Clyde took advantage of the situation and monopolized Unky Quinn's attention for some one-on-one soccer instruction.

Sam and Quinn entertained us all with their frisbee-playing, and Bailey entertained us all with her absolute adorableness! Minus the time where Sam freaked me out into thinking Clyde had taken a tumble down the little rock wall and I called him a slightly (well, very) bad word, it was a really fun evening (and honestly, it was actually pretty fun to call him the bad word considering he basically gave me a heart attack).

Then we headed to Quinn and Eden's apartment, where we found these excellent guest room accommodations! We timed our trip well since this was their last few days in their two bedroom apartment before they swapped for a one-bedroom for the school year :).

The Braden Casa stay also came with an excellent homemade dinner the next night. It seriously warmed my heart to see my baby brother in the kitchen making dinner with his wife. He's so grown up!

We may have fit in a couple games of Settlers, neither of which I won. Grandma Pam won the first go-round and . . .

Quinn and Eden, aka Queden, claimed victory the second game.

The first morning we were there, Quinn and Eden made us delicious waffles for breakfast. The second morning Will and I provided a healthy meal of Lucky Charms, orange juice, and donuts as a peace offering for waking everyone up in the middle of the night.

Will has had trouble sleeping on occasion and about once a month wakes up crying and completely inconsolable. It isn't a night terror, thank the heavens, just a really vocally sad baby who wants me, then doesn't want me, then wants a movie, but does NOT want a movie, etc. It had happened the night before we drove to Utah, so I was extra distraught that the previously rare occurrence was repeating itself just two nights later. I ended up sticking him in the car and we listened to Primary music and I hooked myself up with a hot chocolate (love 24 hour McDonald's drive-thru!). Will fell asleep in the car and woke up quite angry when I attempted to take him into the apartment, so he and I slept in the car the rest of the night - which luckily was only about three more hours. (Also, no worries, we were in a well-lit parking lot of an apartment building about thirty feet from Quinn and Eden's front door and the car was locked and my drooling self could not have looked that tantalizing to passers-by with less than honorable intentions).

Luckily Quinn and Eden were incredibly sweet and forgave us readily, as did Grandma Pam and Clyde!

After breakfast and a quick tour of Quinn and Eden's new apartment, we went to visit Sam and Terri for the afternoon.
The only picture I took was this one of Will enjoying Bailey's princesses, but rest assured we all had a very fun time. We played Settlers, of course, and once again I did not win, of course, but good job to Sam!

Then the little boys and I headed to visit the Littlewoods!
The kids were shy for about three minutes and then settled in to play like normal - and had SO much fun jumping in the sprinkler on the trampoline.

We only stayed one night but it was so nice to see them and catch up. A big thanks to McKay for watching all the kids that evening so Lynndi and I could make a child-free Target run :).

Unfortunately, that night Will was up again, this time around 2:30am. And his crying woke up Clyde, who was grumpy, and Lynndi, who was (as always) incredibly sweet and understanding. Still after a half-hour of crying with no end in sight, I opted to toss (well, you know, buckle) both kids in the car. We stuck the Primary CD in and drove and drove and the boys fiiiinally fell asleep. This time I didn't even attempt to move back inside, I just parked in their driveway, reclined my seat, and got comfortable.

Following this adventure, google and I spend some serious time together and I discovered that children with autism don't release melatonin (aka the sleep hormone) appropriately. I had heard of giving children with sleep issues very small doses of melatonin before bed but I hadn't looked into it until now. So I got the go-ahead from our pediatrician and did some more reading and then picked some up that day and we've used it regularly since. Will still has sleep issues (some nights he's up until the wee, wee hours of the morning) but we haven't had any more inconsolable crying episodes, praise the heavens.

So our morning with Littlewoods was extra low-key since we were all pretty tired and I was learning all about melatonin, but it was so great for the kids to see each other and for Lynndi and I to talk in person instead of on the phone!!

Our trip ended in Kays, where I got to meet this darling baby:

Sweet Anna Sierra, our newest niece on Chuck's side! Amanda and Steve did good work :).

And in case you, like me, can't get enough of her cuteness, here's one of her fancy newborn pictures that Melissa took.

While I cuddled with Anna, Uncle Steve and Clyde did some male bonding, starting with throwing darts and ending with weight lifting :).

That night we stayed with the lovely and always hospitable Smiths. Gloria made enchiladas for dinner, which despite being comprised of two food items that I've admittedly struggled with during my pregnancy (chicken and tortillas), were delicious and I keep forgetting to clarify that to her :). Of course, I'm of the opinion that Gloria could cook a meal made entirely of my least favorite foods and I would still ask for seconds. She's that good.

No Heidi and Courtney (don't even get me started on how sad I was that I couldn't see either one of them this trip!!) equaled a serious lack of picture-taking, but I did get this one of Clyde and Big Will before we piled into the car. Clyde seriously loves Big Will; it's adorable. Will had to mow the lawn while we were there, so Clyde dutifully accompanied him outside to provide protection from the always present battle droids :).

And then it was time to head back to Idaho!
We made a pit stop on the way home so Grandma Pam could pick some things up at her new school in Hansen, Idaho which provided the boys a nice break to get out and wrestle.

I opted for a hug instead of a tackle.

And then we were home and reunited with Chuck, who made us this awesome sign! He and Clyde had agreed that whoever got home first would be in charge of a 'welcome home' sign, and Chuck beat us by about eighteen hours :). It was an excellent end to an excellent trip!!