Utah County v2
We come back to Utah County for Gretchen's 40th birthday, and spend time with lots of family and a few friends.
We drove back to Provo, but first on our way out of St. George we stopped at Durango's and had lunch. We sat in the same spot where we sat on our first date back in April 2017. So fun to celebrate we've been together for 7 years!
The next day I stopped at Alissa's house and got to meet her little Tyden. He's a sweet and beautiful child.
Preston and Maddy invited us over for a steak dinner. Preston grilled some top quality beef (A5 and Wagyu) from Heritage Craft Butchers on his Traeger. It was such a fun evening and the steak was 100% the best. I was in steak heaven. That's a steak experience I won't forget!
Sydney and Benson have arrived! We went inside the airport to greet them. Happy times! As you can see from the pictures, Benson is as expressive and precious as always.
We stopped by In-N-Out on the way back to Provo. He entertained us the whole time.
We divided and conquered today. Mitzi/Sydney/Benson went out to lunch with Mindee, her daughter-in-law Sadie and baby Kacey, her daughter Kate and baby Paisley.
I had lunch with my mom and dad at La Jolla.
After lunch we drove up to Deer Creek Reservoir.
Mitzy/Sydney/Benson went out to dinner with Chad and Stephanie Simister. They had massive chicken flautas. They were as big at Benson's leg!
Benson enjoyed seeing Manny (Aunt Maddy).
Upon returning to the condo Benson was full of energy and leaped around making us smile and laugh.
On Saturday we visited extended family in Wanship, Hennefer, and Morgan.
It was snowing most of the day and got pretty squirrely. These great grandparents have very little opportunity to see Benson and it was a special experience for them to see him and feel that joy.
In the evening we had a suprise birthday party for Gretchen. She turned 40 a couple days ago. This surprise party has been planned for a long time, and everyone involved pulled it off perfectly.
Gretchen was truly surprised. Having Sydney and Benson here was very special to her. And so many family and friends came to celebrate.
She told me she felt very special and very loved.
Benson loved bowling. He bowled with Uncle Josh for close to two hours non stop.
We fly back to Panama City Beach in the morning. It's been a wonderful month in Utah. Spending this much time enabled us to slow down and have a lot of quality time with people we love.