Aspen Grove Snarr Family Thanksgiving

We took a road trip to Utah to spend Thanksgiving with Ben's family in a log cabin, in Aspen Grove. As excited as we were to visit family and play with the cousins, we dreaded this 22 hour drive with two toddlers. It was one hell of a drive, that's for sure. ;) Trying to entertain our boys while they sat buckled up for hours was not easy. We made lots of stops along the way--like Cadillac Ranch, a fossil and rock museum and restaurants with play places.  Along the way, we drove through the red rocks in Southern Utah--what a gorgeous place. Finn looked out window and continually exclaimed how he wanted to ride a skateboard down them.  Finn is our fearless dare devil who knows a thrill when he sees one. It took us about 3 days until we finally arrived in Utah at Ben's Grandma's house. She took us to Grandpa Larsen's grave since he died last year and we hadn't been able to attend the funeral. We placed flowers and even a BYU flag by the grave before we departed for dinner and some quality time visiting with Great Grandma. 

 

  

  

Wearing Great Grandpa Larsen's shoes.

 

Dressed up all nice for the baby blessing, sitting on Great Grandma Betty's bench outside her home.

The next morning, we attended the baby blessing of our nephew, Gavin. It was done in the beautiful home that Ali and Eric moved into not long ago. Friends and family gathered and it was such a sweet occasion to be a part of.

 

 
Finn sang "I am a Child of God" with the kids at the blessing. He may not have known all the words but he acted like he did!

We took off for Aspen Grove where Syd had it decorated with a "Bee" theme, since the focus of the Reunion was the "6 B's": be grateful, be smart, be clean, be true, be humble, be prayerful.

It snowed while we were there, making it even more fun for all of the little kids. We brought tons of glow sticks for the cousins to have a dance party one evening. We also spent lots of time in the game room and movie room where we played pool, table tennis and watched movies.  For Thanksgiving dinner, we left the cabin and cooked up a storm at Abby and Tony's house, just 15 minutes away, at the bottom of the mountain. We then celebrated Christmas by exchanging gifts and all of the cousins dressed in the pj's from Nana and Pop Pop.  

 
Nana and Ruby, dressed like a bumble bee.

 

 
 Kensi, Gavin and Fox

 

 
 
Top to Bottom/Oldest to Youngest:
Jackson, Annabelle, Kensington, Oliver, Colton, Winston, Finn, Grayson, Sylvie, Ruby, Fox

After our time in Aspen Grove, we visited Temple Square with Lee and Syd and ate dinner at Ho Ho Gourmet (Ben's favorite Chinese food in Utah).  Syd watched our boys one evening while Ben and I spent a night at the Peary Hotel. We saw a show at Desert Star Playhouse, visited Anthony's antiques, went shopping and ate really well.  It was a much needed getaway for the two of us.

 

 
 

Ben and I went to a Utah Utes Basketball game with his High School buddy, Geoff Cotti. Ben is a die-hard fan, so it was fun to root on the Utes.

On our way home from Utah, we met up with my parents for breakfast at I-hop. They were on their way to Las Vegas from Idaho, to spend a much more pleasant winter there.  It was nice to see them and the boys enjoyed their Christmas gifts--magnet board and noise making animal book.

 

Our trip home took 2 days instead of 3.  We booked it and were so excited to get out of the cramped, dirty car of ours. Hopefully I am reminded not to do another road trip with toddlers when it is proposed again. However, it was worth it. We had a wonderful time.