Lots to catch up on!

I can't believe it has been so long since I've blogged!! So much has happened since I last wrote.  I think we better start with summer! Summer summer summertime!! We had one of the best summers I've had in a long time.  It all started when my dad told me he was having a work conference in Orlando at the end of July.  Whenever I hear the words trip, conference, or tournament I can't help but immediately start to hatch a plan.  I called my dad and within seconds we figured out a rough plan.  I was going to have to talk Keri into driving to Florida and meeting up with my dad.  We would stay with him at his fancy hotel and then meet up with his family later on in the week.  Usually when I'm hatching a plan it takes a lot of work to convince Keri but this one didn't take much at all.  Before we knew it it was the end of July and we were off to see my dad. When he travels for work he usually travels in style. I've gone to many conferences with him and we usually stay at Hiltons so when I saw the place we were staying I was a bit disappointed. Granted it had a whole kitchen area with a microwave and dishwasher and it had two rooms but Dad had set my standards high with past places.  Well we settled in and spent the next day relaxing.  Tuesday we hit Sea World.  The military gets in free once a year so it is always on our itinerary of things to do. Cam has already been to Sea World once but she was little. This time she was super excited. The problem with being in Florida in July is that it is insanely hot.  Like imagine the hottest you have ever been and double no.. triple it.  I thought I was literally going to melt to a puddle.  That didn't get our spirits down though. The kids love loved it!! Well later that night we took a walk quite a few blocks down to check out the hotel my dads conference was actually being held out. Holy luxurious!! When I saw all the crystal chandeliers hanging everywhere I knew we HAD to switch hotels!!! Then I saw the pool.  It was amazing. It had a separate part for little kids with sand even. Immediately I was off to hatch a plan to get us to switch hotels!!  Luckily it didn't take too much convincing to switch. Now this hotel was more my style... it fit the version of me that I imagine being really rich lol.

Well Keri and I worked out a plan where he would actually take the twins and go visit his family down in Satellite Beach while Cam and I stayed with my dad.  The next thing on our itinerary was ... Disney World!!! We took everyone a few years ago but again Cam was too young to really enjoy it.  She was SO excited that we were going!! Again... Disney World in July is incredibly hot!!! These won't be vacation pictures we will be showing as we are all plastered in sweat lol.  Disney was amazing! We hit all the rides we wanted except one.. Splash Mountain.  So when we first entered the park I told my dad we needed to go to splash mountain and get a fast pass.  We did just that and after a fun day at the park we headed over to Splash Mountain for our last ride of the day. We were in line talking about what an amazing day it was when... what is that? RAIN!! We were literally one person away from getting on Splash Mountain when it rained and they closed down the ride!!!!! Nooooooooooooooo. We decided to wait it out in line but after 45 minutes we threw in the towel.  We were one person away from a perfect day!! We left with great memories though!

The rest of the week went by fast. Cam & I spent the days hanging out at the awesome pool. On Saturday we headed down to Satallite Beach where Keri's mom lives.  The next day we spent the day at the beach.  Keri's grandparents live RIGHT on Cocoa Beach so we went and chatted with them and then walked out their back door to the ocean. Like ten years ago I visited Florida with my friends and we found Cocoa Beach. It ended up being my favorite beach back then and it is my favorite beach still today.  The next day we were leaving but before we left Dana planned a big bbq with Keri's grandparents and his Aunt Michele. We LOVE Aunt Michele. She is one of the most amazing, sweet, generous, loving people I have ever met! Oh and she is gorgeous too! I think my girls look like her.  We had a great time eating and chatting away.

Well we got back from Florida and had one day to recoop before Dad and I hopped in the car with the kids to drive back to Utah.  We had planned to go home to Utah for 3 weeks and Dad offered to drive us back after that. Yep, my dad is pretty awesome. Well it took us 3 days in the car to get home to Utah.  All in all it wasn't that bad. The kids travel great. I don't know how people did long road trips before dvd players were installed in cars, The dvd player saves us!! This trip my girls were crazy about Britney Spear's "Oh la la" song.. driving at 11pm at night listening to my girls sing it is a pretty great memory.  Well we got to Utah and instead of staying 3 weeks we made it a month. It is always chaotic living out of a suitcase for longer than a few days but we still had a lot of fun. It was great to see all my old friends again too.  Dad and I even managed to see Utah States opening football game against the Utes.  There is nothing like walking up 79 stairs at Rice Eccles to remind you how old you are getting!! I swear the oxygen was thin up there!!

Well after a month of fun Dad and I headed back in the car with the kids.  This time around my back was bad though. I have never had back problems in my life.  I am not even sure what happened to cause it but my back was basically out.  I had no idea how I drove in the car for three days with that back.  It was pretty awful.  When we finally did get back to North Carolina my dad took pity on me and stayed almost a whole week to help me.  I could not have gotten through that week without him.  Our favorite thing to do was to talk our long walks at night.  After a month and a half together it was REALLY sad to see my dad go!

Well that about sums up our summer 2013.