Spring Break has quickly become one of my very favorite weeks of the year, and that has everything to do with the freedom my magical mini van offers and the adventures with cousins which awaits us in Utah. I love that I can throw my pajama'd babies in the car and by dinnertime be on Aunt Ash's doorstep, even if the last three hours of every road trip is a Wigginton chorus of shrieks and shrills. 2018 marked the third time I've Spring Breaked in this manner and if our Utah family didn't already figure things out, I've got this trip penciled in on repeat for the rest of time!
It's amazing how the same place can feel so fun and fresh with every visit. I don't know that those are words usually used to describe Provo, but ser-i-ous-ly, that place rocks! This year's itinerary was completely different than last year except for endless hours of trampoline play with Tris the dog and a trip to the Rec Center...there's ALWAYS time for the Rec Center. We saw temples, took road trips, went to museums and most importantly visited and loved on and cherished all of our family members. These people, my people, well you all know that they are everything to me and being with them for Spring Break just gets the whole season moving in the right direction.
The kids also really wanted to have a snow day so Ash and I were trying to figure out how to make that happen and then Mother Nature stepped right in and gave us a good dusting of snow on Sunday afternoon and basically made my babies dreams come true. Kai may have built the snowman himself but my kids threw a good snowball or two and made the prettiest snow angels I've ever seen. I'm such a weather snob but even I couldn't get over how beautiful the winter wonderland looked (from inside. under a blanket. by the fire. with warm cookies close. and a knowledge that it'd be gone by morning.)
Per normal (and unfortunately), James stayed back in LA working on a massive deal, or as I like to put it, working hard to fund our rock and roll lifestyle (sounds less boring, no?!) This was the first year that he wasn't able to fly out for the weekend but since he's been billing 95-hours a week for a while now it wasn't really a surprise. One of these days he'll be my co-captain on road trip adventures but for now I feel immensely grateful for how well he supports our family and how supportive he is of his family seeing the world...or at least the great mountain west!
My mom win was bribing them to not fight or scream with a gas station goodie of their choice. My mom fail was allowing Quinn to pick a slurpee. Why did she have to pick a slurpee? You would not believe how many potty breaks we had to take between Vegas and Provo, we honestly peed in every road-side stand and tumbleweed that I-15 had to offer. When I was beyond over nasty bathrooms I decided to pull off at the St. George temple, but even then it was an emergency and she ended up running into Taco Bell with T by her side. Oh well, at least we got to see this gorgeous temple. And we enjoyed some cinnamon twists on our walk around the grounds!
At first Everett Knight was not so sure about being in his pajamas in front of the temple but I told him that Heavenly Father doesn't care so much about what's on the outside, but he cares a whole lot about what's in his heart. He seemed to breathe that in and showed not another second of hesitation. It would have been way more tragic for him not to have touched the temple than for him to wear his Spiderman get-up on the grounds, right? Besides, I thought he looked darling! T, on the other hand, rocked his mismatched jams and a fruit loop necklace without a second thought, haha!
There's a quote that says something like, "Let your kids touch the temple and the temple will touch them." Actually, it may not be anything like that and I can't even find it online, but hey, I like the way that sounds and I like to see my four that close to those white doors.
That temple is so beautiful and I would have loved to adventure around the grounds a little more but my oldest two especially were itching to get back in the car and get to their cousins, and I don't blame them at all. So back in the car we went for the screamiest drive you can imagine.
We finally arrived in Provo to the biggest, baddest and most delicious candy basket you've ever seen. Honestly, can you believe that? Ash and Logo bought every candy that I love or have ever mentioned wanting to try--how considerate, kind and fun is that?! I'm a candy girl, through and through.
I've missed baby Oliver so much since Christmas, isn't he delicious? He is honestly the sweetest, yummiest thing I've ever seen and oh gosh I love him.
Last year: Sodalicious vs. Swig. This year: Chip vs. Crumbl. Crumbl was the surprising winner but to be honest both of them were so good and I love these competitions. And chocolate chip cookies. And these sisters.
Logan and Ash took all these crazy kids to the park one morning and let me take a shower and get ready by myself. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it was the nicest gift because I haven't showered or gotten ready without kids two seconds from my person in months...maybe longer. They had a blast at the park and gosh, I enjoyed their hot water and some silence on the couch!
Well, they sure clean up nice don't they! We've seemed to get a Sunday shot each year and they are always my favorite. These kids are all growing up so quickly and I'm just grateful we've made the effort to get them together as often as possible. We may not be living my dream as neighbors but they will still have a million shared memories to remember throughout their life.
Ashleigh was in the front conducting Primary and looking all official and I was in the back row playing on my cell phone and whispering with her councilors. It was kind of the best Sunday ever and I wish I could be her wingman every week. And by wingman, I mean distractor.
Jordan double-dog dared me to make a snow angel, barefoot and in my Sunday best, and I told him he didn't even have to single-dog dare me! I mean, it's not every day that this California girl is sitting in snow and I couldn't let it go to waste!
Quinn kept licking the snow off of everything in sight--homeless bicycles, utility boxes, trees, cars, the ground. The snow was such a novelty and she was eating it up, literally.
Kai is a snowman-making machine. He rolls that ball around the yard like it's nothing and I know I'm not experienced but I've tried to do it before and it's way harder than it looks. I love him so much!
It was about this moment that Talmage decided the cold and snow were overrated and basically cried his way over the fireplace. It may have something to do with the fact that he refused to wear his snow coat during our whole trip, but also it was ridiculously cold. Also to note in this picture, Kai made me promise that if I posted it online I would only do so with these words attached: Kai made the snowman all by himself, his cousins just jumped in for the photo op. #truth
Who wins this picture? Probably Cora with that binkie and beanie situation. She didn't know how to take this snow situation. She would whine and holler by the front door because she wanted to go play with the big kids, but as soon as she was out in the cold she was whining and begging to be held and cuddled!
IDAHO!!! We drove to IDAHO!!! Chase and Meghan welcomed baby Ruth six weeks ago and I've been itching to meet her and we finally made it happen with a 36-hour trip to Idaho. Ashleigh made us pull off on the side of the road to take a picture with the Idaho sign which was basically taking an idea right out of my mind and making it happen! We had to be in two cars because our families are so big these days but we followed each other in caravan and 4 hours felt easy peasy compared to the 12 two days before.
For all her good qualities, car trips and keeping her cool on said car trips are not on the list. She screams and kicks my chair and throws things and complains about EVERYTHING and is just generally a really difficult person to please. That's why her falling asleep during the last hour of our trip to Idaho was SUCH a big deal and definitely worthy of a picture. Doesn't she look like a little angel? At least when she's sleeping!
RUTH! I am just ridiculously excited to have another niece and another cousin for my kids, especially since she's the sweetest in all the land. Holding and cuddling and loving all over her was such a highlight of my Spring Break. Not an ounce of me wants another little baby of my own these days, but it sure is nice to love on one knowing full well you can hand them over later. This Aunt gig has never been sweeter.
This was another "touch the temple" moment, although I think they may have gotten a little out of hand with their running, karate moves and games of tag--not quite the touches we had in mind! Containing nine little ones on holy ground is harder than it sounds but I'm glad they love the temple and we all had a good time.
I've only been to Rexburg once before, nearly 10 years ago when I was a newlywed and Ash was going to school here. I remember having so much fun and our epic trip to Yellowstone, but for some reason we didn't tour the campus during that trip. I was so excited to see where Chase and Meghan and Ashleigh took classes, watched devotional and ate lunch. There is so much life and energy on a college campus and this one was no different.
Meghan mostly took classes in this awesome science building and the kids were obsessed with the animal museum. Cora (and I) were a little more wary of the experience, but a room full of stuffed predators was right up T and Evie's alley.
After seeing Meghan's section of the school, we were taken to where Chase spends his time. Inside a large garage students are building these mini-homes to learn hands-on construction principles and practices. Chase is a TA in this class, so his job is to check the work of the beginner students. He seemed so happy and confident and excited about his work and I felt like I was beaming with sister pride. He has found his academic and career passion and I'm thrilled for him. (Plus, he promised to build me one of these mini homes someday, and maybe even a pool. So there's that!)
Big Jud's lived up to the hype and was honestly the yummiest and funnest lunch ever. That is a one pound burger I'm holding in my hand and if I would've eaten it all on my own I would have my picture up on the wall. (Jordan actually conquered the Big Jud challenge after his mission which is beyond my comprehension). As it was, the five Wig's in attendance shared that baby and there was still nearly a quarter leftover! The root beer was beyond amazing, Evie ate a whole side of bacon, the tater tots and onion rings were where it's at (hard pass on the fries next time) and although there was no room for ice cream, I took a little bite of Chase's and it was beyond yum! When we go back here again (because we MUST go back here again) I hope it's just as amazing as I remember.
Remember how I said there was no room for ice cream? Well, just not yet! There is ALWAYS room for ice cream. We went back to the hotel and swam for a few hours and then went to G's Dairy, Ash's favorite creamery from her time in school. I got this oreo and cookie dough concoction inside a fresh waffle cone and it was beyond, beyond.
The thing about Rexburg is that it's as big as a minute and there's really not much to do there. We basically toured the whole town in a few hours and then the kids were like, what's next? Well, since it was basically 30 degrees outside so any outdoor activity was not possible, we decided to head to Idaho Falls to see the "Dinosaurs in Motion" exhibit at the Museum of Idaho.
I have always loved taking pictures with Chase because he is the only one in the family who is taller than me, but maybe the solution is just always having Ash take pictures with me while standing on a stair because I kind of love being the little one in the family! Also a few things to note in this picture: 1. Cora is my little shadow and eternal photo bomber and would not let me take a picture with my sibs unless she was nearby. 2. This picture would have been a million times better if Jordan were by my side--3 is good but 4 is best! And 3. The Museum of Idaho is now open on Sundays, if you didn't pick that up from the massive sign above our head!!!
Ash and I were so excited to get adjoining rooms at the nicest hotel Rexburg had to offer. One room had two queens and a pull-out where the babies were all set to sleep and one had a king that me and Ash were going to share after all the babies were snoozing. It was going to be the ultimate girls night...until it wasn't. We ended up playing musical beds all night long, soothing crying babies and bad-dream toddlers, changing diapers and clothing multiple times, keeping kids in their own spaces and propping them up when they began to cough. They actually did so well, but Ash and I each probably averaged three or four hours of sleep that night--not our best work. But look at how cute they all look cuddled on that white bed, that makes it all worth it, right?
All joking aside, what absolutely did make our trip worth it was the time we were able to spend with Chase, Meghan, Hunter and Ruth in their own home and in their own town. They are a beautiful family (especially baby Ruth, just saying!) and seeing them made me realize how much I've missed them in Los Angeles.
After the Museum of Idaho we headed back to Utah for the rest of our Spring Break adventure.
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