We were so glad to have Brayden home with us to celebrate his 19th birthday. We did the normal birthday breakfast and his traditional cake. To party with him we went to IFly for some indoor skydiving. Shortly after his buddy Nolan flew down and Isaac came too and they were able to party together.
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| The T-shirt quilt I made him |
In a school year where a lot of things were different we were lucky enough that choir was able to have one concert. The poor kids had to sing with masks on but they rose to the challenge and did a fantastic job. We are so proud of Brielle and her friends!
When it came time to pick Brayden up from school, we decided it would be easiest if I went on the drive so Kevin could work. I invited Emmitt along with me for company. He agreed to the 18 hour trip because he got to miss school- and see Brayden of course ;). We actually had a really fun time driving together. He did great. We both had audiobooks to listen to and lots of snacks so we just cruised along. We stopped halfway in Laramie to break up the drive. Then when we finally arrived in Utah, we loved having Brayden show us around campus. I was shocked when Emmitt told me on the drive that he had never been to BYU. I think he has but was too young to remember so it was really good that I brought him so he got a taste of the BYU experience. We ate the first night at the Canon Center which is the cafeteria on campus that Brayden ate most of his college meals. Unlimited food, delicious chocolate milk and BYU mint brownies so Emmitt loved it! We stayed with our friends, the Hema family so we really enjoyed catching up with them while Brayden spent some last treasured times with his BYU buddies. It was relatively painless getting him all packed up and two days later we were back on the road. This time though I had an extra driver so I let Brayden do some driving and we had a great time rocking out to country music the whole way home. It was some good times. Heres some photos.
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| As we were driving through Utah we were in awe of the scenery. At one point Emmitt said to me "I can't stand it anymore -I have to get out and climb something." So luckily we shortly came to this great climb and rest spot where we could get it out of our system and really take in the beauty! |
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| Our dinner at the Canon Center |
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| Brayden showing us some of his favorite spots on campus |
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Emmitt was eager to "Hike the Y" so we took along a Nathan, Will and Cooper and trekked up the mountain. I managed to get us a little lost at first but once we found the trail it was smooth sailing. The views at sunset were amazing!  |
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| We made it! |
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| Goodbyes were hard. Lots of hugs and lots of tears. Brayden was blessed to have the Hemas and make so many good friends in Utah. |
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| Driving home. Brayden is a great driver. |
We had a lovely Easter weekend though it was our first without Brayden and that made us miss him but he was well taken care of by the Hema's Easter Bunny in Utah. For some reason I only have a picture of Emmitt with his Easter basket although the girls did get one too... maybe they are too old now for pictures. Anyways it was Conference weekend which always makes Easter better. We had a yummy brunch with the Scott family and then enjoyed watching Conference. A great day.
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| General Conference watchers |
This year we had our friends the Corbridges join us for our annual Easter Egg Dying and Rolling. It was a fun tradition as always that we loved sharing with our friends who had never rolled eggs before ...what!!! hahaha! We did our new preferred version where you have to roll it down the hill as close to the pond without going in is the winner!
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| Taeya was the Egg Rolling Champion this year! |
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| The Corbridges brought these cute neckerchiefs for the dogs so I thought I would include that too ;) |
I didn't think it would be possible but- timing plus online school made it so that Brayden could join us one last time for our families favorite Spring Break vacay tradition- Sipapu! Snow and family fun in our cozy little cabin. We flew Brayden home for his mission call and then he stayed with us the following week when we went to New Mexico. He just had to slip off the slopes from time to time to attend an online class. It worked out okay I think ;)
Because of Covid they didn't open up some of the Mountain so that was a bummer and some of the lift operators made you wear a mask on the lift (so silly). But we still had a good time- the boys got some lego at Walmart so that kept them busy in the down times and we ate at our favorite Guadalajara Grill. Priceless family moments.
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