Our Trip to Utah

So, my sister's wedding was in Utah, so we made the trek up. The kids did surprisingly well, considering the long ride! Plenty of movies, puzzles, coloring books, stickers, and snacks kept them happy I guess! Here's the kids at Glen Canyon Dam. Look at Kendal: strike a pose: VOGUE! :)
We finally made it to my hometown: Kanosh, Utah. We hadn't finished dinner for 5 min. before Keaton proceeded to overflow my dad's toilet! So embarrassing. Anyhow, the kids were begging and begging us to ride my dad's horses. They always look forward to this at Grandpa Staples' house! But....I was a little nervous. It was windy outside, and the horses were looking a bit skittish. Well, after Keaton and Kendal made it around the pasture unharmed, I relaxed a little. Karsen wanted to have a ride too, so we coupled her with Keaton. Well, their round started off okay, but then something happened with that horse. It started to gallop, and then it ran and began to crow hop! All of the sudden I hear my dad cry, "Whoooooaaaaa!" And he pulled down on the reigns and dug his boots into the dirt as hard as he could. I mean, he was putting his whole weight on that thing! But the horse was strong. And like a movie in slow-motion, my kids proceeded to topple off of the horse. First Karsen face down into the dirt, then Keaton on top of her. I must say, though, Keaton really held onto her sister with all of her might. But she was no match for that horse. I stood frozen in fear as Brian ran over to the girls. Keaton got right up and started walking, no problem. Brian grabbed Karsen and lifted her up to observe the potential damage. She had literally "bitten the dust". She had mud on her two front teeth, so much so that Brian thought she had lost them. I knew the kids were upset, but I kept remembering what my dad had always told me when I got bucked from a horse, "It's always best to get right back on the horse." I knew if I didn't have the kids get right back on, we'd be leaving with some horse-a-phobias or something along those lines. So I bent down and told Keaton to get back on. She puffed up her chest, balled up her fists, and said, "Okay, mom." I was so proud of her! Not only did Keaton get back on (after grandpa had taught the horse a lesson) but Kendal got back on, and Karsen was willing to sit on the horse, but not ride on it. This was a beaming moment for me! My kids are so tough! My dad said, "These aren't city kids, these are horse people!" :)

The next day was my little sister Christa's wedding. Here she and Tyler are coming out of the Manti Temple. Don't they make such a cute couple? Congrats, guys!

Here's some more of my fam. Dad's up behind Christa, to the right is my Grandma Staples (she makes THE best rhubarb pie EVER! I swear I ate like a whole pie while I was there!) and then just to the right of Christa is my stepmom Paulette. Love you guys!

They look so happy! My girls said they thought Christa was a "Temple Princess"! :)

After the temple, we had lunch with our other grandma, grandma Dutson. Unfortunately I don't have any pics of her, but I do have one of Gracie Jane, my brother's little girl. So cute!

And then, the crash and burn. Looks like Karsen ate a Smurf, a drunken one at that! All in all this was an exhausting but great day!