Utah

Many of you may have seen my facebook post about Chris's grandfather who passed away on March 31. We bought plane tickets to Utah the next day on April 1st, and we arrived in SLC on Wednesday the 4th. We had a 45 minute layover in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and we had to BOOK IT to the next terminal for our second plane. We were literally the last people to get on the plane! But thankfully we made it. Lizzie was out when we landed in Salt Lake!

That night we headed over to Grandpa's viewing, and I managed to snap a picture of the girls.

At the funeral home, there were really beautiful sculptures--the girls loved this one.

During the beginning of the funeral service on Thursday morning, Cate was beyond tired and shrieking whenever I tried sitting down. I took her out into the foyer and she fell asleep after some singing and pacing the room. That was a blessing because it allowed me to listen to Chris's mom and her siblings speak, as well as listen to the musical numbers by Darby and by the whole clan of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Everything was beautifully done and I know Grandpa was pleased. Andi took a picture of us after the family luncheon--Lizzie was practically choking me but she was so cute about it so I smiled away!

Grandpa was to be buried in Heber (after the service in West Jordan) so we took a drive through Park City to get to Heber. By this time it was pretty chilly so I'm glad I grabbed jackets for the girls! Cate would not sit still so I walked around the grounds with her. After the closing prayer, Lizzie and Juliet (her new BFF--why must we live so far away from each other, Suzy?!) joined Cate and me. They were so much fun together! They found some interesting items amongst the tombstones.

The next morning we woke up to S-N-O-W. The girls were in absolute heaven!

My hot husband!

Later in the afternoon, we went to Spike and Andi's house for a family lunch and they had a ton of fun things planned for the many kids in attendance. Tossing carrots into the bunny's mouth was hilarious to watch, especially because my girls walked right up to the bunny and just dropped the carrots in--no tossing for them ;)

The highly anticipated Easter egg hunt was a blast, of course! Despite the snow!

Here is one happy camper! (Cate was napping...but don't worry, Lizzie shared!)

Later on, we finished the night by going to Macey's for some ice cream. Chris got his Kong Cone (except they put it straight into the cup!)

and the girls were happy with their cones!

I helped Lizzie finish some of hers.

We had to get down to Provo to see Uncle Billy before the weekend was up. He told us that the Sikahema's were in town so there was a Cherry Hill get-together at the Wilk. How awesome to see so many friends from NJ! The girls had fun meeting some new friends, the children of MY friends!

We took this time to introduce the girls to our beloved campus. Naturally the bookstore was a favorite!

When Lizzie spotted the "Y" in the snow, she started shouting, "LOOK! Mom! Dad! The Y, the Y!"

We made a stop by the JFSB, the best building on campus, so the girls could throw some pennies into the fountain and so Chris and I could remember that cold November night when he proposed to me there :)

And then this group of people approach the fountain and we watch some random girl in a bathing suit walk into the fountain...

It was a fairly chilly morning and the water was freezing, but there you have it. HAHA Oh Provo. We went to the Eyring Science Center and we let the girls play with their new soccer ball and football next to the SWKT.

We met up with Bill and Becca Walker at the JSB,

and we headed over to TUCANO'S for some lunch and for some Ashley Walker love! :)

For Easter, we dyed eggs

and the girls woke up to a Easter egg hunt, complete with clues directing us where to go. Lizzie definitely loved it! (Thank you Granny and Grandma!)

Later we drove to Orem to meet up with my mom's side of the family, la familia Lopez! This was the first time they've seen Lizzie since she was four months old, and this was their first time ever seeing Cate. Here are Kerry, Lizzie, Cate, and Kira.

My aunt and uncle had an Easter egg hunt for all the kids. Lizzie and Cate were very happy!

We grabbed some neighbors to take a picture of all of us!

Four generations--my abuelita, my mom, me, my girls

We made a final stop in Orem and Provo on Monday morning. We had to say goodbye to Becca (sorry we missed you Ashley!)

And Julia requested that her birthday lunch (Happy Birthday Julia!) be at Tucano's...(Tucano's twice in a weekend= no need for meat for a long time)

We said goodbye to the Riverwoods, Mt. Timp,

and BYU (as seen from the air).

The hardest part was saying goodbye to Granny Killion and Grandma Carter. While we were sad to be missing Grandpa, we were happy that we were able to see so many family members and friends. Bittersweet feelings for sure.