the adventures in utah

Clint & I made a quick trip up to Utah this recently to spend some time with our siblings that live in Provo & extended family in Salt Lake. We had a great time visiting with them & enjoyed some great activities. Due to our shortage of time we had to cut quite a few activities out of our plans, but I guess there is always next time!

We stayed in St. George with Clint's Merrill Grandparents our first night & enjoyed a morning of conversation & breakfast, & a quick stop at the St. George temple before completing our trip up to Provo. We grabbed some lunch upon arrival at Cafe Rio. I have eaten there several times in the past & have never been a fan, but we flipped a coin (literally) & we landed on heads which was Cafe Rio. I don't know if it's changed or if I had a skewed perception of what it tasted like, but it turned out great in the end. Which for me is great because I am a super picky eater!

We took a little field trip to NuSkin afterwards to visit where Mike, Trevor & Leanne work. It was pretty cool & I got some new make-up, vitamins & foot cream out of the experience so I wasn't complaining! Thanks T! That was followed by an afternoon of shopping with Megan (I'm her personal shopper) which I never mind, because who doesn't like spending someone else's money?! Hello!

That night most of Miner family ate at an always favorite Jason's deli some of us headed to watch Trevor & Mike's Inter-mural football game. It was FREEZING but totally fun. Their team won, of course! The Miner boys can play a great game of football! It was fun hanging out of the sidelines with the fam & the Milne's, Clint's dad & their's should have a show, seriously it is SO hilarious to listen to them commentate the game!

We spent lot's of late nights hanging out with Trevor & Whitley & are so happy we got to stay in their happy little palace! It was good times!

The main reason for our trip was 2 events, family pictures (enjoy the sneak preview!) & the BYU game. Saturday morning we took photos. It was snowing & bitterly cold. I don't think anyone was super enthused about doing it then, but it was the only time we could squeeze it in with everyone's schedules. We found a great location that was accessible by car so Meg & the kids could stay warm in between shots, which worked out quite well. The pictures turned out good, especially given the weather, I wish we could have had a little more time, but it was just too cold!

We had a great lunch following the photo session & then it was time for the game. I opted out of the game because it was to cold for me & I know I would have just turned into a grouch 30 min. in, so I spared everyone else & went with my sister Megan to run a few errands & then made homemade sugar cookies! So fun!
(that's Megan in her new zebra print shirt... SO CUTE! & still single!)



Sunday we had the most fabulous breakfast compliments of Whitley & wanted to stay curled up in our jammies all day but did make it out to church. We said goodbye to my sister & then headed up to Grandma & Grandpa Miner's which we had been anticipating!

We made a quick stop at Star Mill to snap a few photos, I seriously could spend DAYS up in UT taking photos at cool locations & of awesome old homes. We loved spending time with all of Clint's cousins, aunts & uncles. We enjoyed a delicious meal & yummy dessert items including the famous éclairs from Carole's bakery & peppermint Ice Cream, which turned out to be a family favorite. Grandma didn't realize most of us were huge fans! After most the family left, the rest of us played bridge & had lot's of laughs!

We left after breakfast on Monday morning & decided as we were passing Zim's to stop & look for few items for upcoming weddings & events. To our surprise they are closing their doors & everything is discounted 60- 80% off, I wish I had more time to browse & create projects in my head because I would have spent a lot more money in there! lol! So if you're in Utah & need to stock up on project garb head on over, they are closing soon!

We also ran by a great restaurant supply store called Orson Gygi to pick up some items to make caramel apples!! Once we were on our way we had to make a quick stop to grab some Stephen's Hot Chocolate mix, it's the best & hard to find all their flavors in AZ. We also stopped at the Red Barn to pick up a box of apples & sampled the most delicious apple cider I've ever had along with an apple hand pie. It's a good thing we don't live up there or it might turn into a frequent stop lol!

We had a good drive back to Phoenix & listened to some good podcasts. I always like spending time with Clint when we drive places, it's always a good time to play catch-up & make plans for our future!