to Utah to visit Grandma and Grandpa Voge, four fun Uncle's and one sweet Aunt, three goats, a couple of chickens, one dog, one raccoon, and a partridge in a pear tree...
The girls were pretty good on the flight's there, we didn't even need to break out the portable DVD player the entire trip... woo hoo! The first flight to Utah was not even half full so Hallie got her own row to lay out on and play on which she loved...
and Sydnee loved having her own seat since we didn't need to pay for her yet (bonus!). I think her smile says it all...
The first couple days in Utah, it rained and even snowed on us so we took it easy until it got a little warmer by jumping on their trampoline, playing dress-up with Grandma's dress-up clothes and even Uncle Aaron and Uncle Ammon danced with Hallie at the pretend ball and played dress-up with her... 
It was fun spending time with Grandma and Grandpa and the Uncle's... 
and Aunt Katherine... 
and with the animals at Grandma & Grandpa Voge's house. They have a frog that has been alive for about 20 years named Peter Pan that Hallie fed every day, 
a dog named Tanner that Sydnee would try to get the balls from to play with but Tanner wasn't too good at sharing the slobbery balls... it was better that way! 
They also have goats and chickens which the girls loved feeding and collecting eggs from every day once it got warmer out. To our surprise, Sydnee didn't have any fear of letting the goats eat right out of her hand! 
The Voge's also had another animal that was new to the house: a racoon had made itself a home in Grandma and Grandpa's chimney so of course, all the Voge boys including Cam had made it their goal to get the raccoon out of the chimney which included making a cage at the bottom of the chimney using boogie boards and a cage, and using a brick to lure the animal out of the chimney. The raccoon decided to climb up instead of going out the bottom so the boys waited patiently on the roof for it to show itself and climb out. It finally climbed out on it's own since it now feared for its life. 
In addition to all the animals, Hallie and Sydnee loved exploring things that were new to these city girls which included riding on a riding lawn mower ...
and a four-wheeler which we took into the mountains to ride around on a couple days later. Hallie concluded that the four-wheeler was a fun toy that Grandpa had.
Once the snow and rain stopped, we ventured out to do some fun activities with the girls and Grandma by visiting the Children's Treehouse Museum.
The girls played inside a tree, 
they milked a cow, 
rode in the rodeo, 
played some musical instruments, 
sat in the Oval Office,
played doctor to Grandma,
became a fireman, 
played a game of human-sized chess, 
visited a house in China, 
...and stood on top of the world all in one day without ever leaving Utah. What a fun day at the museum!
The next day, Grandma had the girls go on a treasure hunt for lost treasure (a.k.a. cool surprises!). She drew pictures of different objects in the house like a couch, a fridge, a toilet, to find the next clue.
The clues lead the girls all over the house and they finally found the treasure inside the oven. The treasure was new dresses, bubbles, coloring books, paint, and some yummy treats. Grandma had so much fun putting it together and shopping for them and the girls loved finding it.
The last couple of days the weather was beautiful and sunny. One afternoon Hallie had a water fight with Jon, Ammon and Aaron. At first they were going easy on her but when she soaked their shirts and shorts, they weren't so gentle. I was trying to get them to pose for this picture:
but as they were posing, Hallie soaked them from behind (clever little girl) so of course, they got their revenge and Hallie was laughing so hard she could barely breathe! At least she was a good sport about getting soaked!
On Saturday, we drove up to Great Grandma Taylor's house with the four-wheelers and guns... yes, I said guns. Nate took Cam and I shooting in the mountains and I shot a 9mm handgun, 
a revolver and a shotgun which had a huge kick to it, notice my serious "before" face... 
and my hurting "after" face... 
I never shot any targets, I was just concentrating on getting the bullet out of the gun without killing anyone. It was a little scary shooting guns but it was pretty fun! Nate taught me how to load and cock the guns... hopefully I never have to recall that information! Cam on the other hand, shot every clay pigeon with the shotgun... impressive!
On Saturday night, we BBQ-ed hot dogs over a bonfire and Sandy made me a birthday cake from Julia Child's cookbook (it was to die for!) and we celebrated my 26th birthday early. 
Cam's brothers gave me a nice massage on my legs, feet, arms and back all at once... 
that was a pretty nice birthday gift!On Sunday, we took family pictures, and it isn't a Voge family picture without the funny poses.
After church we went on a hike near a pond in the mountains where Hallie got to feed the ducks. Here's the gang plus one: Justin, Aunt Kath's boyfriend, and minus one: me, since I'm taking the picture.
Before the hike was done, everyone had paid Uncle Ammon to dunk his head in the water and he did it, he got some good money out of the dare. (And don't worry, Ammon, I did get a video of this. I'm sure it will be revealing itself someday when you get married at your roast, haha)Monday was our last day there, and it was a busy one. We drove to Salt Lake City to visit an aquarium there which was so neat seeing upside down jellyfish,
and touching sting rays. Here's Cam touching a sting ray. 
They felt smooth and slimy.
We had such a fun trip, we didn't want it to end. On the flight home, both girls slept during both flights, and on the two-hour drive home from the airport. Then, when we got home, they went to bed for the night at 7 and slept until 8 the next morning. Needless to say, Grandma and Grandpa wore them out! Thanks, Voge's, for all the fun we had! We miss you already!
