My parents came to visit

As a warning my parents left this am, so we are still a bit sad about their departure. About a month ago I was randomly searching for airline tickets from Manchester NH to Salt Lake City and I saw a price that was great, almost half the price I had previous seen them at, so I called my parents and they agreed to come and visit. Last Wednesday they flew in at about midnight Utah time or 2 am east coast time, they where really tired. Julie and I had set them up downstairs in our unfinished basement on a new Aero bed air mattress a worth while investment, and had everything ready for them. They crashed quickly. Thurday or Day 1 was a day of relaxation, well sorta, the kids had fun in the pool, and we did some small grocery shopping, Julie and I tried to get as much before hand as we could. And I did some errands that day as well, getting everything ready for school.

Friday day 2 we where all still tired, I had smoked a pork shoulder over night, showing my papa the ways of smoking. Oh ya the day before I spent quite a bit of time adding a water pan and making my charcoal basket much bigger with the help of Dad, I needed it, my welding skills are very poor. We had yummy smoked pork shoulder that night with my BBQ sauce, a bit too spicey for Dad. Oh ya the day before I had BBQ's some pork steaks from Costco, coated them in mustard and put mesquite spices on it, it was the best, cooked perfectly.

 Saturday day 3 we went to Pineview reservoir to meet up with the youngmen for the ending of their camp helaman. We brought up lunch for them, the reason for the pork shoulder, and the kids had a blast. Eli is not a fan of water, yet, and my parents took him for a walk along the beach and helped him get use to how the water felt. The views and the scenery to get to Pineview are awesome and my parents agreed, they had a ton of fun, we all did. That night I smoked a beef brisket, made sure to leave out the cayenne powder so my Dad could enjoy it more, it turned out great, we had a huge party on Sunday day 4, all of Julies family was there, Evan and his family, some neighbors the Kortman's, Naomi and Barry. It was great having my dad help me cook the french fries in my turkey fryer, and Paul helping out with the other supplies. Made me a happy son of two fathers whom I love very much. Everybody loved the spread of food we had, I even had to cook some more pork since we where afraid we would run out. What fun that was to relax, being with family and friends!

 Monday day 5 dad and I went with Rod to do some fishing in the Uintas, Rod introduced us to a very cool area that had many feisty brookies, which I will visit again. The scenery of the Uintas is incredible, I knew my dad would love it and he did.

No BBQ that night, we went out to dinner to Texas Roadhouse, they have a gluten free menu for my mom to choose from, it was fun to drop the kids off and go on a double date with my parents and Isaac. Tuesday day 6 we went to the Hogle Zoo, Julie got lost following me, and we got all confused, didn't make the bird show, but we had fun chasing the kids around looking at everything. That afternoon I took my Dad, Jake, and Eli to Cabelas, those boys will talk your ear off, holy smokes they kept us entertained. My Dad got the things he needed, plus a bunch of stuff for us, 2 fishing poles, a very nice heavy duty french fry cutter, and water toys for the kids. Got home to some yummy dinner, and Mom and Julie had just about completed a new comforter for Julie and I, it turned out great. Wednesday today I got up very early and took my parents to the airport. Coming home wasn't easy, good thing it is only less than 10 minutes to get home! Julie had waken up because Jake was crying already about missing grandma and grandpa. Took my time getting ready for work, coming to work was hard, I called Julie as soon as I could and both Emily and Jake where crying, sad about grandparents leaving.

Mom and Julie making our flannel quilt

Grandparents and grandkids

This vacation was so much fun, it was perfect! The things planned mixed with relaxation was just right. My parents played, cuddled, teased, and involved my children with everything. Emily got very spoiled with many little gifts and much attention, Jake and Eli had a couple more sets of eyes watching them, and more people to play with. One of the nights we watched the movie Forever Strong on Netflix, it is about the Highland Rugby team, a very good movie. I had not yet seen it, there where many father son themes in it, which effected my father greatly. My thought was the way my Dad is now treating my children is what matters most to me, and it was so awesome to watch my Dad with all 4 kids, the way he treated them, held them, and talked with them was so precious. Eli sitting on grandpa watching TV, grandpa holding Isaac, playing with Jake in the pool, made me forget of the shortcomings I saw in my father growing up. So hard to see my parents leave, my Dad being a dad and an awesome grandpa, my mom being a fun grandma and showing us all how much she loves us and showering us all with gifts.

We cannot wait to go to NH next year, we will not wait three years to see grandma and grandpa DeYoung, my kids won't allow it!