Too much food.

The first words that came to mind thinking about our trip to Utah.

Seriously, though. Still full.

But also: laughter, beauty, nostalgia, happiness, frustration and a little bit of heartache all rolled into one big group hug.

We stayed up too late. Woke up too early. Made too many dirty jokes. Enjoyed the scenery. Enjoyed the company. The chaos felt good.  We wore sweatshirts. Took a little hike. Stayed busy, while really doing nothing at all.  We see our lives and ourselves transform a little each year.  A little older, a little…wiser? Maybe? To hear my youngest brother talk about buying a house and being a grown up!  Getting older is some trippy shit. I’m so glad we can all still seem to make the most of our short time together.

Though there was no lack of people around, my brother and sister-in-law were sorely missed. Especially after just seeing Mika a couple weeks ago, I really longed to spend more time with them – all of us goofy siblings under one roof.

Stevie had a great trip and an awful trip, depending on what we were doing at the moment that you asked. He especially enjoyed jumping on the trampoline with the big kids and playing at “Enna House”. He hasn’t stopped telling me everyone’s names because he misses them.  And, as usual, he LOVED driving his cousin Jorel crazy. To the point that we just stopped intervening and let them work out their ridiculous differences, watching from behind stifled giggles. When they did get along though, I’d say it was a magical little moment.

We ended our visit with a ride around the yard on Papa Ron’s tractor. It was so adorable and so Utah, I accidentally took too many pictures. And Paul got his first tractor driving lesson. Kid in a candy store I tell ya.

We collapsed into bed around 2am and today we jump right back into it.  But I leave you with this thought: How the h-e-double hockey sticks is it December already?