Brianhead 2009

Prepare yourself for lots of pictures because we just back from our annual Turner family vacation and we had loads of fun! This year's destination: Brianhead Ski Resort.

Given the fact that we live in the desert, and it's the end of July, the last thing we expected to see was a massive hail storm. But that's what we got as we passed over the mountain pass between Baker and Las Vegas. It was crazy! We had near white-out conditions, and marble size hail slamming into our car. People were pulled over on the side of the roads and everything. I've never seen anything like it. I'm glad Kevin was the one driving.

The drive was fairly smooth, considering the fact that 3/4 of our family hates road trips. Thank goodness for DVD players and lollipops - I don't know what we'd do without them.

Brianhead was absolutely beautiful! With temperatures in the mid-70's, and the occasional brief rainstorm, we thought we were in heaven. We spent most of our time outside - playing basketball, baseball, volleyball, horseshoes, steal the flag, etc. We loved every minute of it.

KateLyn came up with an awesome treasure hunt for the kids. That crazy group of kidlets ran all over the place, as the adults trailed slowly along. They loved it - especially the jackpot at the end. So fun!

We tie-dyed t-shirts.

And spent lots and lots (and lots!) of time swimming. I think the pool was the main attraction.

We got to celebrate another anniversary of Aunt Priscilla's 29th birthday, where Hannah was clearly the biggest fan of the chocolate cupcakes.

And we went on this beautiful nature walk / hike. It was absolutely gorgeous, with all of the wildflowers and the fresh dew all over the place.

Normally we have to bribe Kyle to even walk around the block with us. But get him with 14 other buddies and he'll enjoy every minute of it.

We had quite a few comments as our long trail of people would pass other smaller groups. But at one point we passed another family of 25 or so. Where else would that happen but in Utah?

One of the highlights was driving down to Tuacahn to see a show. We actually saw "Annie," not "Footloose," but this picture was so hilarious I couldn't leave it out. The show was amazing - we all loved every minute of it.



On our last day, we decided to drive an extra hour in the opposite direction to see Cove Fort. What a great decision - it ended up being another vacation favorite. Thank you to Rob & Sherstine for letting us tag along!!!

They had so many interesting things to see and fun things for the kids to do. Kevin & I decided that's where we want to serve our mission someday. After we serve some of the proseletyzing ones, Kevin says. I think I'd be fine with just Cove Fort!

And finally, on our way home, a stop in St. George. The rediculous weekend traffic in Vegas makes getting home on a Sunday almost impossible. So we decided to stay over in St. George and head home early, EARLY the next morning. And what better place to go visit than the St. George temple?

It was the perfect ending to a great vacation. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than with family.