Wrapping Up Utah

May 2026

A Few More Utah Moments

Wrapping up a few odds and ends from our Utah trip...

Aubrey and I were at Deseret Book when we randomly ran into my dear friend Thelma Lou. It was so unexpected and so fun! We visited animatedly—and quickly—for about 15 minutes before we had to part ways. We both knew the odds of having a real catch-up session on this trip were pretty low, but as we said goodbye, Thelma said something like, “Really, just reach out if you have a little window. Maybe we can make this work!”

And we did.

I double-texted her the next morning (even though her phone was on Do Not Disturb) and told her I had about an hour and could head her way if she was available. She got ready for church in record time, and drove to Pleasant Grove. We ended up having the best visit, of course, because she is awesome. 

Me & Thelma Lou-in 1991 in our BYU dorm.

Did we think to take a picture together? Sadly, no. However, here is a little Chat GPT image...kind of fun.

I LOVE her and will be eternally grateful that we were randomly paired as roommates our freshman year at BYU. What are the odds that all these years later, we would randomly run into each other at Deseret Book in American Fork and somehow squeeze in an hour together on a very full weekend? I'm so glad we made it work.

We were also able to spend some time with our Gwilliam family while we were in town. Bruce and Denise invited us over for Sunday dinner, and because we ate outside, it worked perfectly with baby Cal. Walking into their house felt like home. They are always so welcoming. Denise always says, “The Gwilliam Hotel is always available! Come anytime.”

Bruce and Brian 

And I have definitely taken her up on that lately! I had already stayed with them twice in the past few months—once in January for Brinley’s baby shower and again in March when Cal was born. I’m so grateful to have family who genuinely makes you feel like they are happy to have you there.

Again...wish I would have thought to take a group picture, but here is what I have.

It was adorable watching these three play together all evening.

Grace, Kaide, & Emma

Brian, Aubrey, and I were also able to stop by Keith and Kristen’s house on Monday. It was really fun to see their home, visit for a bit, and hear what all their kiddos are up to. Brian will be back in Utah in just a few weeks for Connor’s wedding.

Keith, Kristin, Brian and me

Here are a few other pictures from our trip I didn't want to leave out.

In our family group chat, I sent out directions to the canyon site and thanked Derek for scouting it out and going up early...that when the girls (Aub and Erin G) got a little sassy.😜

While we are on the thank you and AI train...Grandpa sent this which is a throwback to when I first told Brian I loved him and his response was "thank you." And I still do love this guy so much (and he is still a very polite young man....who tell me he loves me too.)

One night Tanner and Brian were discussing politics. Tanner gets loud when he has opinions to share. Brian wasn't backing down. There was only one main living area and their discussion cleared the room. Pretty soon Erin sent this to the group chat. We loved it. 

Derek made it even better with the hand placement. 

Brian and I are going to miss this little guy. We are glad we will get to see him in July when we have a family vacation in Colorado.

And we feel very blessed that this other little (big) guy lives just a couple of miles away.

And that pretty much wraps up our little Utah trip.

It was a really good one. I especially loved that we were all able to be together for two pretty special family milestones—Aubrey receiving her endowment and Calvin’s baby blessing. Add in lots of family, old friends, good food, beautiful weather, and time together, and it was exactly the kind of trip I love.

Cal's Blessing Day

May 3, 2026

Baby Cal’s blessing day was such a nice day. We were able to meet up with the Atkinson family, and Derek gave Cal a beautiful blessing. It was wonderful to be there with our kids and grandkids for such a special day for our new little grandbaby. 

This was actually Cal’s first big outing. On his doctor’s recommendation, Brinley and Derek had been keeping him away from larger gatherings and so they weren't able to invite extended family in the area to the blessing, but they were grateful to be able to have it at their ward and slip out right after sacrament meeting.

Afterward, we met at the stake pavilion for lunch and spent about a couple of hours visiting and playing out on the field. There was frisbee tossing, lots of playing with Kaide and Swayze, and even a little brotherly competition as the boys lined up for races to settle who was the fastest.

We really like Derek’s family. They are easy to talk to, down-to-earth, and kind. We feel very lucky that this is the family Brinley married into and the people we get to share our grandkids with.

It was a happy day celebrating sweet little Cal.

Grandpa snapping a quick (illegal?) shot of the row.

Grandpa Vore, Parker, Erin, Tanner, Kaide, Aubrey, Bri, me (Erin), Brinley w/ Cal, Derek, Colleen, Thayne, Brandon, Taylor, Swayze, Chris, & Kaitlyn

Kaide checking out photos from our trip.

Bryn's sister-in-laws getting to know each other a bit.

He's very loved.

A Beautiful Day in the Canyon

May 2, 2026 

Saturday was our canyon day, and the weather was amazingly perfect.

Erin & Kaide

Derek and Brinley had gone up a couple of weeks ahead of time and scouted out a great spot, South Fork Park, up Provo Canyon. Derek went up early that morning to stake save our spot and get a fire going before the rest of us arrived.

Grandpa purchased delicious Great Harvest sandwiches, and we brought chips, drinks, and stuff for s’mores, of course.

Derek, Aubrey, Tanner, Grandpa & Park

Bri w/ Cal

Some of our Vore cousins were able to join us too. Joseph and Kate came with their baby, Wells, who was just adorable, and Lauron and her boyfriend, Ryan, were able to come too. It was so nice to spend some time with those guys. The Vore cousins were my kids closest friends growing up.

Joseph, Kate, Wells & Aub

La & Ryan

Mostly, it was just such a beautiful, relaxing day.

We visited around the campfire, explored the trail up the mountain, played in the spring, and the young adults played Frisbee and Spikeball. The weather could not have been better—sunny and 60 degrees. Back home in Odessa, we’d been living on and off in the 100s since March. The Worst. So sitting outside in the sunshine with temperatures in the 60s, and laying on the soft, fresh grass, felt especially wonderful.

Derek & Cal w/ Tanner & Bri in the background

It took a bit, but then Kaide embraced the stream! (We literally don't have anything like this for hundreds of miles.)

 There wasn’t really an agenda. We just enjoyed being outside together. 

Bryn, Bri & Calvin

Park, Grandpa & Joseph 

Me with Wells (Blogger is being difficult w/ photo spacing below...)

Spike Ball fun, Bryn, Derek, Erin & Tan

Derek, Aub, Tan & Erin

My baby boys (Poor Park just didn't feel well-sinus infection.)

Erin, Aub, Park, Derek & Bryn

Kaide and I spent a lot of time together exploring the river.

Park & Kaide are good buds.

We eventually headed back and spent the afternoon with everyone separating and hitting some Utah stops they were interested in. (BYU, hobby shops, Swig, Deseret Book etc.) We ended the day with dinner out, hanging out, and games.

Tan cans fam headed to campus.  Kaide’s ALL about BYU

We went to a few different places in the area for dinner and then met back up w/ those eating here-can't remember the custard shop name. Tanner (always so thoughtful) switched tables so Grandp & I would be part of a group.

It was such a good day and made our Utah trip really feel more like a family vacation.

All Together in Utah—Day One and Two

April 30 and May 1, 2026 

Thursday was our first day of vacation in Utah, and it was so fun to have Grandpa Vore join us. We had rented a nice Airbnb in Lehi with several rooms, a beautiful backyard that had a basketball court, and in-ground trampoline, and a playground. It ended up being the perfect place for everyone to hang out during all the little pockets of downtime.

We quickly dubbed the house “Utah”—and then eventually “the Utah house.” 

That name came about the night before. Tanner and his family had just made it inside after their 18-hour drive when we decided to go back out for dinner. As we were getting ready to leave, Kaide started panicking and was nearly in tears.

“I don’t want to leave Utah!”

Poor little guy was SO confused. We had to explain that we weren’t actually leaving Utah—we were just leaving the house to go eat dinner—and promise him that we would come right back to “Utah” afterward.

It became the Utah house for the rest of the trip.

Before we moved in and made ourselves at home!

Brian, my dad and I arrived a few hours before everyone else and ate in SLC and checked out the temple renovations. Temple Square was closed down and reopening two weeks after we left—darn our bad timing. The Salt Lake City temple will have a huge open house next April-October and then be rededicated. I hope we will be able to go to the open house.

Parker was apparently otherwise occupied—either buying a new suit or making a trip to the doctor. Both happened during dinner at some point on this trip, but I can’t remember which night was which.

Friday morning started with something really special—Aubrey received her endowment at the Saratoga Springs Temple. It was such a beautiful way to begin our first full day together.

Grandpa Vore, Parker, me, Brinley, Aubrey & Brian (A big thanks to Tanner and Erin for helping with baby Cal)

I loved being in the temple with Aubrey.

I was grateful that three of Aubrey's friends were able and willing to come support her as she went through the temple for the first time.

Cassidy, Aubrey, Brooke and Decklan

Afterward, we made a quick surprise stop to say hi to Joseph, who works from home and see him and Kate's new house. We also got to peek in on baby Wells and see Lauron, who babysits while Joseph and Kate are at work.  

Then we went to lunch with a few of Aubrey’s friends and Erin’s MISSIONARIES! Matthew McDonald and Nate Quilter—two missionaries whom we all love and who will always have a special place in our family. ❤️

McDonald and Quilter came back to the Utah house afterward, and we spent some time throwing the football and playing b-ball in the backyard. (Mostly Tanner and Kaide spent that time with them. They are all good friends from the time they spent together in Odessa. Parker wasn't feeling great, and the rest of us hung out some and then napped. Derek was working on Friday and Brinley made the back and forth trip to their apartment in Orem.)

Later that afternoon, everyone cleaned up and got ready for family pictures (always an adventure—I posted about it here.), followed by dinner out.

I am glad someone snapped these candid shots while we were finishing up pictures--they're fun.

Temple, missionaries, family time, good food, and good friends—it was a pretty great first full day of vacation.