please move up here, mom and dad

When we moved up to Utah, my dad told me I'd be lucky if they made it up once a year.

Last Saturday, they returned from their second trip so far this year.

Good thing they miss me so much.  [Read: Good thing they miss Ellie so much.]

We had all kinds of fun adventures whilst they were here.  Daily soda runs, walks around the neighborhood, a trip to Golden Spike, a hike, and a trip up to Idaho.  Not to mention watching The Croods and countless episodes of Studio C.  Oh, and all the food.  Let's never forget all the food.

They got here on Mother's Day, and I tried my hand at making a floral arrangement:

Not too bad for my first time, right?  [Right?  Right, Mom?]  JK, I could tell she wasn't very impressed.  I have as much artistic ability in my entire body as she does in her pinky finger.  But she was nice about it.  Reminded me of the time when I was about five when my grandma asked me to sing for her.  Wow, Katie, that was so...nice.  [But she never asked me that again.  Can't imagine why.]

Remember how I just wrote an entire post about going to the Golden Spike Historical Site?  I took my family there just a few days later.  My dad and brother are history buffs [read: nerds] and I knew they'd enjoy it.

Made the big bro take a picture with me and everything:

And sometimes I make my parents take pictures together, too.

We tried, in vain, to find a hike near Golden Spike, but all the private land makes for very few trails.

The next day, however, we went on a tried and true hike up Willard Canyon.  Or maybe it's called Perry Canyon.  I'm not really sure.  Either way, it's a beautiful hike with a beautiful view.

Ellie really wanted to be held, as you can see:

And kissed...

Oh, sure, be good for Dad...

Last time my parents visited, I was just recovering from surgery.  This time, I got whatever nasty virus Ellie'd had the week prior.  I tried not to be too lame this time, but we did make a quick stop off at the doctors office - just to make sure.  Thankfully, I had quite a bit of energy most of the time, but my throat hurt like the dickens.

On Thursday, we headed up to the McGregor Family Farm in Idaho.  It's where my grandpa (on my mom's side) grew up, and his nephews still run the place.  I've only been up twice before, but in my memories it will always be a magical place.

Ellie looooved all of the animals and spent pretty much the entire time saying things like "quack quack" and "woof woof."

This is the house my grandpa grew up in.  They don't use it anymore because it's become infested with bats, but it has so much sentimental value that they just haven't had the heart to tear it down yet.

My mom's cousin Craig had all kinds of fun stories for us.

It was a great trip.  We ate out three times, if that tells you anything.  The only thing that would have made it better was if my grandma, aunt, and uncle could have come like they'd been planning!  My grandma said she had shingles.  Such a drama queen, that one.  Just kidding, Grandma!  You get better, ya hear!

Mom and Dad, if you moved up here, I wouldn't even be mad.