Here we go, on our way to our Summer of Utah Fun.

Before we left we decided to have a little pre-Father's day celebration. Here are the kiddies all dressed up for the big day.
After we ate a hearty breakfast we packed up the kids and headed out on the road. We drove for 10 hours and the kids did fabulously. After stopping in Twin Falls for the night we set out again and were able to meet up with Lori Whiting and her family. They were on their way home but our trips overlapped a couple of hours.
I can't believe how much these little ones have grown.


Look how cute all those little kids are!


Here was the last time that Ethan saw Ashley and Angelina. Lori came to help me twice during my pregnancy with the twins, while I was on bed rest. The second time she came I had to go into the hospital the day after she arrived. It made me feel so relieved to know that she was there with Ethan. Mom and Dad Jones came a few days after that (if I'm remembering right) and so they would take turns coming to visit me in Denver and watching Ethan at home.
Even though it was a short visit, I'm so glad we were able to get together.

After we left Lori's brother-in-law's home in Tooele, we drove past the salt flats. I have never seen the water level so high before. We took an hour and a half detour and ran out to the Great Salt Lake by the old Saltair.






And a little side note about Saltair. The Jones family has quite the history regarding this cool place. Mom Jones wrote me an email with their stories and how so many of their relatives' lives intersected.


Mom Jones' Grandfather Kramer (on her mother's side) was one of the first train conductors to ride out to Saltair when it opened. He was a relatively young man at the time. Grandma Kramer also used to sunbathe out there before she met Grandpa Kramer. They both have their pictures up at Saltair living the single life.

Dad Jones' Father, Grandpa Jones used to have a rollerskating show that he held up on the stage during the Great Depression. He was a professional rollerskater and I've seen one trophy that he won in a competition once.

Grandpa Jones rode on the roller coaster on its virgin ride after Saltair was rebuilt the second time. She said that she watched them test the roller coaster with sandbags put into it and when it made it around safely she was the first group who went on the next ride.

Everyone in Mom Jones' family both sides of grandparents, parents, and children would go to Saltair to swim.

Mom helped me out with all the details and in her email she added some more history that I think is interesting. Her is an excerpt of her email.

History: Saltair burned down in 1925 and was then rebuilt. The roller-skating area (Hippodrome) was burned down. G-pa Jones was born in 1904 and performed rollerskating acts in the Hippodrome. The roller coaster was built in the early 1920's and wasn't burned in the fire. Saltair burned down again in 1931. (and then again, and then again)

G-ma Speakman and G-pa Speakman (my parents) used to go out to Saltair to dance on the "largest dance floor in the world."

Saltair was closed during World War II.

Mom Scribner used to also go to the Saltair to go sunbathing when she was a teenager. I told her that she probably crossed paths with Mom Jones without ever knowing it. And I'm betting they wore the same outfit to the lake. :)

That was a fun, refreshing stop before we made it the last hour to Mom's house in Payson. The next day was the start of the reunion and I still have a million pictures to go through.