Utah Trip: Friends and Family

It was so much fun to realize how many friends and family members we have in Utah. This trip, we decided to see everyone we could. We saw lots of family, including Grandma Rasmussen (and the rest of the Rasmussen clan, stay tuned for that in a THIRD post); my Uncle John who very kindly put us up for four nights; my dad's cousin and mom's dear friend Janet Calder; my adorable cousins Sally and Amy who just happened to be out visiting their mom the same week we were in town; and my aunt Bonnie and cousin Barb. Whew! And that's just a fraction of who lives out there. Next time we need to catch the rest of the Bryner clan.

We also saw various friends from different times in our lives. Most of these folks we hadn't seen in 8-10 years, but it was like it had only been a week. I guess it's true that true friendships stand the test of time. We saw our friends Roger and Angee from grad school days (who both look EXACTLY the same, by the way), and our girls bonded over the fact that they were both born at the University of Michigan hospital. I also got to see some old roommates: Jamie, April, and Lyndy from Campus Plaza days (those are April's adorable twins in the corner. Each of these amazing ladies has a set of twins!! Then why do I look the most tired?), and Jill and Cheri from the Riv (we missed you, Maren!).

You may have noticed that I am wearing the same shirt (in two different colors) in every picture. Yes, I do own more than two shirts, but I happen to love these ones. The Tar-jhay clearance rack is my friend, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

We spent a fun evening with Erik's old roommate Sam and his cute family. We had FHE and played at the park. The men played tennis, and the kids bounced balls and ran through the sprinklers. Our girls are the same age, yet Sam and Shauna are expecting #5. Between them and all the twins (not to mention Lyndy's 8 kids), we started feeling a little bit behind. Then I remembered I can barely make it through the day with my emotions and my childrens' limbs intact and realized, maybe we're good for now. I love this picture of Ben in the swing.