Miss Utah (Solo trip)!

Back in June, my little sister competed in the Miss Utah Pageant! It was amazing, and the best part is that I got to BE THERE for it! It was all thanks to Jordan, who coordinated everything and watched all the babies to make it happen. It was my first solo trip since Holland was a baby, and it was SO fun!! 

I can't even tell you how crucial it is for moms to take a break. It might not be a long getaway, but even a night out can do so much good for your mental health. So this trip was just amazing for me!

But my gosh, it was SO hard to leave my boys. I mean just look at them.

They are the sweetest ever.

But as much as I missed my babies, it was amazing to be there to support my sister in Miss Utah. She did SO amazing, and it was just so cool to be part of the whole experience. Also it was fun to hang out with my family... who I hardly ever get to see!! It was great to catch up.

But let me back up. I flew into Utah super late at night, so I crashed hard once I got to my parent's house. The next day, my sister Sydney (who flew in from AZ) and I tackled our first priorities: FOOD. Because obviously!! 

(We were bummed Whit couldn't come with us on any of our adventures since she was with her Miss Utah peeps all week, but we still had fun!)

First stop: Orange Peel! If you've never had a smoothie from here, you're missing out. It is SO GOOD. Then we headed over to one of our childhood favorite places, Taco Amigo, to meet up with our mom and aunts for lunch. It was so fun to see them and catch up! (Also, now I really want Taco Amigo. I think I'm hungry. Haha)

^YUMMMM^

^This pregnant girl was SO happy to have her Taco Amigo craving filled! Haha^

Later on, we got ready for a night of pageant fun! It was Whitney's night to do her talent, and we were so excited to hear her sing on stage. (Spoiler alert: She ROCKED it. She's amazing!)

We drove up to Salt Lake, and stopped at Settebello for pizza with family before we headed over to Capitol Theater. 

^Mom, Grandma, me, and Syd!^

After the pageant, we got to hang out with Whit for a minute before she headed back with the other contestants. She did SO well, and we were all so proud of her!!

Such a fun first night!!

And meanwhile, back at the ranch...

My boys were hanging out and having a blast with daddy!!

But holy cow, there's some serious mom guilt when you leave your babies. Lucky for them, they have the coolest dad in the world who kept them busy with fun adventures while I was gone. He really is the best!

****

The next day, we ran some errands and went to lunch at one of my FAVORITE places on the planet, Cafe Rio. Oh my gosh, I miss it here in Kentucky so much!! It's seriously heaven on a plate in a tin.

^Happiness^

YUM. It is the best!!

Later that night, we got ready for another round of Miss Utah!

The pageant had this electric energy about it, and every night was just a blast to get to watch. I cheered so loud that I lost my voice! haha. So much fun.

^Waiting to see our girl at Capitol Theater!^

Whit did so great, and it was so fun to see her for a little bit again afterwards. She was rocking it, but the poor girl was exhausted. Miss Utah is no joke! The contestants work SO hard!!

They put on such a great show. (And I'm biased, but Whit was my favorite of the group!)

^sisters^

^Whit with her cute little Miss!^

We were all starving afterwards, so we walked over to Brio for dinner with some friends...at like 10:30 at night. Haha. We closed the place down!

But holy cow, it was seriously the best meal EVER. I got the grilled salmon with roasted balsamic vegetables...and I still dream about it. It really was amazing. Such a great way to end the night!

(I'll skip over the part where we got a flat tire after this on the way home...at midnight...and had to pull over into a parking lot with a large homeless population to fix it. We didn't get home until almost 2 am. Such a crazy night! haha)

^bro & sis^

^Life changing^

The next day was the final day of Miss Utah! While Whitney and my parents went to a breakfast for all of the contestants, Syd and I went to Cubby's for lunch! Then afterwards, we picked up our brother, Tanner, and got some of our favorite treat-- Nielson's Frozen custard!

(...I'm just now realizing how much this post is centered around food. Which is a perfect representation of the trip, so I guess it works out! haha.)

^So cute!^

^BBQ steak sandwich & bleu cheese buffalo fries. YUM.^

^Goobers^

Later, we headed up to Salt Lake for FINALS night of Miss Utah!!

Woo hooooooo!!

^Ready to cheer our guts out!^

Whitney did awesome, as usual!! The pageant finale was so fun to watch, and it made it even better that Whit's best friend WON!

We were mostly just happy that we got to bring Whit home with us that night, and we could hang out like normal sisters for a second before Syd and I had to head back home. We missed that girl!

^Cheering squad^

^Love her!^

Whit did SO AMAZING. I am so happy I could be there to watch her compete!! It was so fun, and it was so awesome to watch her shine on stage. She really is so talented. 

The next day was Sunday, so we got ready for church. Syd and I hung up a cute little sign with some cupcakes to tell Whit how proud we were of her.

It was also Father's Day, and it was so good to be able to be in Utah to celebrate it with my dad. We had all of the siblings there, so it was really special.

(We had celebrated "fake Father's Day" for Jordan in Kentucky the week before, since I would be gone on the actual day. See more of those celebrations, here!)

^Tanner had just rolled out of bed...and we forced him to do a photo shoot with us. We're good sisters like that. Haha!^

^Siblings^

It was so good to be there with my fam for Father's Day, and to support my cute sister in Miss Utah. Oh, and to eat all the foods!! Haha.

Jordan is the absolute best for making it happen. I seriously lucked out with him.

What a great trip!!