Developmental Specialist and My Trip to Utah

Did you know that July 19th is DOLE Whip Day?! When I heard that I told Josh we HAD to go get some from the local fro-yo shop. It was a lot better than I thought it would be, but it doesn't even compare to Disney! I can't wait until December and I can get some real DOLE Whip.

I bought these awesome gymnastic pads for the family room so Theo can freely roam around and we can protect our rug. For some reason, Theo likes to leave the comfy mats and hang out on the hard floor. When he gets bored I try to bribe him to come back on the mats.

They are a couple inches high, so it's a lot work!

Come on, Theo!

Will Beat-Bo motivate you?!

Rolly Ball FTW!

Fear the Deer! Bucks win the NBA Championship! I was bummed when my Lakers lost to the Suns, but we decided to root for the Bucks and I'm very happy they won! BUT I'm counting on the Lakers to win next year 🙂

On Wednesday, July 21st, Theo and I headed down to Peoria to see the Developmental Specialist APN, Anne. 

While Anne and I caught up on everything Theo laid on the exam table and listen to his music. Every so often he would put his music down, roll over, look at Anne, and say "dadada dada dadadada." He would then roll back over and continue listening to his music. He did this multiple times and it was cracking us up! I think he just really wanted to be part of the conversation. Such a sweet boy! After Anne and I talked, she did a physical examination. She said that Theo is looking great, but he is due for new AFOs and SMOs. He is a growing boy!

On Thursday, July 22nd, I got up super early and drove to Midway so I could catch my flight to SLC, Utah.

[I was walking so much through the airports that my watch kept asking me if I wanted to record a workout. The new SLC airport is HUGE!]

My old Salt Lake roommate, Lisa, picked me up from the airport and we headed to Cafe Rio for lunch and then to Crave for cookies and soda. It was so fun to catch up with her and I'm bummed we were not able to spend more time together. 

[THE MOUNTAINS!]

Lisa then drove me to Lehi where I met up with my college roommate, Lacey! I haven't seen her since she got married and had a baby, so it was fun to meet her husband and Rosie. Next, Lacey, Rosie, a I headed down to BYU to walk around campus. It has changed so much since I was there, but it is still so familiar. We went to the Library and down into the areas where we spent so much time studying. 

Thanks for hanging out with me, Lacey! It was so nice to meet your little family!

Lacey then drove me to In-n-Out in Orem where I met up with Luke, Andie, Porter, and Kenna! 

[Hamburger, no onions, add pickles, fry-well, chocolate shake, and a lemonade]

It was so fun so hang out with Luke and Andie, but I was just beyond excited for some classic CA food! 😬

That night I FaceTimed with Theo and Josh and Theo had a big surprise for me! He got a haircut! I love his long fluffy hair, but he looks so grownup with short hair!

The next morning, July 23rd, I picked up Luke and we headed to Kneaders for some classic French toast. 

That afternoon we went to cousin Michelle's house for a Woody and Gladys Stringam Family Reunion. We had 48 out of the 68 relatives there! It was so fun to catch up with everyone. I can't believe I haven't seen most of them in 6 years.

It was HOT, but Michelle was on it! We had popsicles and the kids stayed cool with a water balloon fight.

[Family!]

Thanks Michelle for reaching out and sending me an extra invitation! It was so fun!

The next morning (July 24th) Luke and I went to breakfast at Einstein Bagels and then we went back to their apartment to watch the Olympics. It happened to be mens cycling, so I was excited to see a lot of the guys I had gotten to know during the 21 days of the Tour de France. After the race, I headed to meet Emily at J Dawgs. Even though we MarcoPolo nearly everyday, I haven't seen her in person since September 2019. I loved our long chat and I hope I can go and see her and Katey in Vegas in the fall! 

After J Dawgs, we headed to the BYU Creamery to meet up with Luke, Andie, Porter, and Kenna. On the way there I mentioned how I needed some Creamery Ranch, but I didn't want to buy a whole bottle of it. Luckily, they had these carrots and ranch in the display next to the chocolate milk! WIN!

After having our creamery treats we walked over to BYU campus and strolled through the buildings while Kenna took a nap in her stroller. It was a bit steamy, but we saw a turtle, so it was fine!

That night we went to dinner at CPK and watched some more of the Olympics.

Thanks to Luke, Andie, Porter, and Kenna for hanging out with me all weekend and for taking me to the airport. See you all in December!

I know everyone was pretty disappointed that Josh and Theo didn't come with me (I was too). But it's so hard to travel with Theo. I know that Josh and Theo had a fun "Guys Weekend" without me!

Funny stuff: