Where the Sagebrush Grows

Our trek home was hard, in many ways. First, it was a whole lot easier doing this pre-baby. The drive was SO much longer this time around, and it's not a great drive to begin with. Second, it was such a fast trip, we didn't have time to visit all of our long-lost friends and show off the babe. We don't have a lot of vacation built up, so with two full days of driving, one day of graduation festivities, and throw in Mother's Day, that was our whole weekend. To all of our friends in the promised land, we are coming home again the beginning of July for an actual vacation. We will be staying a whole lot longer and plan on seeing every single one of you! And finally, being home made us seriously homesick. That, with the awful drive, kind of made us never want to come to where the sagebrush grows again, or just never leave it again, in my opinion. :)

That being said, we are really happy we got to do it, short as it was. There were so many firsts for Evan, and that was a lot of fun for us.

Evan got to meet his Great-Grandma Green, Nate's grandma, and he sure was happy about it. We always have a great visit with Grandma Green. She lives in Ephraim, and even when we lived in Utah, we didn't get to see her a lot. But Evan got a kick out of her belly dancing stories, as we always do.He got to hang out with Pop (my grandpa), which is always a good time.
And snuggle with his Great-Gram Betty.
Evan FINALLY got to meet Aunt Mandy. She is completing her PhD in Texas, and we were thrilled she was able to get up to my mom's the same time we were. It had been a long time since Nate and I had seen her, and Evan always loves spending time with his aunts, especially when it's one he's never seen before!
Our buddy Trayson was very excited to see Evan and Nate. I'm sure glad those two are on my team, so he'll like me, too. :)
This is as we were pulling into Cache Valley, where Nate and I lived, heading to his graduation. Oh, there is really just no greater feeling than this place for us. Nate and I would live in Logan for the rest of our lives if we could.
After graduation, it was onward and upward to Preston, Idaho to spend time with the Fuller clan. It was a beautiful weekend and perfect for time at the park.
Evan's first swing ride!
As Fuller's love to do, we played a lot of frisbee. It was a blast! My sister-in-law Katie and I had fun playing the favorites while our father-in-law was in charge of 500. Maybe he just felt bad for us up against his two giant sons! :)
These are The Wellsville mountains again in Cache Valley. Only those that live in this valley, then leave for some time and return, can fully comprehend what I mean when I say no words can describe how good it feels to be there again.
This is MY beautiful mountain in North Ogden, Mt. Ben Lomond. That's right, it's mine. This pic was taken from my parents driveway. This is what I grew up with! And I took a whole lot of pictures of it while we were there. Can you tell what we've missed most (aside from family of course)? I've always loved the mountains, but living in the desert sure does make you appreciate them even more. I just kept saying to Nate the whole trip, "Oh, just look at those mountains. I miss my mountains." Why would anyone NOT want to live here?
Aunt Stacey bonding with Evan. I think they were trying to see who could make bigger eyes.
We had an awesome Mother's Day BBQ at my mom's, and Evan got to spend more time with his wonderful Great's.
As Taggart's love to do, there was some good basketball playin'.
Grandma Susan discovered Evan loves to play Peek-A-Boo. Turns out, he just loves to hear the word, Boo! He thinks his Grandma is so funny.
All of the Taggart cousins together for the first time. I loved every minute of it.
Evan got to wear his favorite outfit from Aunt Mandy. Does that look like a giraffe or a zebra to you?Here is Aunt Stacey is trying to teach Evan why construction signs are so cool. He doesn't seem to get it. Don't worry, little man, one day Trayson will teach you all you need to know.
Me-n-Manda
All us girls with our Mama, celebrating Mother's Day.
Our own family pic on my first Mother's Day.
Me and my beautiful boy. I'm so in love with him.
He makes being a mom pretty dang awesome.
And all too quickly, we went from our lovely deseret to our barren desert that is Ridgecrest. (sigh)