Chicago Trip (By Janelle)

Visiting Chicago was seriously so fun and such an awesome experience! Me (Janelle), Jared, Jenna, and Dad all went. We started out by heading to the Vegas airport bright and early at 3:00 am on Thursday, October 14th. That was also my birthday, and if waking up at three isn’t the best present ever, I don’t know what is! We flew to Chicago and got there around noon, and then took a train called the Blue Line to downtown Chicago. There was quite the scenery and the buildings were all HUGE! There were so many buildings and the architecture was super well done. We walked down to the hotel and dropped some stuff off and then walked to a restaurant called Portillos. It was really good, we had Italian beef sandwiches that you dip in gravy, and they have cake blended into a shake! It was bomb.

After that we walked to lots of different places like the church they have there, the bean (which was super cool but my dad announced that it was my birthday and at least 100 people started singing to me), and a bunch of other parks. It was super cool. We also walked down by Navy Pier and the view of Lake Michigan was gorgeous. Chicago honestly did a really good job of being a big city but still having clean parks and involving nature. Then we went to Chinatown which was fun! We didn’t stay for very long but bought some souvenirs there which was cool. Then we took the red line back and crashed at the hotel! It was a great day! We did lots of walking (about 9 miles and poor Jenna was complaining for at least 8 of them) and got some super pretty views. 

The next day (Friday, October 15) we got up and ran to the store to get breakfast, and then we were able to go to the Chicago temple! It was really pretty and really good to be there, and this was Jenna’s first time which was exciting. After we went to the temple we went to a restaurant called Giordano's to get some of Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza. It was really good. We had originally been planning to visit six flags on Saturday but decided that we would end up going on Friday night instead. So we chilled at the hotel for a bit and then went to six flags! It was fright fest and super crowded so we didn’t get to ride very many rides, but it was still fun! My favorite that we went on was called Goliath. There weren’t too many scary people around so it wasn’t really a big deal. I don’t like scary people so this was definitely preferable :). Then we went back to the hotel! It was a way fun day!

On Saturday (October 16) Dad had decided he wanted to go to a deaf convention while we were here, so we dropped him off and parked at the church and then walked to the Chicago zoo. We didn’t get to stay super long but it was cool and free which makes it way more cool! We saw zebras, flamingos, monkeys, even snow leopards! And a red panda that was really cute :). When Dad called us saying he was done we headed back to the car to pick him up (Which was quite a ways away so poor dad had to wait for like an hour). Anyway, we picked him up and then we were able to go to the North Side of Chicago and the very edge of the city. It was really cool! It was super diverse and there were so many different languages that were being spoken. Then we went to the Cub Stadium and then we went and got ice cream at a place called Oberweis that was really good and then we got to see Jared’s mission president, President and Sister Shumway. They were really cool people and their goodness just radiated from them. It was super cool to meet them! After that we went back to the hotel! It was a fun day!

On Sunday we spent the day in the south side of Chicago and started out by going to Febbie Shola’s house, who is an awesome Nigerian lady. We couldn’t stay for long because she had to work but she gave us TONS of Nigerian food and a gross soda called Malta. We took it back to the church to eat, it was baked chicken with jollof rice and plantains. It was pretty good! We got to meet Darlene and go to church (and in our free time we went to Obama’s house) and it was really cool! Jared and Darlene were able to share their testimonies in church to fill up time and they were both so powerful. Everyone applauded after Darlene which in itself shows some differences between church here and in St. George haha.

 After church we went to Darlene’s house in the Lowe building and were able to talk to her and hear her conversion story. It was really special, she’s super sweet. She has five children: Sharon, Michael, Goodluck, Goodness, and Goodnews. Gotta love those names! All of the kids were super cute! They also gave us a bunch of Nigerian meat pies, which were actually really good! It was fun to meet with them. Last we visited Abiola and his family, and they were super awesome too! We told them we didn’t need more food, but alas, they still came out with a huge tray of food that we had to eat. They were awesome though and gave dad some traditional Nigerian clothes! It was really cool to meet these people and get a feel for their culture. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Darlene Gaston (one of our favorite people!)

Costa Rica!! Janika and Brandon

(Write up from Janika): Due to COVID we had not one, but two European cruises cancelled.  It was seriously so sad and frustrating, because we really just wanted to go to Europe! We finally decided to schedule an all inclusive resort somewhere because those hadn’t been quite as affected with COVID and it was less likely to get cancelled. After a crap ton of research, we decided to go to the Dreams Las Mareas resort in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The only flights out of SLC (that weren’t $2,000 each) were a flight to somewhere else in the states, an overnight layover, and then flying to the destination, so we had to book a hotel in Dallas and Chicago. On our way there (literally 15 minutes or so before boarding from SLC to Dallas) we figured it would be good to look at the shuttle info with the hotel we booked with so we would know how to get them to come pick us up. After quickly realizing we didn’t have any confirmation emails or charges on any of our credit cards… we panicked because I still to this day SWEAR that I booked a hotel through Kayak. Brandon hurriedly called the one I thought I had booked and they luckily still had room, so we booked it as fast as we could before boarding! That was pretty stressful haha but glad we figured it out.

When we got to Liberia the next day, we had to take an hour and a half shuttle to our resort. Driving through Costa Rica was really interesting. It’s soooo so pretty there, but also not a place I’d ever want to live. I just feel like I never want to live in a place where you feel the need to put bars over all your windows and barbed wire on top of all your fences, ya know? It’s so sad that some areas just aren’t very safe like that. I would probably give the resort a 7.5 out of 10. It was GORGEOUS, huge, and soooo so nice. Very well kept, the staff were so kind, etc. Our room had a balcony with a little tub on it and a jungle view, and we actually saw monkeys in the jungle right from our balcony a few times (we wish it was more though! So cool!) The pools were huge and connected to other pools, and there were three separate pool areas total, so plenty of space for everyone! It definitely didn’t feel crowded. They had five restaurants and a couple of different bars throughout the resort. It was located in a little alcove of jungle right on the beach. I seriously can’t say enough how pretty it was. We spent most of our time reading by the pool and ordering whatever fancy drinks we could think of that didn’t have alcohol. They didn’t have Dr. Pepper (they only had three sodas!) so that was depressing haha.

A few reasons why I would give it a lower rating:

-        The pillows sucked. They have a ‘pillow menu’ that we had to order from to get different ones, which we had to do more than once before they actually came. We ended up ordering all three kinds and weren’t able to get a good night’s sleep on any of them! Maybe we’re just pillow snobs now, it’s a possibility haha.

-        The language barrier was really tough. Most of the staff only spoke very little English, so it was hard to feel like we could turn to them to ask questions about the resort, etc., because it was just so difficult to communicate efficiently. Brandon was able to get by a little better with his bit of Spanish, but I struggled.

-        Going along those same lines, there were so many things we felt we needed to ask about haha so it was doubly difficult. The resort wasn’t very clear on how things are supposed to be done and more, so this led to a whole lot of questions, especially since this was our first all inclusive. There were just so many little minor things that added up to make us feel a little bit frustrated with the whole process.

But overall, despite all of that, it really was so nice. I couldn’t stop marveling at the beauty of it all. We went kayaking on the ocean and it was seriously one of the most peaceful things. We also went on a nature walk (that was actually much more of a nature HIKE. It was honestly pretty difficult for us out of shape people haha. I was having a really hard time with it.) We were hoping to see lots of wildlife on the nature hike but we really didn’t see anything… besides cows. So that was disappointing. Brandon was especially hoping to see a sloth, but no such luck! We were able to see some wildlife on the beach though! We spent a lot of time walking on the beach and collecting pretty seashells (which we later learned we weren’t supposed to take home but we did anyway… oops.) and in the process of that saw some cool animals. We saw a crap ton of sand crabs and hermit crabs of all sizes, they are literally everywhere on the beach! We also saw a big (in comparison to the other crabs) blue crab in the water, as well as some fish that were right up in the shallow area, and even a little sting ray (glad we got out of the way in time for that… I’m going to make a habit of wearing water shoes in the ocean now haha.) I felt really lucky that we got to see all of that since we (I) really wanted to go snorkeling but we were told we couldn’t get snorkel gear from the hotel due to COVID-19. That was such a bummer because we have some here but we didn’t pack it because the hotel said they’d provide it! Oh well. 

Honestly that’s pretty much all we did. Eat, read by the pool, walk on the beach, repeat. It was a fantastic trip, and I loved spending time with my honey!

Bear Lake Beach

The Jensens said that in order to get a spot on the beach at Bear Lake someone had to go right when it opened at 7:00 a.m.! So Craig and some others went early in order to secure a beach area for the family. They set up a big tent area over some tables and another smaller tent and we all brought camping chairs. Our family met up with them around 9:00. (Unfortunately Josh and Jared were not feeling well and so they stayed back the cabin). Apparently they had fun there also, playing ping pong and other games. 

It was still quite cold when we arrived at the beach and I was glad that I had brought a jacket and a blanket! It did warm up an hour or so later though. We had all brought food so that we could eat lunch at the beach. Janika and Brandon were staying at his family cabin in Lake Town and they came and joined us on the North Shore Beach so that we could visit and watch the children play.

Jenna had a blast playing on the beach with her cousins! (Actually all of the cousins are adults now with kids of their own and so they are actually Jenna's first cousins once removed. But it is easier to just say cousins!)  They built sand castles and tunnels with water going through them. As you can see from the pictures of London and Jenna below they also built mermaid tails!  

Craig brought two big paddle boards (the kind you stand or kneel on) and two kayaks. So that was fun for the kids. I went out on the kayak and also the paddle board. The kayak was easier and more fun. I have done paddle boards while standing up before, but it was at the Ivin's Reservoir with no waves. It was more difficult to keep my balance at Bear Lake due to the gentle waves coming in from nearby boats! It was also more tiring than I remembered. Maybe I am just getting old! Grandma Jensen went out on the kayak also-- with Chase nearby on the other boat to watch out for her. Way to go, Grandma!  

Bridgerland Adventure Park

This morning Rick and I went for a walk in the cool morning air. We came back to the cabin to a delicious breakfast which included bacon, eggs, pancakes, and fruit! Then everyone headed to Bridgerland Adventure Park in Garden City! The kids had a blast! Thank you to Grandma Jensen for helping cover the expenses and for Julie for doing the research and helping with the reservations! Unfortunately Jared was still feeling really out of it due to his cold and so he stayed back at the cabin and slept, which is too bad because he would have loved the activities! 

Josh, Jaiden, Janelle, and Brigham did the Aerial Challenge course (ropes course). They all also did the giant slide with tubes. For the slide they were allowed to go down 15 times! Jenna went on the giant swing with Julie and then later she went again with Troy. You can see her reaction when the swing suddenly drops in the picture in the top right corner below! Jenna also had fun going on the tubes along side London and Jhi and the other kids! 

Jenna told me that she wanted to do the huge zip line but I was hesitant because last night she asked me to come watch her go down the big slide in Grandma's back yard and she sat at the top for at least five minutes -- too scared to go down. So you can see my hesitation when she wanted to go down a 2400 foot zip line off of a giant tower! No one was doing the zip line and I wanted her to see someone else go first but no one was on it. She continued to persist and so I finally told her to go ahead -- and she stepped right off the tower with no hesitation at all! Crazy girl! Then after she went there was steady stream of others going on it too!  

Josh, Jaiden, Janelle, Brigham, and many of the other family members did the zip line also. I didn't know that Josh was doing it and didn't hear him yelling at me from the top of the tower and so I felt bad that I missed his big moment and didn't get any pictures or videos of him. I got a video of the three girls though and I did get Josh doing some fancy tricks on the bungee trampoline, including a double back flip!! Jaiden and Janelle got to go on the giant swing also and Josh and Brigham played some mini-golf. I would have liked to go on the zip line also since I like that sort of thing, but I didn't want to buy an extra pass for one activity. All in all it was a fun day and the kids couldn't stop talking about it! 

Josh, Jaiden, Janelle, Brigham, and I were the last ones there. We were there for over three hours! Everyone else had left to go back to the cabin for lunch. Some of the relatives came back and picked up Josh and Brigham and took them to go check out the booths and shops at Raspberry Days while the rest of us went and got some lunch, then Rick and I took a nap! 

Tonight we had a dinner -- macaroni and cheese and brisket. Janika and Brandon headed to the cabin from Logan tonight and arrived during dinner. After dinner Grandma had Jared give sort of a missionary homecoming report/talk. He did a great job (in spite of the fact that he still wasn't feeling well). After his talk he showed several pictures from his mission and then Rick showed everyone the homecoming video he had made with pictures and videos from Jared's mission. We then played a fun game called "Snake Oil." It was a funny game sort of like Apples to Apples -- but more entertaining since everyone had to come up with funny stories to defend their choice of cards. Then we all headed to bed! 

Bear Lake!!

Grandma Jensen had rented out a big cabin at Bear Lake from Thursday night to Sunday morning for the whole family to come stay. Some came for whole time and others only came for part of the time. It was a great idea and a lot of fun. Perhaps Mom and Dad Westra might want to think about doing something like this for all for the Westra family!   

Josh had come down with a cold a couple of days before we left. When Rick went to the train station in Ogden to pick up Jared (after staying with Ryan Dodson at BYU) it was apparent that Jared had gotten Josh's cold (they share a room at home). We were worried about going to the cabin and being around the whole family without having them tested for Covid first. So Rick called Curtis and arranged for them both to get the rapid Covid-19 test. 

Meanwhile Allison texted me and said that they were also having Clarissa (Jenna's best friend) tested in St. George at the same time the boys were being tested up here (hers was the regular test so we wouldn't find out the results for three days). Thankfully all three tested negative. Whew!! So although we were still worried about possibly spreading their cold, we could relax knowing that it wasn't Covid. It did put a damper on the trip for Jared though since he didn't feel well the first two days and pretty much skipped all of the activities and stayed in his room and rested. So that was disappointing! 

Thursday we left in the afternoon after Rick had returned from the clinic with the boys. I stopped in Logan to see Janika at her office. Now I can picture where she is at when she is at work. 

We all arrived in Bear Lake around 4:00. That night they had a delicious meal of Pulled Pork sandwiches and salads. They also had this huge snack table literally covered with snacks -- all sorts of candy, chips, and other junk food! The only thing that tempted me was those caramel corn puffs! Yum! That night everyone pretty much just relaxed. Rick led the family with some charade type games outside. The cabin had a ping pong and Foosball table and other games. 

 

Yellowstone: Janika and Brandon

We had the opportunity to spend a day at Yellowstone while in Island Park, and it was honestly way cooler than I thought it would be! My experience with national parks is just mountains, cool rocks, hiking, etc. In Yellowstone, not only is there a bunch of really cool wildlife that you just don't see every day (buffalo, bears, etc.) but the nature is AMAZING because there's just nothing else like it! If I understood correctly, the entire park is in/on a volcano (if/when it decides to erupt, it will pretty much take out a three state radius on all sides. it's HUGE.)

 Because of the volcano, it creates a really unique environment that leads to cool things like natural geysers, hot pots (that literally boil sometimes, even in the winter - naturally!!) and more. It was definitely my kind of park also because it's big enough that you have to drive from site to site instead of hiking through the whole thing, though we still did quite a bit of walking haha. All in all, it was gorgeous and I was so intrigued by the unique-ness of it all! I would highly recommend taking a trip up there! 

Janika and Brandon in Hawaii

Brandon and I were able to spend Spring Break in Kauai with Brandon's family, and it was a dream! We arrived in Hawaii late Saturday night and got checked into our rooms at the Marriott Resort, and we were there until the next Saturday night. Some of the highlights were as follows:

We went tubing down an old irrigation canal that went through a whole bunch of hand dug caves. It was really cool, and just my type of adventure - mostly slow, steady, and relaxing!

We went biking around Kapa'a on this gorgeous trail along the coast. It was a good reminder of how out of shape we are, but it was fun to see the beauty all around us! We also got the BEST shaved ice at HeeFat General Store, where they had syrups made out of fresh fruit - I would HIGHLY recommend it!

We went to the Smith Family Luau and were able to tour their gorgeous plantation and enjoy the show they put on after dinner.

We went snorkeling at Poipu Beach and surprisingly were able to see a good amount of fish and other sea-life just right off the beach!

We hiked the Na pali Coast, which was a little difficult, not gonna lie. It was a pretty rocky hike and rained for little bit of it, so it was pretty muddy. However, we got some pretty cool views, including seeing some whales breaching way out in the ocean! We finished JUST in time as it started pouring while we ran to the end of the hike.

We went to the Hanapepe Art Night (home town of Lilo and Stitch as Brandon would like to add) for dinner one night and to check out local stores and booths! We were able to get some fresh fruit there, and the mango was incredible! We also wanted to try something new, so we bought an egg fruit... it's exactly what it sounds like. Don't ever eat one.

We also spent lots of time at the pool and on the beach trying to soak up as much sun as we could before coming back to freezing Logan. We ate lots of amazing food (who knew fresh fish could be cooked so well?) and thoroughly enjoyed the warm humid air and gorgeous views everywhere we turned!

Honestly, it was SO nice to just get away and spend time with family! We loved every minute of it and honestly considered moving there haha. Don't worry, I don't think we'd last too long. But we're really excited to go back soon!

Father's Day Flee: 2002

 Sun. 16:  Happy Father’s Day!!  This morning we all slept in until past 8:00.  I’m surprised that I was still able to sleep so long after sleeping so much yesterday.  I felt a ton better today. We all got up and got ready for church and went to a local ward that was about fifteen minutes a way.  We just went to Sacrament meeting.  It was a really good meeting.  Jase was so tired he looked like he would drop off to sleep at any minute.  

We came back to the condo and ate lunch and then put the boys down for a nap. Janika made a big sign that said, “Welcome to Father’s Day Flee!” and hung it on the wall. She just couldn’t wait for the others to arrive.  My mom and dad arrived around 4:30 or so and then Scott and Amy arrived an hour or so later.  We had already started eating our chicken fajita dinner when Scott and Amy got here.  

My stomach must still be sensitive because I felt sick again after eating a big dinner.  There was no one in the office to check in our family members to their condos for a couple of hours. It was a good thing that we had our condo open for them to come to. Grandpa and Scott took all of the kids on a hike and they came back with a couple of caterpillars.  They wanted to get more and so we all went on a little hike to the place where they found them and they filled up little sandwich bags with them.

 Later on I gave my lesson and passed out pictures from the gospel art kit of different stories from the scriptures.  Each of the kids told how the person in their story was choosing the right.  Then we played the game I had made that had different situations and they had to choose with answer would show them “choosing the right” best in that situation. It went well. Then the others checked in to their condos.  Scott and Amy’s is right next to ours and so that has been fun for the kids to run back and forth.  Tonight they were all so hyper and kept running back and forth between condos. Janika ended up sleeping over with Alyssa. Kellen was going to sleep over here with Jase and Jared but he ended up going back to his own condo. We were going to play games with my mom and dad but it was already late by the time we got the kids down.  I didn’t sleep well tonight and felt sick to my stomach.

Mon. 17: I still felt sick this morning and threw up again.  What is going on????  Today we spent the day at Pineview Reservoir. Scott and McKenna did their lesson this morning. They were assigned to do it on safety comparing the rules to the Sea-Doo to keeping the commandments. Rick wrote all of the rules on a big paper he had hung on the wall and gave his input and said that we would check back to see how everyone kept these rules after we got back.  It took awhile to get everyone ready and to get out on the lake. It actually took awhile to get the sea-doos launched and all that. 

Once we got settled though it was quite pleasant. We found a little beach spot and there was a nice shady spot there where I sat and watched the kids play. Amy had brought their nice camping chairs.  Rick and Scott and Amy went out on the wave-runners and took turns with the kids. McKenna went several times and Kellen and Alyssa went. Rick took Janika out for a ride but she was a little nervous and wanted to go back. Jase didn’t want to go. I would have gone had I not been pregnant. I was still feeling a little dizzy and queasy and just sat in the shade and didn’t venture out into the water. The weather was perfect.  The kids were really good and spent most of their time building sand castles and mud puddles and damns on the beach and playing in the water close to the shore. Jase and Jared kept their tubes on the entire time. Even Jared was so good playing happily. They were all exhausted by the time we left several hours later and all of the kids in our car fell asleep on the way home.

 We came home and called my mom to tell her that we were back. She had stayed behind at their condo and relaxed and worked on her lesson while the rest of us went. Rick went for a little swim while I bathed the boys and then I went for a nice swim while he bathed Janika. I had just thrown up AGAIN but felt better after I did. I took it easy on dinner tonight. Tonight all of the kids were having a video party in Scott and Amy’s condo while we had a video party in ours. They watched “The Jetsons” and we watched “Miss Congeniality.”  Gerilyn and Abbee showed up around 8:45 or so and stayed with us in our condo.

Tues. 18:  I slept much better last night except for Jared waking up at 4:30 in the morning.  I didn’t even hear him the first time and Gerilyn had gotten up with him. I ended up bringing him in bed with Rick and I as soon as I got him settled down and he went right to sleep. This morning Rick gave his lesson.  He did a great job and it kept the kids attention for the most part but I think it is too long to give hour and a half lessons for a family thing like this especially with such young children. He really likes to get in depth though and likes everyone to really get in to the scriptures and mark them and write notes in them etc.

After his lesson we all went to the pool and went swimming.  We fixed lunches on our own and have just been relaxing this afternoon.  Scott took his older kids fishing and Kemery stayed home with Amy to take a nap. Our boys both took naps and so did Rick and I. Janika never takes naps and so she stayed up and watched TV.  I don’t know what Grandma and Grandpa have been doing all afternoon. Jani and I read some stories together and wrote in her journal and Rick just played a game with her.  Rick’s mom called and might come and spend the night.

Wed. 19:  This morning Scott and Amy’s family left early and then Mom and Dad left around 11:00.  We ended up going to Ogden and Rick and I went to see the movie “Star Wars” while the kids stayed at Grandma’s.  Madee came back with us to the condo and slept over. We didn’t get back until almost midnight and so it was pretty hectic getting tired onery kids to bed. 

Thurs. 20:  We went over to the other time share – Wolf Creek and went swimming in their pool. We had been told that we could do that. It was really nice. They had a big baby pool which was only a foot deep and so it was perfect for Jared. The kids mostly stayed in the baby pool. There was a water slide in the other pool but Janika was too chicken to try it. Madee tried it out.  It is just like the curvy slides at the park except a little taller. Adults can’t really go on it. This resort is really nice – there are two or three big pools and a big hot-tub. There was a nice area with picnic tables. We had brought some bagels and cream cheese and the left-over PBJ sandwiches and ate it for lunch at the picnic area. There is also a nice big exercise room and some really nice tennis courts.  If we come up here again we might want to go to this condo instead of the Powder Ridge one. There is pros and cons. This one is more crowded but has more amenities and is closer to town. Tonight after dinner we all went for a hike up to where the ski lifts are.  We played ball and “Mother May I.”

 Fri. 21:  We checked out of the condo and finished our vacation in Ogden and Salt Lake!