Utah Trip

So Brad & I went to Utah for a family reunion. I can't say it was the trip we were looking forward to the most, but it actually turned out to be a pretty good time. Our flight left Friday morning. My mother was VERY sick and we even discussed, very briefly, if we should cancel the trip or try to move flight plans. In the end we decided we still had to drive to Nashville, so we would see how she was doing once we got there. Surprisingly, the closer we got the better she was doing, so the trip continued as planned. The sad part is that we left very late, and I lost my little knife that I keep in my purse to the security guard. We're not talking machete here, we're talking a 1" blade. But I didn't have time to go back and put it in the car. In fact, they were doing a final boarding call when we got to the gate. It was very sad for me. I was thinking it was odd that they didn't think twice about the pepper spray in the other pocket, but decided not to mention it.

So we got into SLC Friday evening, met my brother, picked up the rental car, drove to the hotel where my sister was staying to say hello, then drove to Pleasant Grove to see my aunt. My aunt Lisa is my mothers youngest sister. She's lived in Orem/ PG for as long as I can remember and I visited several times while attending BYU. She's re-married since then, and let me tell you, her dear husband was SO excited to have a house full of people he never met during the Red Sox/Yankees game. You know, that one that went scoreless into the 15 inning. (Yeah, I wouldn't have know either.) But everyone else was glad to get together and eat ice cream. We stayed at La Quinta Inn that night, or as several people kept saying, the Luh Queen-tuh. Maybe it's just that I married a guy from New Mexico that I thought this was funny.

Saturday we drove to Brigham City for my Grandparent's 80th birthday/ 60th Wedding Anniversary Party. They are so cute! My Aunt Jan had put together a great slide show that was really a lot of fun to see. It was a little weird having people I don't remember giving me hugs, but I guess that's part of a family reunion. The really weird moment was seeing my cousin, Nathan, who I haven't seen for about 8 years. He's about to turn 19, and I just had to make some comment about how tall he was. The reply was "yeah, everyone's been saying that." And then I realized, I've become that person! You know, the one that says "you've gotten so big!" "I remember when you were this big!" That person that hugs you even though you don't remember who they are? That's me now! ugh. But despite that realization, we had a good time seeing my grandparents surrounded by 85 of their closest friends and relatives. Ten of the twelve grandkids were able to come, and of course the star was the great-granddaughter. She is pretty cute. That night my siblings, Brad and I drove around Brigham City looking for a place to hang out. Just so you know, not many options in Brigham City on a Saturday night. We ended up at the B&B, which proudly serves half-baked Papa Murphy's. I wouldn't recommend it.

Sunday was probably my favorite day, despite how it ended. (do you like my use of foreshadowing?) My siblings decided they had partaken of all Brigham City had to offer, so we decided to move on to Park City. At the Park City Mountain Resort you can ride the Alpine Slide, Alpine Coaster, Zip line, AND the carousel! So we spent most of the day doing the first three.

Getting instructions for the slide.

But Brad and I enjoyed the Coaster more. You're actually on a rail, so there isn't any chance of you falling off. And Kevin discovered that you can just keep your foot on the lever so you'll go faster the whole way down. Later Brad and I discovered that if you put two people in a car it goes even faster! You just have to be careful not to run into the car in front of you.

Mindy, Branch, Allyson, & Kevin decided they were feeling adventurous & wanted to do some mountain biking. Brad & I decided we are weaklings (well, I am & Brad humored me) & would not go, so we rode the zipline again & then walked around Park City. They were having some kind of street festival and it was fun to see all the displays and listen to the bands play. We saw a one armed guy playing the steel guitar (well, one and a half), and playing it really well! Then there was the very cute girl of about 7 singing "Popular" from the musical Wicked. Then there was me getting very cranky until I finally paid too much for a roast beef sandwich & got my blood sugar back up. This is me pretending to not be cranky. How'd I do?

Sadly, as the evening went on I started to get a migraine. Probably from not eating all day, being out in the sun, and too many trips on the Alpine Coaster. I'm just glad I didn't go with the biking group, as they ended up accidentally taking a much longer & harder route than they planned on. That night went out to dinner with all my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., but I was too sick to even touch my food, let alone enjoy the company. I ended up in bed early with ice packs on my head.

And I guess this post is long enough, so I'll finish the trip in the next one. Until then....