Temple Square

Thursday in Utah. This one was rough. Shad and I woke up Thursday morning with no plans. We could have a relaxing day, or go see what entertainment we could find in civilization. But then Shad got a call that they (his mom and brothers) were finally ready to go through Grandma's house and clean everything out. Which meant that I'd be driving him up to Salt Lake City and then be on my own with 5 kids. Excuse me while I drag my feet all morning...

After convincing the kids that they would enjoy Temple Square, I set the navigation system. I figured Temple Square would be a safe choice for me--as in, it would be free, have enclosed kid entertainment (vital when I have to breastfeed Samson), bathrooms, etc. Things started out okay. I found free parking quickly in a garage across the street from Temple Square. It was under City Creek Mall (I think that was the name), and when we came up the elevator, there were water fountains to play in! Check that off the kids Utah wishlist: throw pennies in a water fountain. This one went beyond and was a mini splash pad!

And there was orchestral music playing, so Katie practiced her Lindsay Sterling skills.

Throwing pennies.

Or gently setting them down. Who does that, Tom?

And then the "fun" started for me. Now that my kids were soaking wet, I figured I'd walk them around outside and dry off a bit first before going inside to the kid play areas. Samson had plans otherwise. Scenario: I'm here without my double stroller, so I had a single stroller borrowed from Suzanne, and my baby carrier. Samson in the carrier, Thora in the stroller, three kids walking. I personally think it's a lot easier to manage a screaming, inconsolable baby if that baby isn't wiggling and crying in a carrier on my body. I'd prefer him to be in the stroller for that. It took us 10-15 minutes to walk from the splash pad to a building on Temple Square to find a bathroom. In downtown SLC, with lots of staring eyes. Thanks to the man who looked at me and told me I was brave. *sarcasm*

So we get into the bathroom in the Joseph Smith Memorial building and Samson had a HUGE poop that almost blew out. Thankful for that blessing. I took care of that, and half a pack of wipes later, I was able to check Thora and change her diaper, too. Tom and Katie took care of themselves (so glad some of them can!), and I sat Dancy on a toilet to go to the bathroom. Dancy is potty trained, but sometimes stubborn. Like, she'll sit on the toilet, but she won't release those muscles. Oh no, she's not gonna do it. And that's what she did to me there. Meanwhile, Samson is still screaming because now he's hungry. So we gotta go. Went to the Family History Center across the hall. There's toys down there. But...stairs and I've got a stroller and baby carrier. So they led me through the back rooms with a ramp so I could get down there. I settled the kids in the toy area (Thora was cranky and didn't want out of the stroller, fine), and sat down to feed Samson. Two minutes later, I kid you not: "Mom, is there a bathroom here?" Yes, there bloody well is and your butt was on that toilet not 5 minutes ago, but I can't do anything about it now so you better keep your underwear clean! Sundance. Well, guess who forgot about that need for the toilet after Samson finished eating? Me. And Dancy was distracted playing. (This will become significant later.) We hung out in there for a little bit longer, then left to go see stuff outside.

Katie wanted to take pictures with all the statues.

Tommy wanted very specific people arrangements for these temple pictures: Tom and Katie together so we can print that picture for their room; Dancy and Thora together so we can print that picture for their room; then all the kids together so we can print that one for me. Samson was finally asleep in the baby carrier, so he got left out of the photo session.

"Did you get Moroni in the picture too?" Nope, little bit difficult this close, but I'll try squatting with a baby strapped to my body.

"Mom! Mom! Mom! It's Peter, James and John!" This statue depicts the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

And John the Baptist! This statue depicts the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Dancy is pouting because Katie took her Jesus. Sorry kid, this isn't the Jesus statue, so your fit is moot.

So then we had to go see the Christus statue and wait a few minutes for the Mandarin Chinese tour to finish in that room before we could take pictures.

Then we made it back to the parking garage, fought with the electronic ticket reader to pay a small fee for the extra time after the free 2 hours, checked maps to see if there were any nearby fast food places with drive thrus...fail. So I set the navigation to take us to Shad's cousin Keith's house. The plan was that his wife Michelle and Aimme's (Shad's cousin) daughter Allyson would watch my kids while Aimme and I went to Costco to buy food for the family barbeque. Just after I got off the highway exit for Michelle's house, the van navigation system shut down. It said it could no longer read the disc. Great. Good thing I just switched to a smart phone and could still get us there as long as I didn't kill us while trying to do so. I decided to skip the fast food lunch and do PB&J at Michelle's. I got there right at 2, the time I was supposed to meet Aimme. Luckily, Aimme was running late. I got all the sandwiches made, even one for me because moms are allowed to eat occasionally, then set to work on diapers and bathrooms. Dancy had pooped in her underwear. I don't know when and I don't know where. But suddenly I had perfect recall to the moment when she asked if there was a bathroom and I forgot after I fed Samson. Joy. So I cleaned that up and borrowed a pair of underwear from Michelle. Finally sat down to feed Samson again so I could be all ready to go. This was when I started contemplating driving 12 hours home by myself with 5 kids and letting Shad figure out a way to get home because I sure as hell wasn't going to have another day like this. I only stayed for Aimme because I had promised her I'd help. Aimme and Allyson arrived and I made sure that Dancy knew to tell Allyson when she needed to go to the bathroom. Yet, when I returned from Costco, Dancy had pooped in the borrowed underwear as well. This time I just put her in a diaper. We were running late for getting to the park to start grilling. And that brings us up to speed with the other post of the pictures at the park.

Few final moments:

We went mini golfing!

Spilled Goldfish and crazy Katie hair.

We met Sister Draney's mom to pick up a package. Sister Draney is a missionary for our church in our area.

Utah Trip

We drove to Colorado Wednesday night after Shad got off work, and spent the night at Dan's house. In the morning (July 2), we set out for Utah. Tommy was so excited to drive through the mountains and see the snowcaps. He asked if we could please go on a hike in the mountains in Utah. Lucky him, we already had that planned.

We got to western Colorado and Shad and I both had the same thought: "Dang! I'm glad we live in Kansas because that's way prettier than this!" Sorry, Grand Junction, you may have mountains, but I'd rather have prairie grasses and cornfields over sagebrush.

Nothing!

We visited Shad's grandma a couple days, which was the main purpose of our visit. She wasn't feeling well the first day we visited, but she was peppy, energetic and spunky the second day. Just the way we remember her.

We stayed at Suzanne and Tyler's house (my aunt and uncle), and the kids all enjoyed lots of cousin time. Dancy, Katie, Emmie, Drew and Tommy watching Big Hero 6.

Ruth's last day of work was the day before we arrived, so she spent pretty much every day with us while we were there. It was so great to have so much Ruth time! Because she's the best. We went up to visit Shad's cousin Stacey one day. We had a fun time with Stacey, Cole, Oliver and Greyson at their apartment swimming pool, which is right outside their door because they're the managers. Ruth and Shad took our kids to a park to use up 6 cans of silly string Ruth had left over.

She took us to the airport she used to work at. It's a flight school, and shares runway with a military airport. We had a picnic lunch out on the tarmac, and saw several planes come and go, as well as an Apache helicopter.

Thai food is delightful! Why don't we have it in Norton?

Love my Kates!

I have no recollection of this.

Tom and Katie in the pilot's seat!

Uh, watch out, y'all! Looks like the copilot is on something. Incidentally, I wouldn't trust the pilot, either. He's known for running forwards while looking backwards.

Airplanes!

Shad took Tommy for a quick temple visit while the rest of us slept in the van.

Lego Store!

We spent a day on Temple Square, followed by dinner with Shad's uncle Brad and aunt Teresa.

Top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

This nice older guy asked if I'd like him to take a picture of all of us. He was surprised when I said yes. His wife never lets him take the pictures. He took several, because he knows what pictures are like with all those little kids.

Day at the zoo! We went with Shad's cousin Aimee and her daughters, Arielle and Alyson; cousin's wife Michelle with her kids, Kai and Keira; cousin Stacey with her sons, Oliver and Greyson; and Ruth and Will. We had just about the best group zoo trip we've ever had. No one complained about the weather, or how long we were there, or what animals to see or not see; we were all just happy to be there and spend time together! For 5 hours!

Owl display

Animatronics (I think that's the term) dinosaurs throughout the zoo.

Ruth and Dancy

Oh good! Someone took a picture of me imitating the lion. Okay, so he was doing this weird soundless roar, and some kids told me that it was a mating ritual or something. It was interesting, and I've never seen it before.

Took 5 tries for him to take this picture.

Dancy has this newfound love for monkeys. It seems to be replacing her zebra obsession.

The children of the cousins...with most of the parents.

So many things to climb on!

So there was this peacock feather behind a fence, just out of reach, and the fence had a sign on it saying to stay out. I lamented this to Shad and he said, "Haven't you watched enough White Collar?" So I went back and got my peacock feather anyway.

Did you know that lion head drinking fountains are the coolest thing ever? Well they are.

Carousel

Throwing pennies into the fountain.

Hey guess what! My boy turned 10! He asked for grilled cheese and sausages for dinner because he thought everyone would like that. He's such a people pleaser. It was a delicious dinner. He got a Lego pirate set from Ruth and Will, and a new tie from his sisters. He loves ties. He got the rest of his goods at home: Green Lantern vs. Sinestro Lego set (which was missing pieces and we're waiting for those to arrive in the mail), Lego Harry Potter years 1-4 for PS3, and a Pirates of the Caribbean Look and Find book. I'm planning to have a birthday party for him at the end of August when we won't have to worry about his friends being out of town.

Look at that girl's nasty spit up!

Tom climbed a tree.

Our last 2 days in Utah were spent at Suzanne's house, babysitting her kids while she and Tyler got a vacation to California for a week. Other people took over after we left. 

Driving back to Colorado, the kids enjoyed seeing all the red dirt and rocks. I told them the story of how Colorado got its name: When the Spanish Conquistadors came up from the south, they were amazed by all the red dirt, so they called the land "Colorado," meaning "color red." Shad hadn't ever heard the story before, so he thought I made it up. It's truth!