Utah Weekend Sights

Last Friday morning, after I’d survived the choir concert the night before, I took the max to the airport and flew to Utah for our annual Sister’s Night.  I was very impressed with myself for packing so lightly.

After Andra and Maria picked me up at the airport we went to a nifty little 2nd hand store to wait for Laila and Jenny to join us for a very late lunch, a movie, and a little walking around the new City Creek mall.  Here is one of the things we considered buying.

After we shopped we crossed the street to get lunch and were very entertained by the flags on the corners that we could carry for increased visibility.

Here is an outfit at City Creek we did NOT consider buying.  I don’t get this new trend of wearing different patterns together. (Sorry—couldn’t get a better picture through the glass.)

We did see some awesome shoes in one of the stores.  How could we pass them up?

City Creek kind of wore me out, but I thought these mobile sculptures at the entrance of the parking garage were so beautiful.  There were a bunch of them in a row and they were totally zen.

City Creek sculptures

We didn’t get back up to our hotel in Park City until late, but we still made time to sit in the hot tub until late Friday night.  And first thing Saturday morning. 

On Saturday we got up late,  got breakfast sandwiches, and after we sat in the hot tub some more we went shopping, shopping, shopping.  This is my favorite thing I saw:

I didn’t buy it ($11.99 for ONE plate?) but oh how I loved it.  (My sisters know that I will always love anything blue & green.) I sat on the hanging swing in Pier One and just looked at that plate and loved it.  And decided that I can be happy enough with my $1 from Kroger plates at home.

We tried to end our day with sandwiches at our favorite sandwich shop, but it turned that they closed at 4 and we didn’t make it there until 4:30.  So we went back to Café Rio. (What a sacrifice!)

It was only when we were all about to drop from exhaustion that we left Park City.  Laila took me to the airport where I picked up a rental car for the rest of my weekend adventures.  I drove from the airport up to Logan to spend the night with our friends.  Sardine Canyon was lush and green and so beautiful to drive through.  Russ says it’s the prettiest two weeks of the year!  (Before everything turns brown.) 

I drove into Cache Valley right before the sunset.  The sky was beautiful.

I’m not sure why I didn’t pull my camera out in Logan—I could have taken pictures of funny kids, delicious chocolate chip scones that I’ve already made since I’ve been home, or a killer game of Dominion with Abigail and Benjamin.  Next time I’ll have to take twice as many pictures.

On Sunday when after church I had a bunch of text messages telling me that my dad had gone to the hospital the night before with uncontrollable vomiting.  (Oh, how I sympathized with his pain…)  I left Logan and drove to see him in the hospital in Salt Lake.  When I got there my brothers Ben and Jeff were also there, so I got to visit with them, my dad, and Ramona too.  It was fun to see my brothers unexpectedly.  Jeff gave me a hard time about being in Utah again.  Last summer when I was back in Utah in August one of his neighbors asked him where I lived and he told them I lived in my van.  I thought it was pretty amazing that I didn’t travel anywhere between August and April, but Jeff was less impressed.  And it is a little crazy that I’ve been back to Utah twice since spring break!  (I’m sure you’ll be glad to know that my dad appears to be ok.  Ramona thinks he’s just had too much over the counter pain relievers since his knee surgery.)

After we’d stayed long enough at the hospital to wear my dad out, I drove south to Cindy Lynn’s to spend a day with my baby with Cindy Lynn’s family.  I couldn’t believe how much Kate had changed in the last three weeks.  She’s definitely not a newborn anymore!  I held her as much as I could in the 22 or so hours I was there.  Here are my favorite pictures from my day there.

This is what she usually looks like when you take her picture.  Startled,

This time I got lucky and got her smiling before I pulled out the camera, and I used the little camera instead.  Bingo!  Don’t you love her Elvis hair?

I also got to make a curl on top of her head after bath time, which I’ve been longing to do.  (Which is what made her hair in the previous picture so awesome.)

The next day I got to see what chaos that curl had caused.  It was like a rooster on her head.

On Monday morning we went to my uncle’s office to get adjusted and ran into my brother Jeremy and his family there.  I hadn’t seen Jeremy in a year so that was such fun too!  Kate was ready for a nap after that.

Monday afternoon I loaded everything up, hugged & kissed Cindy Lynn & Kate again, and drove myself up to the airport.  (Funny story—my rental car was a VW Golf and I had to call Cindy Lynn and get her to google how to open the gas tank cover.  True story.)  My flight home was uneventful—I read and then took pictures as we approached Portland.  Am I the only one fascinated at how things look from the air?  (Actually the woman in the seat behind me was snapping away with her big DSLR, so I know it’s not just me.)

So here I am again, back with my family (happy), back to the cold/rain/grey skies (not so happy), wiped out from my fun weekend (happy).