Trip to Logan

Justin had a class in Logan Monday through Friday so we rented a house for the week. We drove up separately because Justin had to go to the office first and it would be easier for him to have his own car to get to his class at 8am every day and to go get lunch. The house turned out to be a block from the city park and a block from the Logan temple and about 5 minutes from my brother's house and 5 minutes from one of their snow cone shacks. The kids were loving it.

The house was old and had so many funny quirks. It was hard to tell what year the the house was built because things had been redone at different times. Their favorite feature was by far the mail slot. They had only seen one on TV.

It kind of felt we were on the set of Mad Men.

These kitchen knobs were my favorite.

I'm guessing the fireplace is original. So what would you guess? 1940s? 1960s? What about this cutout design?

But then this doorknob looks even older but maybe it was done to be retro.

Sarah stayed at Matt's so she could help with the shacks so all the kids got their own rooms. 

After we got settled we walked to Olsen Park. We had some time to kill before Justin finished his first day of class and we went to my brother's house for dinner.

When I was a kid I loved the playground at this park but now my favorite are the ginormous trees.

We tried reaching our arms all the way around the trees and it took all 5 of us to do it. Then we played Pooh sticks.

Erica won most of the time. I think it was all in the starting position.

Tuesday morning Justin went to class and we got doughnuts and went to Lundstrom park. While we were there Sarah called to say she was done for the morning and wanted to go the temple with Henry.

So we met her at the house and the biggles changed and we walked the block to the temple.

Erica wanted to touch the temple and she did.

Then she wanted to roll down the hill and I snapped this photo at the perfect time.

Once the biggles were done at the temple, we packed a lunch at took it to another park and ate there. Then we met Lisa at the snow shack so Sarah could start her shift.

Isn't she so cute? It was so kind of Lisa to let her work a few shifts this week to earn some money and work experience.

And the rest of us enjoyed the snow cones. 

My girls even made it onto their instagram. Erica got all wide eyed when she saw she was "in a commercial"

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C70HiW_PzxS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Later that afternoon I walked to main street and passed the ol' roller skating rink. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was still there after discovering a landmark willow tree was cut down and the old pavilion in River Heights was torn down. The roller skating rink, while empty, is still there!

Justin got home from class, we grilled hotdogs and brats then the kids wanted to go to the temple for the second time that day. The convenience was intoxicating! Justin and I walked them there and they walked themselves home when they were done.

After the biggles changed we went to the Aggie creamery which may be one of my favorite places in the whole world. The smell inside is exactly the same it was 30 years ago. The smell freshly made waffle cones is intoxicating and the ice cream is the best.

Henry was overly proud of his BYU shirt on USU campus.

He forgot what hat he was wearing.

We dropped Sarah off at Matt and Lisa's then drove to first dam. The sun had set and it was the perfect time of evening.

Once we got home the temple lights were on. This is the view from our driveway. If those darn powerlines weren't there it would be a lovely view.

Whew! What a day.

Wednesday morning Justin left for class then when we were all up and ready I took the littles for a walk to Island Market. When I was a kid my sisters would ride their bikes to Island Market but I couldn't go because I was too little and my trike was too small. I think they let me go with them like once so I had to wait for someone to go who was driving. So it was time to rectify that. It was only like 3 blocks away.

It's such a cute little grocery store. It's too bad it's priced like a gas station or I would have bought more things.

When I was a kid they had penny candy. I don't think anywhere has penny candy anymore.

They chose a slurpee and we walked to the park. Henry caught up to us there. He didn't want to go to Island Market before but then he did so I gave him some money to get a slurpee too and he went on his own.

After lunch we went to my nephew Peyton and his wife Marissa's condo to go swimming.

For dinner we went to Angie's Restaurant and then drove up Blacksmith Fork Canyon because it's pretty and the river is great for fishing.

Thursday while Justin was again in class, I gave the kids a tour of River Heights and my old neighborhood. We played at Ryan's place park and ate snacks. Then we went back to the house. After lunch we went swimming again and this time Lisa, Marissa and cute little Callum joined us. The kids ate leftovers for dinner and Justin and I met up with Matt and Lisa and Marissa at a Mexican food truck on main street. Then we picked up the kids and met them again at their shack in Nibley and got more snow cones. Henry slept over at Matt's house too.

Friday we had to be out the house by 10 so I cleaned up and packed up and got us out at 10:02. Sarah wanted me to take her to a bookstore on main street so we went to the park while we waited for her to finish helping Lisa restock the shacks. 

We met them at the Logan shack but Henry wanted to keep helping Lisa so I took Sarah, Erica, and James to the Booktable and to pick up something for lunch while they went to the Nibley shack.

When we found Lisa and Henry at the Nibley shack we discovered Henry had a little mishap with the POG flavor. They were this color for two days.

We got our last snow cones and then parted ways. 

Lisa took Henry back to her house so she could do some work there and Henry could play on their PS5, Sarah stayed at the shack to work a few hours. They were both riding home with Justin that evening after he finished class and the test. I took the littles home and we arrived at 3:30; Justin and the biggles got home several hours later. I don't think Justin considered it a vacation but I had lots of fun just going to all my favorite and nostalgic places around town. My kids are growing sentimental about Logan just like me.

The next night we rode our bikes to the park at the end of the street that overlooks Springville to watch their Art City Days fireworks. It was a pretty good view and so close to home. I'm glad I finally thought of going there after 2 summers kind of seeing the fireworks from our backyard.

Memorial Day and other random things

The Sunday before Memorial Day my mom's family got together at the Spanish Fork cemetery to reminisce and share some songs and food that reminded them of my mom's parents. It's pretty much the only time I see my aunts and uncles and a few cousins. I have like 40 cousins on this side of the family and like 6 of them were here.

Sarah, my aunt Karen and her son Aaron.

My aunt brought a book that she made for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary in 1994. Inside were tributes written by the family and this one was written by my little brother. He was seven at the time and denies it now but wouldn't someone remember at the time knowing it was a joke??

My mom never thought she was cute as a child. She's in the center and I think she's adorable!

Summer break is in full swing. The kids are all about watching TV until I make them turn it off, wearing their pajamas until I make them change, eating popsicles on the porch until I make them eat something real.

I asked James (who recently lost a tooth) how his hands got so dirty. He honestly didn't know.

Just out on one of my walks again.

The new roads with no houses yet have the best views.

And that's a wrap for May. Monday Sarah left for FSY at Snow College in Ephraim so I'll share about that when she gets home. This upcoming Monday we are going to Logan for several days while Justin attends a class. The kids are looking forward to unlimited free snow cones. Should be fun!

18 Years

 Our anniversary was on Sunday but since Sundays are the days we see each other the least, we celebrated early. Friday morning we said goodbye to the kids and went to Salt Lake. We left our car at the bed and breakfast we were staying at and took a walk to Temple Square on our way to lunch. Wondering how the temple is coming along? We were too.

 

Justin could watch this all day. We were almost late for our lunch reservation.

Cranes are great for moving large spools of cable.

I thought about asking these guys in vests and hats what was being built next to the temple. Is it another visitors center or a temple entrance? I didn't ask. I'll wait and see.

After a delicious lunch at Copper Onion we realized we didn't immortalize our sandwiches in photos so commemorated our dessert instead. This cheesecake had a drizzle of honey on top and as not a big fan of honey I thought it was amazing.

 

And then we made the mile long walk to the inn. Up hill this time.

We thought about going on a hike but it was pretty windy as a storm was rolling in so we drove to Scheel's to look at coolers, camp chairs, shoes, grills, etc., but didn't buy anything. Then we went to World Market but didn't buy anything. We were just then starting to be hungry for dinner. By this time it was 8pm and the taco places were quickly closing but we found a place for shrimp and seafood tacos that came with tomatillo dressing and they were delicious. Then we got big chocolate chip cookies at one of those trendy cookie places and it was good.

The view when we got back to the room.

A view of the capitol building from the landing in the inn.

Then we played pool and drank complimentary La Croix from the mini fridge. La Croix has a weird aftertaste but that's actually THE taste.

While Justin explained the rules to 9-ball, I took some pictures of the main floor.

It rained most of the night and into the morning so we woke up to this incredible sky.

I had the pancakes for breakfast and Justin wouldn't wait for me to finish my bite before taking this picture.

Justin had this elaborate toast which is now his new favorite breakfast. 

After we checked out we drove to an indoor swap meet in West Valley. I don't know if you can be any more classy than that on an anniversary trip. It was not what we were expecting as it was 100% new Hispanic goods and services (a barber shop!) and not used stuff. We were the only white people. We didn't buy anything but I enjoyed looking at all the stuff and pretending I was in Mexico.

Then we went to another part of West Valley to follow up on a lead I had for an authentic gordita. It was the smallest restaurant I've ever sat in but the food was great and the operator was so sweet and loved talking with Justin once she discovered he could speak Spanish. Then we went to Smith's to use the bathroom (the restaurant didn't have a bathroom) and bought some ice cream to eat on the way home. The end.

On Sunday, our actual anniversary.

I like him.

Last days of school

The school year seems to wind down earlier and earlier. Sarah's final orchestra concert was on Henry's birthday. She did a great job and even accompanied the orchestra on the piano. She had so much fun and did a great job. She's not taking orchestra next year because there are other classes she wants to take but she may join again junior year.

 

Erica's fourth grade put on a program all about Utah. They dressed up in western clothes and sang songs

and square-danced! It was pretty cute even though most of the kids looked like they were being tortured.

James and his friends were getting a head start on nice summer evenings. I sure hope they recreate this picture in 10 years.

Desk cleanout leads to mega backpack cleanout once they get home. Erica had fun showing me all the work she was so proud of and then threw nearly all of it away. 

Looking at James's work I asked him if he was always bored at school (Yes!) I love this dragon he drew.

 

First day vs last day. 

  

And now I'm sad. I don't like any reminders of how fast they are growing and that time just keeps marching on.

I don't think I can overstate how much Erica loved Miss Blaisdell. Everyone loves Miss Blaisdell but Erica loved her with all her heart. After having such a hard time with her third grade teacher Erica needed her. Erica was pretty emotional all the last week of school and didn't want to talk about the year ending. According to her, Miss Blaisdell was pretty emotional too and cried on the last day. When I picked Erica up she had been crying and sobbed most of the afternoon until her friends came over. I am so grateful for Miss Blaisdell and all teachers who put their whole heart into their jobs.

James's teacher Mrs. Murdock is retiring after this year. She is such a wonderful person. After meeting her just once at the beginning of the year I told Justin I think I just met my new best friend. She just has a way of making you feel so important and interesting--perfect for these little first graders. James is going to miss her too and is sad he won't see her around the school next year. But she lives across the street from the school so James says he's going to stop by all the time. His student teacher who he also loved will be teaching first grade next year so he's excited to see her again.

All my kids had such great years. Next year Sarah moves to the high school and Henry to the junior high so here's to more change. Always change.

We took the kids out to lunch and then tried to be most accommodating to hang out with friends. Sarah went to a party a couple of streets over, Henry went to Luke Fuller's to play video games, Erica had two friends over for a late night (they ate hamburgers and watched The Incredibles) and James went to Calvin's for scones and whatever shenanigans 7-year-old boys do until dark.