So far this year, we have gone to Denver, Goblin Valley, the Catherall reunion, and the Evans reunion, so to round things out, we decided to visit Utah/Idaho/Wyoming family for Thanksgiving.
We left ABQ on Friday and drove as far as Moab, where we stayed the night. The advantage of driving halfway is the increased sanity levels resulting from two 5-hour days, as opposed to one 10-hour day. The disadvantages are the added cost and the fact that we end up with 6 people in one hotel room. All in all, it’s probably a wash.
On Saturday we drove in the rest of the way, stopping in Provo for lunch at the Brick Oven. After getting to Casa Catherall and decompressing, we went up to Herriman, where Summer’s nephew Seth and niece Emma were starring in a junior high musical. The show was fun, and the boys still occasionally break into one of the songs from the show. Sunday was laid-back, punctuated by another trip to Herriman for birthday cake and ice cream in honor of the birth of Summer’s sister-in-law Kathi.
On Monday Summer’s parents watched the kids while we went on our annual date. We went back to Provo for an old-fashioned BYU date. We went bowling and played air hockey and skee-ball in the games center and ate at the Cougareat. On the way home we stopped for ice cream and reveled in spending time in public without children.
On Tuesday, Summer and Allyson went to afternoon tea at Gardner Village with Summer’s mom, while the boys and I went to BYU again to visit, among other things, the Beane Museum. This was when Ryan announced his intention to go to BYU, and we had ice cream and licorice. That evening we met up with Michelle and Jon for the obligatory Cafe Rio trip, followed by the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point.
Wednesday was our travel day to Idaho, where we were going to have Thanksgiving dinner with my sister Cheryl and her family. This was my first trip to the Rexburg area, and it lived up to its reputation: cute little town, cold and windy. We went with Cheryl and Ben to BYUI, where we strolled the campus and met up with Jason for dinner.
While in Idaho, I got my first taste of the Wii. I have a love-hate relationship with video games—I’m not very good and I don’t play games often (I pride myself on never having owned a video game system), but once I get playing, I get pretty hooked. Over a span of roughly 36 hours, I played about 9 games of baseball, 4 of bowling, 3 of golf, and 2 of tennis, along with some of the training and fitness games. It was quite fun and I ended up pretty sore from the experience (boy do I need to work out more).
(Along those lines, here is what may be the funniest story from the trip. My 16-year-old brother, Nathan, is quite an accomplished Wii boxer. Undefeated. And I couldn’t touch him. But Isaac, who is four, knocked him down and came within a hair of beating him.)
Thursday was marked by much eating. Cheryl pulled off a full Thanksgiving feast, with a 25-pound bird (they’ll be eating Turkey until the Idaho snow melts, probably sometime in May), homemade stuffing, and sweet potatoes. It was fun to see Allyson and the boys help her in the kitchen. Playing catch outside with the men folk (Dad, Nathan, Jason, and my boys) was also a highlight.
After groggily waking and packing on Friday, we went back to Utah, stopping in SLC for the lighting of Temple Square with Michelle and Jon. We strolled around and caught some of the visitors center exhibits, which made for a nice end to the trip.
In closing, here are my top ten from the trip:
10) Watching Evan warm up to both sets of grandparents, something he hasn’t done much of in the past, as well as attaching himself to Michelle after about 2 seconds
9) Walking around two BYU campuses in one week and reflecting on the role these two schools have played in my life and the lives of my parents, siblings, and children
8) Talking college and career options with Nathan (the inivtation to live with us while you get your welding certificate at CNM before your mission is still open)
7) Summer’s parents teaching the Marriage & Family Relations Sunday School class—Summer and I taught it in a student ward when we had been married for about 2 years, so it was good to see it taught by a couple with more experience as spouses and parents
6) Watching Cheryl do mom stuff—she’s the first of my sisters to have a baby, and it’s fun to see her with Ben (who, by the way, is a riot)
5) Showing the boys some of the hidden spots on BYU campus—Ryan was impressed by the First Vision sculpture tucked away in the Joseph Smith Building, and Isaac was amazed that I knew where the vending machines were
4) Seeing Allyson make a dozen or so woven bracelets in her spare time—she’s got her mother’s knack for crafty and creative hobbies
3) Smiling as Isaac hopped up to read books with Dad, whom he admires greatly because he builds things like sheds and libraries, and as Allyson chatted up Mom, whom she admires because she went to BYU, married in the temple, raised 5 kids, and taught elementary school
2) Rounding a corner in the dinosaur museum and seeing why Evan had stopped dead in his tracks moments before—a 10-foot-high, 3D model of an ancient shark, leaping out of the wall and convincing the toddler that this was to be his grisly end
1) Sitting back and smiling as my kids took off to play with various cousins, some of whom they have befriended after mere minutes of playing together, and realizing that this sort of friendship and love is among the chief lessons we can learn from our children
