Back to Reality

Sheesh, a whole 11 days with no post!  How have I survived?!  Well, my in-laws, R & L came late last Monday night.  Chad helped me clean house and get the shopping done in time.  Tuesday, we hit Temple Square.  We took the tour of all of the typical sights, but the cool part (for me) is that we got to see a Tabernacle demonstration/organ concert.  The organist demonstrated the natural acoustics of the arched ceiling.  Phenomenal!!  I mean, we were at least half way back and clearly heard him tear a sheet of paper, drop pins into a wooden box, and then a nail.  We hit the JS Memorial building, had a fabulous lunch in the Nauvoo Cafe, took pics on the top floor, and hit the distribution center on the bottom floor.  I found this beautiful print of the temple from the back, in fall: beautiful colors!  But they were gone.  I asked for help and the guy later happened to find one that had just come off the truck.  I was extatic.  I just can't resist a pretty wall hanging.  My house, no matter how large, will never be able to tastefully hold all of the magnificent prints and project ideas I've gathered, especially after this week.  

Wednesday, Chad had the day off and we went out to "This is the Place" Heritage Park.  When I was there about 10 years ago, there was nothing more than the gargantuan monument.  But now, it's a small settlement.  We had a ton of fun!  We took a train ride to the top of the hill where the kids got to ride a miniature train that tugs around a little pond.  Chloe thought that was great.  Then we hit some of the shops and homes.  They had a barber giving straight-razor shaves to the kids along with crafts in some of the homes and whatnot.  (Chloe made an arrowhead necklace.)  And of course, a ZCMI.  It was a lot like Nauvoo, except it's not church run - deffinitely a business instead of a missionary tool.  I think the funnest part for most of us was the pony ride and petting zoo.  Chloe excitedly chose a pony and rode it in a circle.  Then we saw peacocks and chicks and got to pet a donkey, a sheep, a calf, pigs, and some baby goats.  Chloe's favorite was of course the baby goats.  Though I'm not sure how much they liked her.  They kept escaping under the fence into the donkey's pin.  At one point, it was so funny, she was chasing the goat, and all of the sheep were in line, chasing her.  You can't really tell it from the picture.  But it was fun to watch.  Then Everett joined the fun.  He got his toes snuffled by the pigs and then got them washed in the little stream.  (We've discovered that it's not the swimming and splashing that he dislikes, it's the cold water!)  So he didn't too much care for the pigs or the stream.  He cried at the pigs.  It was all very fun and we were exhausted and sunburnt by the end.  And we still had to pack...

Thursday we hit the road for Steamboat, CO.  I thought WY was pretty, but I was mistaken.  It was only pretty having just left SLC.  Then we reached CO and I cautiously fell in love!  It's absolutely beautiful!  It's green like my home in GA, but without the humidity, bugs, and allergies.  Steamboat is a ski town, so winters there stink, but summer is to die for!  Hot enough to swim, but not too hot to have other fun.  And night-time is downright nippy.  I love it.  Anyway, Friday, we hit the alpine slide (look at the pics, it's like a summer version of the louge.)  That's a lot of fun.  Then we trekked out to some waterfall.  It was breath taking, but when we reached it, we wish we'd taken the other path so we could've stuck our feet in.  Poor Chloe, we told her she'd be able to.  We were all disappointed about that, but it really was beautiful.  

This weekend happened to be that of the annual Balloon Rodeo.  I'm not sure exactly what that means, but Saturday we woke up to a ton of hot air balloons congregating right behind our condo.  Chloe was so excited.  She stayed out there for ever watching them.  Then we went to a fun farmer's market and "Art in the Park" (one of those local artist/crafters' shindigs.)  That was fun.  Chloe got to paint two rocks (combining two of her favorite things) and she got to pick out a geode and watch it get split in two.  The pictures show a man splitting the rock, but behind him, look at all the amazing sculpture they made from some incredible rocks.  That afternoon, R & L treated me to a massage!  Oh my goodness, when they came back to pick me up, I wanted to melt down the stairs and into the van!  It was AWESOME!  Meanwhile, they all took the kids to the pool and had a lot of fun.  

Sunday was the best day.  We went to a little... amusement park - for lack of a better word - a family fun zone I guess. It has put-put, bumper cars, etc.  Well, this one had a mineral panning station.  I don't know who had more fun, Chloe or L.  They found lots of really cool rocks. Then we did the human maze.  You go around trying to find the letters M-A-Z-E and then find your way out and punch your time card.  But wait, that's not all.  You can rent the most crazy awesome water guns and take them in or just hang out on the observation deck and soak those trying to play.  So R played golf with Chloe while L watched Everett, took pics, and teamed up with a dad to soak all participants.  Crazy fun!  Chad and I made it in 7 and 9 minutes.  So R & L ended up going too while I soaked them and Chad told them the WRONG way to go.  Fun stuff, fun stuff.  After lunch, we headed over to the rodeo arena where Chad and I took a horseback riding trail.  I vaguely remember getting on a horse when I was about 3 or so.  What a strange sensation at first!  To be sitting on something that's so big it must be mechanical and yet, it moves like an animal and stumbles and has a personality and mind of his own, oh and GAS!!  We followed the dusty (and I do mean dusty) trail up the mountain and back down.  Oh how I wish I'd had my camera!!!!  The view was absolutely incredible with all of the trees and the river down below... oh it was awesome.  We rode single file on Rusty and Mason.  Mason didn't really want to do what I told him.  I guess I'm a softy because toward the end, I really started to understand the expression "tightening the reigns." It helped.  And oh boy, he had gas, and so did the horse in front of me.  YIKES!  It was interesting; I was nervous; it hurt a little (especially when he trotted) but we loved it!  Meanwhile, L took Chloe on a horse too, Biscuit (it's really cute to hear Chloe say his name.)  They just rode around the arena a little.  I'm quite certain she loved it.  After that, we had to take a picture at the Sinclair gas station.  They're all over out here and the first place we stopped upon arriving in SLC.  The icon is a dinosaur and the one in Steamboat had one that you could sit on, with a saddle attached.  Chloe loved it and immediately named her "Mother" from "Land Before Time."  R came out of the gas station with a blow up "Mother" for her, which of course had to come to the pool with us that evening.  Chloe and Everett both loved playing with it in the pool.  Well, Everett might have liked it more, but they both had fun, as did I.  The kiddie area there was huge and shallow enough that Chloe could stand up in it.  So she got some good controlled practice at swimming.  She even found a toy on the floor of the pool - a toy Arial, though she named her "Princess Cadoodle" from Dragontales. There was also a big floating crab/slide that she loved.  Everett love it because the pools were warm.  He just flirted and splashed and played like he was back in his bathtub.  Though he has recently taken to trying to climb out of the bath, while Chloe is afraid of a draining tub.  Apparently she had another nightmare in which she washed down the drain.  *sigh* this phobia stuff is a little out of control.  Is it normal?  

Anyway, WY was drab and ugly on the way back from CO.  And SLC is just plain dismal.  We came back to ugly dismal heat.  Bleckh.  Tuesday, Chad went back to work while we hit the Beehive house and Church History Museum.  I really enjoyed the Beehive house, and we played for a long time in the museum play area.  Again, we colored "stained glass", built block temples, and made crayon rubbings of the temple and CTR symbols in various languages.  Then Chloe and I played in the Nursery.  It's really cute.  Kids can care for the new babies, weigh them, take temp, blood pressure, write out a birth certificate, clothe, feed, bathe, and rock them.  Chloe loved it and talked about it the rest of the day.  But still she was such a good girl and came right when I told her it was time to go.

We visited Chad at work yesterday before heading to the airport.  It's so quiet here now.  Chloe is sad that they're gone.  I miss them too.  But she still doesn't seem to fully understand it.  She kept asking where Papa was on the way home because she was asleep when we dropped them off.  I don't know about Chad, but Chloe and I definitely got totally spoiled.  We all had so much fun, we hate to come back to reality.  I think the only one not sad to get back to a routine is poor Everett.  He (and Chloe) were such troupers.  They're both such good kids, but he has really missed his bed and routine.  And sadly, Chloe and I don't fare well without our routine either.  I say sadly, because we really do love to travel (as we packed up to go to CO she said "I love road trips!")  It just wreaks havoc on my health - must exercise!  I get grouchy without it.  And this evening, as I tried to make dinner, Chloe kept trying to pester me just for the attention.  Eugh, I do hate this readjustment to reality.  But it is nice to slow down a little.  I got some unpacking and packing done today that'd been bugging me.  And the countdown begins!  Two weeks until time to move.  There's a lot of really fun, cool, free stuff to do here, but I'm pretty much ready to go. 

Oh, Chad was able to make some connections and find out about several practices for sale in CO.  We haven't ruled out the idea of settling in Charlotte though either.