Utah Va-Ca

Last weekend I went to Utah. I had a doctor's appointment on a Tuesday and rather than running down and back for a quicky trip I decided to make a vacation out of it. I feel exhausted so I don't know how appropriate is a title of "vacation", but I did have a lot of fun :). I figured since we have family coming to Burley for both Thanksgiving AND Christmas, then this was my chance to get out of town. I was telling Chris that I went down to visit and I think I managed to see everyone and their dog... literally... both Trevor's and Lisa's families have puppies :).

So here's my [insert British accent] schedule :).

Friday night at Lisa's I got to tell them about my progress with my foot and we had a one leg standing contest. Josh won only because he was leaning against the kitchen table. Lisa is like a rock. And I almost lasted 5 seconds. They have a new puppy, Roxy, (she looks JUST like the RC Willey dog) and we tried to play catch but she slides on the Pergo flooring so that was pretty hilarious. Lisa I talked and visited and chatted and ... you get the idea ... until late. Saturday morning was Josh's hockey game where he had some awesome hustle in the third period; he's getting really good. They have a tradition to go to lunch afterward so Shane treated. NICE.

Then I went to Trevor's where we messed around with the kids and playing catch with their puppy (apparently it works better on tile, who knew?!). Before bed, Ian (age 5) read to me. So, so, so sweet. Plus, Trevor and I watched ALL the special features to Iron Man on Blu Ray. There's not many people that think that's fun, so I was glad I got to do it it with Trevor. Sunday morning we went to church then later the kids and I went for a walk with my camera. Alex (age 3) was step, click, step, click, step, click with the camera all the way down to the end of the street! Ian took a few too but it was more like 20 compared to Alex's 100 :). I like walks with kids and camera because it's always interesting to me what they find interesting.

Sunday night I visited my cousin, Alisha, and her family. She made a seriously yummy orange teriyaki chicken and then we watched Journey to the Center of the Earth with a Moose Track ice-cream break. yum! After all the kids went to bed that we talked and visited and chatted and ... you get the idea ... until very, very late. Monday morning I had a migraine, but after I got sick and took a nap with some Hydrocodeine, I felt much better.

I met Tara, my old roomie from BYU, for lunch. I don't think I've seen her since I graduated eight years ago, so it was reat to catch up. Then I had some extra time, so I ran over to Aunt Nila's house to visit her and Uncle Ted. He's had another stroke so I needed to check in. I got to live with Uncle Ted and Aunt Nila my first year at BYU. Imagine the perfect Grandma... bakes cookies, attends your recitals, so soft to hug. Yea, that's my Aunt Nila.

After a few hours I needed to go since Michelle, an old roomie from Ricks, was expecting me. She has a new little girl, Stella, that is just a doll! As Michelle describes it via her blog, upon meeting Stella people always remark on: "Her big fat kissable cheeks (from her daddy), Her bright happy blue eyes (from heaven), and Her adorable outfits (from her mom)." We had a good time visiting and kissing Stella and then it was time for bed. So far, I’d slept in three different beds and one comfy couch and I was pretty tired so I slept way late and puttered around Tuesday morning until we joined our other Ricks roommates for lunch at the Dodo in the Gateway (seriously good food and even better service, by the way). Of course, the experience, might have been colored by the company more than the great food :). There’s Natalie who has just moved back from California, Stephanie and her little boy Charlie, and Michelle and her Stella.

After lunch, I went to visit the doctor... after all, that is why I came down. He was pleased with the progress of my foot and thrilled that my pain is so little that he lowered my arthritis medicine. That’s a huge step! I’ve never taken this little of medicine before so I’m pretty darn excited.

I noticed in my pictures I tended towards the same themes: sunsets, self-portraits with a friend, and food/lunch. Unfortunately, most of my sunset pictures were snapped while I was driving. I promise I only took pictures when other cars weren't near and I never actually lined up my camera. See? I WAS practicing safe driving :). Here's a pic of the mountains in Utah that was my best shot.

As for the self-portraits, I wanted to be able to look back on my pictures and see how much fun I had. I didn't mean for it to be egocentric or border line narcissistic. I'll say instead that it was not at all self-absorbed but merely self-centered since it was genuinely meant to be a chronicle of my weekend. Here are a few of my favorites.

For me, food is as social an activity as air is for breathing. Good food, good company, and best yet... no clean up :).

Now it's back to the grind and the stack on my desk is calling my name and I have to run about 12 errands during lunch, but thankfully Thanksgiving is just around the corner.