to Uncle Brian's house we went.
We swore we would not go to Salt Lake one more time this year. We've been quite a bit for one calendar year. Then, Brian and family decided to move there after we planned to visit them for Thanksgiving in San Diego. So, back we went.
For me it was one of those best and worst trips ever. Best because we got to spend a lot of time with a lot of family on both sides, best because we got to see some good friends, best because we got to do lots of great things in Salt Lake, best because we FINALLY got a new car! Worst - because it was just too much. Kids stayed up way too late every night and (especially Harriet) were cranky every day, all day long, including a melt down at Grandma Pearlie's house that I'd rather pretend never happened. Worst because the kids were truly awful in the car driving up - worst they have ever been on a trip. (I say that with full memory of a 3 hour layover I spent in Minneapolis one year with Grace having an eternal meltdown.) Worst, because, when we got back from 8 days in Salt Lake over a late Thanksgiving holiday, it was DECEMBER SECOND. Everyone else had their trees up and half their Christmas ready to go. I still had to unpack, do 1000 loads of laundry, throw away the rotten pumpkins still on my fireplace, and find a tree. I kind of feel like December punched me in the face.
Here are the highlights. We did have a good time, and it was well worth it:
We started out on Sunday going to church with Brian's family. They live in the Ave's in Salt Lake and go to one of the really old and cool church buildings up by the Salt Lake Cemetery. Their whole ward was so refreshing to be around and Brian and Wendy and Clare all spoke in sacrament and gave the best talks. Alec played an amazing piano piece too. It was the best day I have had in church in a very long time.
Then, we went to Melissa and Randy's house for a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner with my family, including Sloan's first birthday party. I'm so glad I got to be there to see that little dude and give him his first birthday present.
We started week on Monday by "taking the new truck out for a test drive." We have been thinking about buying a truck pretty much since we moved to ABQ and have been looking for the right one for a long time. We finally decided that the 2014 Nissan Frontier was the ticket when we saw the features they were going to put on it. No one in ABQ would have any until next February, but we found one red one in Salt Lake. We crossed our fingers that we might be able to sell our car up there and swing the whole deal in a week. My dad is so great about helping us with cars. He works so hard on our cars for us and I always feel like I've robbed someone when he gets us such good deals. As we walked into the dealership with the Subaru, he had his wholesale buddies there ready to bid on it. They totally gave us a great offer and we were able to sign the papers and buy the truck that day. It's pretty sweet. It's the first brand new car we have bought together and definitely, the kids' first brand new car. There is just something about driving a car that no one else has sat in or ruined or worn out. We are having tons of fun driving it!
The kids with Grandpa Lyle and the new truck!
While we were signing papers, my dad was playing with the kids in the dealership. They all thought this car was pretty cool. Grace thinks she's getting one for her 16th birthday? ha!
One of the cool things we were able to do during the week was go to The Leonardo museum to see the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit. It was really incredible to learn about how they were found and acquired and assembled. Seeing the scrolls in person and seeing artifacts from the same region and time period was really humbling. No photography is allowed, so I don't have any pics, but if you get a chance to see that exhibit, it is totally worth it. The kids were even into it and very interested in most of the details. At the end, they have an actual piece of the wailing wall from Jerusalem. You can write your own prayer on paper and leave it in the wall. They say when the exhibit is over, they will actually transport all of the papers back to the real wall in Jerusalem. So neat to be able to do that.
We ate dinner on Thanksgiving with Brian's family, as planned. Normally, they have a big crowd, but this year they chose to just keep it small with their family and ours. It was a really nice, peaceful, Thanksgiving. One thing that made it really great was being able to see Alec, who was home from school in Pittsburgh. He has always been such a sweet kid and so good to my kids. Harriet started the week kind of mad that she didn't have any cousins her age at Brian's house. She slowly learned that Alec was a really good big cousin to have around. He played with her and was so nice to her. Clare was great too and Jeremiah finally warmed up to having us around and decided we weren't too bad to hang out with.
Wendy assigned everyone a part of the meal to cook. It was surprisingly easy and fast. Everyone down to Harriet made one thing and it came together in a snap.
I used to spend the month of November making "grateful" posts. We always have a lot to be thankful for, especially when you start counting the good things in life. But, I really liked something in Brian's talk on Sunday that made me start thinking about being thankful for the hard parts of life too. When Velvet died, so many of my friends said "well, that's why I will never get my kids a pet, I don't want to have to go through that." It is so short-sighted to think that way though. Our lives have been so much better because of that dog and even her death was a really special thing in our family. Our kids learned so much from it and have done so much thinking about things since. Even though it was really hard, it was something I wouldn't trade. I don't hope to go through it again anytime soon, but I think we actually can be thankful for the hard things in our lives and what they teach us, as well as all the good stuff, which is also plentiful.
Black Friday was pretty funny. We have, in the past, done our due diligence in seeking out the great deals and door busters and standing in line. This year, we decided we were all too tired and not in the mood for that. So, Melissa and my mom and I, set out to a couple of small local stores that we love. We were the only ones in the first store the whole time we were there and then barely the only ones in the second store. It was way more fun and relaxed that way and we found some great stuff that I guarantee was NOT at the mall or Kohl's or Best Buy.
For our last day in Salt Lake, we did spend some time with Grandma Pearlie. (I hope she will someday get over our spectacle of meltdowns.) Then, we took everyone downtown to see the lights at Temple Square. Grace saw them once, before we moved from Salt Lake. She wasn't even 2 years old. Harriet has never seen them. I have been looking forward to being able to take them for so long. We started the night checking out the candy windows at ZCMI. These were probably the best part of the night for the kids.
As we walked across the street to Temple Square, Harriet was not impressed.
(why? look at this place!)
Hattie was done with the whole thing before it started. She wanted to leave and she would rather play with her cousins one last time than "see a bunch of stupid lights on trees." Little stinker! I waited 7 years to show these lights to that kid! She was not down with the field trip.
Luckily, she likes to smile for pictures even if she is in a bad mood.
David, however, does not smile in pictures unless you specifically tell him to.
He does not fake having a good time well. (I think he was done with the trip at this point too.)
In his defense, it was hard to walk through the 100,000 people and keep track of 3 different families who were all going at different speeds.
But, look who we found downtown?! Our long lost Merrill friends! It was so great to see them. Christmas Eve in ABQ will not be the same without them this year since they had to go and move to Washington last summer.
Jamie, also does not like having a picture taken. I was quick with my camera and grabbed this one.
I think Grace and I enjoyed the lights at least. Bah humbug to the rest of ya!
And somehow, we packed up everything that was in the Subaru plus a bike and a tent into the truck and went home in our new "sleigh." (Since we got the truck at Christmas time and it is a great cherry red sleigh color, I think it would suit Santa just fine for a vehicle.) Shadow was extra happy to move up a row and get to sit with the girls all the way home. Thankfully, no one was too terrible heading back and we got home in record time and we didn't have to drive through this storm (but we got to see what it left behind!)
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