First Road Trip of the Year

The kids went back to school this week, then we took them on a road trip that effectively means they’ll be out of school next week. Life’s tough! Hitting the road marks a welcome return to an activity we enjoyed a lot more frequently in Michigan but haven't done as much while living in California. 

Eliza brought home some fun art she made before break.

Landon went back to Cub Scouts, now on Wednesdays. They’re learning about critter care.

Before that, while Eliza was at gymnastics, we had leftover heavy cream going to waste, so Mike and Landon made ice cream in a bag – you know, for science.

"Don't even THINK about touching my ice cream!"

All too soon, it was Friday and time for our road trip. We have come up to Utah for a few days. Leaving late Friday afternoon, we made it to St. George by midnight.

Saturday morning we went to the Home Depot to make tool boxes. The kids geeked out over the ice covering the ground.

Eliza turned hers into a bed for her Siamese cat.

From there we drove up to Salt Lake and attended the University of Utah Women’s Gymnastics home opener vs. the U. of Michigan. As the kids saw more and more snow and ice, they got more and more excited. By the time we got to the Huntsman Center, light snow had begun to fall. Hmm. 

Prior to the event itself, we went to the Kids Zone to get our Ute look on. 

Bobber the Clown added to the fun by making kids Thing-a-ma-Bobbers,
a roller coaster for a little rubber ball made out of a clear balloon
twisted around a colored balloon twist. 

We had a blast watching the Red Rocks beat the Wolverines in a pretty close matchup between two highly ranked programs. The Utes’ team included an alternate for the 2016 Rio Olympics US Women’s Team, MyKayla Skinner. While Landon, who was getting pretty tired and crabby from time on the road, didn’t seem as into the event, Eliza seemed to enjoy herself.

As he gets older, he may learn to appreciate watching the gymnasts in action. . . .

We drove back down to Provo through a smattering of snow, where we stayed for the night at a local hotel.

Mike woke up Sunday morning with a migraine. He wasn’t surprised what with the change of altitude and other known triggering factors, but still. Ugh. Fortunately, Hallie went to the rescue, and with a bath and some Excedrin, he was back in good form in time for us all to go driving around looking at how much the area has changed on our way to meeting up with our former Belle Isle missionary and cross country travel companion Loretta Beaty at Scheels, a newer sporting goods store in Sandy, where the kids were able to blow off some steam.

A 65 foot tall Ferris wheel and a 16,000 gallon tropical fish
tank along with several taxidermied animals adorn the store.

Not too sure about this Ferris Wheel thing

The kids are crack shots! Landon in particular had great aim. 

As we left the store, we were treated to southern skies full of peach and rose colors. Quite the change from yesterday’s inversion!