A Check on the Ol' Bucket List

I despise the month of February. It isn't February's fault. It is January. But January is cold and long and ugly and poor February must follow January and is still cold, long, and ugly. Therefore, because I am already sick of January I must also dislike February. So, Presidents' Day is a very important day of the month. It can be different and out of the normal. We can break from the routine. We did. I plan crazy and somewhat adventurous things to do - quite spontaneously. I planned at 8:00 a.m. Saturday and we left at 11:00 a.m. Saturday. It didn't really matter what we did as long as it wasn't here.

Our first stop was a Utah State University basketball game. McKenna has chosen to attend USU next Fall and we thought maybe she should, at least, see the town she will be living in. We enjoyed the game. Of course, USU lost. But it was still fun. I think McKenna will definitely enjoy being part of the "Herd" at those home games. A quick drive around campus, on a Saturday over a holiday weekend, showed us that much was going on and we should just get on our way. So we did.

Our next stop was Salt Lake City, where we planned to stay for the weekend. I had planned to go to Tucanos, which I love and no one else has tried, but the girls all wanted to go to The Spaghetti Factory. I don't really enjoy that place but we have great family memories there so we went. We waited FOREVER for a table and some of us nearly fainted from famine. We survived, however.

We were all tired, and grateful to go to bed early. The next morning we got up early-ish to attend the "Emily Show" aka Music and the Spoken Word. My friend Emily plays the violin. We think it is her show. To our surprise we ran into Michael, Emily's husband, and were able to enjoy the broadcast with him. Then we visited with these dear friends after. We also got to ride in their very cool bus. Yes, a bus, that is cool! They gave us a ride from one parking lot to another. Good times with good friends! We love the Rices! (Should have gotten a picture. Hindsight is a good teacher.)

Our next adventure was to visit with our dear friends that moved very far away and have now moved closer but not close enough - the Sorensons. We love them and miss them. But we had a great visit. (No picture of them, either!)

We then got to do something that I have wanted to do for a very long time. We went CURLING. The girls were about to die thinking about what I was about to make them I do. We had an instructor and broom-y things and stones and ice. It was way fun. It is a lot harder than it looks. You have to have good balance and extreme skill to be able to get that stone clear across the ice and into a small circle on the other end. It was so much fun. Katy didn't find it all that enjoyable. Adri and Kenna endured it well and Trent, the only one of us to score points, seemed to think it was fun too. But no one enjoyed it as much as I did. That is a check on my bucket list!

After that fun, we visited with Grandpa and Grandma in Farmington. We love them and always enjoy our time with them. Then, we were tired so we went back to the hotel to fall into bed. 

Next morning, we were able to contact a missionary friend of Collin who had brought a gift home from the mission field. Collin had sent it but it took us a long time to meet. The wait was worth it. Elder Sleight is a great young man and the plate Collin sent is beautiful and a treasure.

We had to return back to Idaho quickly so someone could be back for a practice and I could get my classroom prepared for another week. All good vacations must end but they end with great memories in this family.