Royal Visit

During our week with Karen & co., we snuck off for a couple days to visit some of our most favorite people (the Allred/Frank clan) in Royal City.  Ashlee and Tyler were our neighbors and close friends when we lived in Wymount.  We've also been blessed to meet Ashlee's parents and all her siblings (there are 8 kids - 5 girls, 3 boys - just like my family), and they're all just as amazing as she is (and that's saying something!). 

When we arrived Wednesday morning, we headed over to Ashlee's parent's home where the whole clan had gathered for an Iron-Chef omelet competition.  As soon as we walked in, we were swept up and made to feel like part of the family.  Watching the cook-off was highly entertaining and the idea behind it is so fun and one I want to remember just in case we're ever that adventurous:

There were two competitors (Ashlee's dad and the town mayor - a close family friend), three judges ("Judge President" [Stake Presidency member], "Judge Bishop" [the ward Bishop who happens to also be the oldest Allred sibling], and "Judge Master" [the ward Scout Master - Tyler]), the host (one of the sisters who has a gift for commentary and hilarity), and one chairman (5 year-old grandson, who took his role very seriously).  Each chef cooked three different type of omelets (they made enough for the judges and all the spectators - Yum!) and were judged on presentation, taste, and use of the main ingredient (egg).  So fun!

After the Breakfast (with a capital "B!"), we trooped over to the Frank home so the little kids could nap.  Aubree made an immediate connection with Ashlee's daughters, Gracee (7) and Jaylen (4).  They bonded over American Girls, penguins (Aubree and Jay had matching stuffed birds), and hangman.  Bryce was a bit smitten with their youngest daughter, Maggie (2).  "Mom," he told me, "I like Maggie."  Guess what Maggie had gotten for Christmas?  A tent, WITH a connected tunnel.  After Bryce and Maggie exhausted themselves crawling through the tunnel 5,000 times, can you guess what they did?  Yep, completely filled the tunnel up with anything not nailed down (I'm pretty sure Bryce was the ring-leader in this case).

After naps, we decided to put our winter gear to the test (there was SNOW on the ground there!) and go sledding.  Clearly, farm-folk know how to do sledding right.  We went over to Ashlee's friend's home where the driveway was so long and steep, our van couldn't make it up the hill.  Next to the driveway, they'd created a looonnnnggg sledding run (1/4 - 1/3 of a mile, maybe?).  A pick-up truck made the rounds picking kids and adults up at the bottom and hauling them back to the top to start over.  Impressive - and a little too intimidating for my little neophytes.  Mark found a much smaller hill to use for their first attempt.  Oh, and did I mention that it was COLD and windy and COLD?

 

 On only their second run, Bryce ended up with a face-full of stinging snow and he was DONE.  He came in the nice warm house with me and Thane and discovered an electric train which he found much more enjoyable.  Aubree tried to make a snowman, but the wind had whipped away all the moisture from the snow so it wouldn't stick together. She and Mark also came in the warm house not too long after Bryce.  I guess our Florida blood hasn't thickened yet.

Tyler made us tri-tip for dinner, which is another great reason to be back on the West Coast - tri-tip, Yum!  Their three girls scarfed it down.  My kids wouldn't touch it.  The little vegetarians don't know a good thing when they've got it!

The following morning Ashlee's dad gave us a personal tour of his Dairy.  Aubree had been so excited about being able to visit the dairy, but when we arrived her excitement quickly turned to misery.  "Ahhhhh!," she cried, "it stinks, it stinks, it STINKS!" And she plugged her nose and whimpered the rest of the trip (to be fair, she's always been really sensitive to smells).

The rest of the kids were much less bothered by the smell and were excited to watch the cows be milked.

 Mark and I thought the tour was fascinating.  

Having the owner give the tour was especially nice because he could answer all the behind-the-scenes questions.  We were even able to hop in his truck and drive around to see where and how the feed is stored and mixed, where the calves live, and (the highlight of the trip) the nursery for the less-than-24-hour-old calves.  Aubree was reluctant to go into the nursery, but came out beaming, "they're all so cute!  We named them!"  That five-minute jaunt turned the experience from horrible to thrilling for her (though I don't think she's anxious to return). 

We spent the rest of the afternoon back at Ashlee's parent's home talking and letting the kids play.  There were four other girls close to Aubree's age, which she loved and needed (she's really missing her Florida friends).

 The older kids kept us entertained for hours playing dance games on their Wii.  

 It was hard to leave, but made somewhat easier with the knowledge that now we only live a few hours away so we can visit more often. 

When we got back to Karen's house and were getting out of the car, I noticed Aubree was carrying an empty soda can she'd gotten while touring the Dairy.  I instructed her to throw it away when she got upstairs.  Immediately, tears sprung to her eyes, "Noooooooooooooooo!"  "Okay," I questioned, "why do you want to keep the can?"  "Because I always want to remember our visit to Ashlee and Tyler's."  I'd say the trip was a success.