Road Warriors 3: Utah

We arrived at Kira's ward a few minutes before Sacrament Meeting began.  It was wonderful to sit in the pew and watch my sisters and their families enter.  Between the four of us (Kira, Katie, Lauren, and I), we had 15 kids, so our pew was anything but quiet!

When it was time for primary, almost all our kids had a cousin buddy with whom they could attend class.  I took Graham into the primary room and sent him to sit by his cousin Chase.  When Graham looked at me blankly, I realized he didn't remember Chase!

At the end of church, I went to pick Graham up from his class.  I told the teacher, "I can grab Chase as well.  Graham is his cousin."

Chase glared at me, "Him is not my cousin!"

I briefly tried to convince him that Graham is indeed his cousin, but Chase could not be swayed. Laughing, I replied, "Well, then won't you be surprised when we show up at your house this evening!"

Without missing a beat, Chase countered, "If you come to mine house, I will kick you OUT!"

That kid is a firecracker! (This is the same kid who recently told his neighbor, "Bad news.  We're getting a new mom.  Our mom is moving to California.") 

After church, despite Chase's protests, we did indeed gather at Kira's for a big family dinner/7th birthday party for Anna.  Six of my seven siblings were in attendance!  Anna wanted a Moana themed party, and Kira (aka Party Planner Extraordinaire) totally came through. It reminded of me when Kira through a family birthday party for Aubree's 6th birthday.

The best part of the day was just spending time talking and laughing with family.  We are certainly not issue-free, but we sure do love each other.

We designated Monday our "BYU day."  I traded out a couple of my younger kids for Anna and Kylee, and left for BYU an hour early to tour the BYU Museum of Art.  We didn't have a lot of time to explore the exhibits, so we focused on two - the Minerva Teichert art and an exhibit called "To Magnify the Lord, Six Centuries of Art and Devotion." Both were excellent!  

I put Nellie in the Ergo on my back, and invited the older kids to choose their favorite art pieces.  They had a hard time narrowing it down.  Kylee kept a running count, "I have four favorites.  No! Now I have 6 favorites!" I loved how Minerva Tiechert placed a heavy emphasis on women in her art.

 

Bryce was drawn to the large paintings, especially this one with Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty.

Aubree, Bryce, and Kylee maintained a steady enthusiasm. Anna, being a few years younger, occasionally found the well-placed ottomans more inviting.  When she first told her mom about our visit, she said, "Mom! It's so great.  You have to go! You'll love it."

An hour later,  she amended, "Well, it's pretty good.  You'd probably like it."

An hour after that, she decided, "It was actually pretty boring." Haha!

I could have spent many long hours exploring.  Seeing the actual paintings and works of art are infinitely better than seeing pictures of copies of them.

This was my favorite piece of art. Made me cry.

After the Museum of Art, we skipped across campus to meet up with the rest of our crew at the Bean Life Science Museum.  On the way, Aubree heard the Bell Tower toll "Come, Come Ye Saints," and made it her goal to capture the ringing on video.  She enthused, "I can't wait till I go to school here and get to hear it all the time!"

The Bean Museum was extra busy, since it was President's Day, but it was still fun for a quick visit.

Waiting for the elevator

Having almost everyone together is such a joy!

Despite what their faces might suggest in this photo, my kids actually did enjoy their visit!

Part of the reason our Bean Museum visit was quick was because the kids were anxious to get to their promised and much anticipated Creamery Ice Cream.  Kira had packed us a picnic lunch, so we first stopped at a pavilion to eat.

It was just cold enough to be uncomfortable, so after lunch we decided to pack back into cars and go to the Creamery that had indoor seating.  That turned out to be a mistake.  Apparently everyone else had the very same idea!  We waited in line WAY too long and ended up eating outside anyway.  Oh well.  At least the ice cream was delicious! 

On our way back to Kira's we got to see the gorgeous new Provo City Temple.  I wanted to stop and visit, but Nellie was desperate for a chance to actually get an afternoon nap.  The kids spent the afternoon playing at Kira's.  Her house is a destination in itself.  She has a park-like backyard, a downstairs FULL of toys (including a trampoline), and she even has a climbing wall in her garage!

Nellie and Edmond really wanted to go outside, but their mean old moms made them stay inside so we could keep chatting.

Nellie kept herself occupied by drawing on the chalkboard (and eating the chalk every time I turned my back).

That night, Bryce got a bad migraine that left him pale and nauseous.  He doesn't often get them, but I think the combination of lots of changes and not enough water put him over the edge.  Poor kid.
Monday evening was a late night for the adults.  Our conversation started light-hearted enough, but soon we were in full-fledged "deep" mode.  Conversations like that are nearly impossible to have in the course of our day-to-day busy lives, but they are the ties that bind.  

Morning came early, and we were up and out the door for another adventure, this time to the Museum of Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point. I've been to a lot of Children's Museums, and this one ranks right up at the top of the list.  Aubree's aging out of most children's museums, but we stayed for four hours here, and she enjoyed every minute.

In addition to the typical (though much more technologically advanced) children's museum fare (i.e. a "town" area, a water play area, and a science area), this museum also boasted an outstanding rope climbing/play area.  That was definitely the kids' favorite part.  They could've played there all day! 

We ended the day in the water area, which was a wise choice, because they all got soaked.

Alexander and Graham

Piper

They attempted to dry themselves off with hurricane force winds.  They thought it especially funny that one of the wind settings was entitled, "Whoa Nellie!"

 

It was such a fun day with my sisters!

Colleen & Katie

Tuesday afternoon, Kira took the big kids to see Kylee perform in a community theater version of The Wizard of Oz.  Aubree, Bryce, and Thane loved it! Getting an ice cream cone at the end was an added bonus.
While they were gone, Mark's sister Amy and her little boy, Eli, came over for a visit.  It wasn't until they were on their way that I realized I'd neglected to tell her that Mark wasn't with us.  Oops!  They had a late (albeit delicious...thanks Stew!) dinner with us, and it was wonderful to connect. Next time I'll remember to snap a picture.

Wednesday morning we woke up to an unexpected world of white.  The kids all wanted to go out and play in the snow, but I hadn't packed any snow clothes.  Instead, we packed up our stuff into the car and spent the morning helping Kira clean up her house.  This time around, my kids did an extra good job helping clean. After lunch, we said sad goodbye's, loaded up, and began the next leg of our trip.