Saturday... Liza needed to run to Costco before we met my mom for lunch, so we risked our lives by driving to the north end of St. George. The traffic was a nightmare!!! This weekend, I was told, that in St. George, there were 130 soccer tournament teams, 13 tournament baseball teams, a home show, the home builders association convention and it was the day before Valentine's Day. Most active LDS people do not shop or dine out on Sunday, so, Saturday was the LDS Valentine's Day. Suffice it to say that St. George was insane! On Saturday, parking lots were full. Restaurants had 2 hour waits and the lines were ridiculously long.
Fortunately we drove up at the perfect time to get the very closest park to the Costco building, which I'm certain was the only park at that moment in the parking lot. We were in and out for the juice that Liza needed. I took Aylabelle back to the car while Liza waited in the several people deep line. From there we went to Olive Garden, where we walked right in and were seated. We must have been in the middle of two waves because a woman was livid with our server for the time she'd waited for her credit card to be returned after she'd paid. She told us that she'd waited 30 minutes for her food. When we left, the lawn was full of people sitting in the grass waiting for their names to be called. We had great service, great food and other than the initial wait for our server to greet us, we had a great experience.
After lunch and saying goodbye to Mom, we took Aylabelle home for a nap and played "Fruit Salad" while she slept. As soon as she woke up, Liza needed diapers at Walmart and we went to dinner, which ended up being a 90 minute drive around St. George looking for a place that didn't have at least a 45 minute wait. It was seriously crazy enough for me to rethink the idea of going to St. George for spring break. Everyone was talking about it and comparing the spring break crowds to it. I can understand that. Everyone was wearing capris and t-shirts and there was no inversion. The temps were near 70 in the afternoons. I get the whole "Let's go to St. George to escape winter" idea! But, I'm not sure that I want to go back to that crowded nightmare when going to the ranch, even though there will be more snow than we have at home. Or even better, being that right now I'm feeling so good to be home, I like the idea of spring break at home and doing things right here in Logan. We'll see where that goes. We still have a few weeks to decide.
Anyway, we rode around forever trying to find dinner. Liza and I had laughed so hard while trying to find a place to eat. We were ready to just stop at McDonalds! Oh, the teasing that took place! We decided to take it home and eat it in peace and quiet, then put Aylabelle down for the night to enjoy the rest of a quiet night together. Liza and I were able to talk a lot, which I just love. It's awesome having such an awesome friend in your daughter! We waited up for Buddy and watched the rest of the Intern while he ate a very very late dinner.
On Sunday, I absolutely loved watching Liza leading the music in Primary. She is such a sweet, soft-spoken girl. The kids just loved her and responded so positively. She'd put together lots of Primary songs that use the word "Love" and had lots of activities like blowing kisses that were "love" related. The little kids loved it. The older kids were hysterical as they "eeewwwwwwed" anything kiss related...blowing kisses, making kiss (fish) faces... She had prepared arrows with songs and hearts to throw them at with actions and the funniest part was watching the kids realize what they'd chosen. I'm pleased to see how dedicated she is to her calling because it's a really challenging job!
After church, we came home and began making Lettuce Wraps for dinner. Liza's BFF from high school and her daughter were also down for the soccer games, and they came to spend the night. We enjoyed an all girls valentine's dinner and games until Buddy got home (earlier than all week!) and he joined in the fun. Deann's daughter was a delight. It was so fun to see them all together! I went to bed at 10:30 so that Liza could have some time with Deann. The next morning, Liza said, "You didn't have to do that" and she asked how long I'd stayed awake, alone in my room. My answer... "About three minutes." I was tired!
Over the weekend, I'd gotten a text from Alan and Jill. They were in St. George too, visiting Jill's folks who winter there. Katie's daughter's games ended earlier than hoped for. If I rode back with Katie, I'd have to ride the airport shuttle back to Logan from SLC. Alan and Jill had room in their Yukon and offered me a ride back with them and my favorite nephew, Jake, and they could drop me off at my door. So, after discussing it with Katie, she and Savannah went home without me on Sunday morning and Alan, Jill and Jake picked me up Monday morning.
Saying goodbye to Liza and Aylabelle was hard as usual, but seeing them just four weeks ago and knowing that I'd be seeing them again soon made it easier! And being with Alan, Jill and Jake really helped! We had perfect weather, lots of gab and great traffic all the way home. We stopped for coke refills and Pei Wei for lunch, other than that, totally uneventful! And I didn't have to drive an inch! Sweet!
We pulled into the driveway as Doug and ZJ were leaving to pick up flags for the ward YM/YW. Grace was getting ready to head back to school. So, I literally came home and had two minutes with them before I found myself alone for 90 minutes. ZJ and Doug returned, picked me up and we went to a YSA Home Evening activity, then to grab some milk and bananas at the grocery store and up to Smithfield to pick up Quayd and Grace. It was literally 10PM before we were together as a family, even though I'd been home for 5 hours.
The YSA activity was a hoot. I'm not sure what the game was but it was loud and active. They had socks rolled up with duct tape and were throwing them at each other. Insane! At one point, the other counselor wanted the bishopric and their wives to play a round. Because of my foot, I had to pass and ZJ stepped in for me. When I watched them playing so hard, I was thankful not to have to be getting hit by hard "balls". ZJ and I played Tenzi with a few of the kids and had just as much fun.
The biggest news of the day was, however, when I called Liza to let her know that I was home safe and sound and she informed me that she was packing to come to Logan! Thirty minutes later, they were on the road heading here... well, to Buddy's family's home. After Buddy's crazy week, he has a few days off and they have a new car they were dying to road trip in and there were some things that they could help with at Buddy's folks. Totally spontaneous roadtrip! So, Liza and I texted off and on through the night. They arrived at 1:03 this morning and will be staying with Buddy's folks for a few days. We'll get to see them off and on a few times, I'm sure. Doug is very excited to see his girls!
I'm home. Laundry is waiting. The family is happy for my return. Quayd and Grace have been so involved at school that most everything fell on ZJ while I was away. She just hugged and held on to me for a long time when I got home. We're all just happy to be back together! I'm happy to be home, but, I admit, I enjoyed that little taste of spring. The snow has melted here a bit, but it's still well over a foot deep. I missed Doug, the babes, my home, the hot tub and my bed! It's just good to be home!
It never ceases to amaze me... vacations, staying home, days off, work days, projects, activities, busyness, you name it, as long as we all end up at home together, life is good!
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