Spring Break trip to Utah

March 20, Thursday

Michael and Daniel left this morning around 8:30 AM. They drove and Jonny and I flew. Michael prefers to drive, and this way we didn't have to rent a car. Also, this made it so that we could bring some of Emily's things home to make it easier when she moves out in April. Michael and Daniel pulled into the hotel right when we got there. Well, after I had checked in and we were going to our room anyway, around 8 PM Utah time. Michael said the drive took them 9 1/2 hours, even with stops. I was able to get ready for the day, get packed, work on my list of tasks, and then we left the house at about 2:40 PM. Our flight was delayed about 45 minutes. 

I texted when we landed and Emily was there before we got outside. She took us over to the hotel so we could check in and then Michael and Daniel arrived and we all went to the room and put a few things away. 

This is our favorite hotel in Provo, the Residence Inn Provo North. There are only two problems with it. Jonny always seems to have an allergic reaction when he uses the bedding for the pull-out couch, so we requested fresh bedding for him. The other problem is they raise their prices way too high at popular times, like graduation or when there is a home football game. Otherwise, we love staying here.

Nathaniel and Audrey were already putting Charlie to bed so we just went out to dinner at IHOP. Emily went back to her apartment and she was able to find a spot and we went back to the hotel. We had a prayer and then we got ready for bed. 

March 21, Friday

We left the hotel a little after 10:30 AM to go over to Nathaniel and Audrey's. Once we arrived, the Walmart order was already there so we brought that in. Nathaniel helped me put away the cold stuff while Michael and the boys went to the family room and held Charlie. I got to hold him plenty later, though. He is so sweet! He's got the prettiest blue eyes and the puffiest red cheeks. He likes to make a little squawking noise once in a while but it's a happy noise and it's so cute. When I was holding him he was talking to me in his little baby voice and I got some on video. It was so sweet! 

Michael helped me get lunch together for everyone. Nathaniel and Audrey spent the day doing work and schoolwork while we played with Charlie. Nathaniel took a break for a little while and played Mario Kart with the kids. While I was holding him, he fell asleep in my arms.  

While Charlie napped, Michael went for a walk and Emily took the boys to get Swig. We needed to figure out what we were going to do for dinner and we decided to go ahead and go to Teppanyaki. Michael was still on campus. He was wandering around and going to the library and other buildings. He bought some chocolate covered cinnamon gummy bears for Jonny. We picked him up at the Wilk and then went to Teppanyaki and Nathaniel and Audrey met us there. The food was good but of course we knew it wasn't going to be as good as Osaka. I was bummed that they charged an extra $4.50 per person for fried rice and they didn't have any Yum Yum sauce. But the fillet was very good and everyone had fun. The chef touched the fire to transfer it from one part of the griddle to another so that was cool. He also scooped the rice up into a bowl and flipped it over a couple of times and we were impressed by that. He didn't throw zucchini at us to try and catch in our mouths but he did throw pieces of shrimp. 

We went over to Nathaniel and Audrey's. I held Charlie for a few minutes and then Audrey went to feed him. We played Soundtrack Trivia for quite a while and Jonny won. He's always complaining he's not good at that game but he did really well. Then we said our goodbyes and went to the hotel and Emily went to her apartment. We came back and had a family prayer and we got ready for bed. 

March 22, Saturday

This morning, we went over to Nathaniel and Audrey's at 11 AM. 

We hung out with them for a little while and then got ready to go to lunch at 1 PM at Ruby River Steakhouse. We got there a little early and Joe and Brandie were already there. It was so nice to see them and their girls. Those girls are so sweet! It was a very nice meal. The food was very good. Nathaniel and Audrey sat on the end with Charlie and put him in one of those slings for his car seat. Veronica was so cute and she kept getting up and walking over there to peek at him or to rock his car seat or just to say hi. It was pretty sweet. Delilah is a smart little thing. She had fun doing all the puzzles on the kids menu with her mom. I had the ribeye and the mashed potatoes and I ordered some fries so Michael and I could share. Everyone seemed to like their food. The waitress was nice enough to take our picture for us. Joe says work is about the same but Brandie is pretty stressed at work because they're understaffed and about to lose another employee and she has to take on a lot of extra work. The girls are doing dance and Delilah has a couple of competitions coming up in St. George and at Lagoon. I gave them the little Ulta balls with the makeup toys in them and the girls were so excited. They had fun opening it and comparing what they got. Delilah was especially happy that she got a pretend nail polish that's a pretty teal color. We said our goodbyes to them and then went to Home Depot to get some boxes for Emily to pack up some of her things tonight. 

We went over to their house and hung out and held Charlie. It was wonderful. We played Nathaniel's Blockbuster game. That was really fun. It was Nathaniel, Audrey, and I against the rest of them. Everyone did pretty well, but it was pretty easy to figure out that Nathaniel's team was going to win. By the time we finished playing, the basketball game was supposed to start but it kept getting pushed back. Michael offered to take me to get cookies at Sweet Tooth Fairy, which of course I was happy about. We took Jonny, Emily, and Daniel with us to give Nathaniel and Audrey a little quiet time. Audrey would have to feed Charlie periodically of course, but they also bottle feed him now sometimes. When we got back from getting the cookies everyone enjoyed their treats and we watched the basketball game. I offered the boys to make sandwiches for themselves or have some fruit or something but nobody was very hungry because we had such a big lunch. Our cookies were basically our dinner. It was fun to hold Charlie and play with him. Audrey tried to put Charlie down to bed a couple of times because he was acting so tired. 

One time he woke up and I offered to do it. I got him and changed his diaper and he was laughing and smiling and cooing and it was so sweet. We were all very happy that BYU won the game! They beat Wisconsin 91 to 89 and now they're in the top 16 which hasn't happened for 14 years, when Jimmer Fredette was on the team. We got all of our stuff together and said our goodbyes and had a family prayer.

Then went over to Emily's apartment. We helped her pack up her books and gather all her things. Michael and the boys put it all in the car and then we said our goodbyes to Emily and went to the hotel. It was a little after 10 PM when we got back to the hotel and we all got ready for bed.

March 23, Sunday

Michael drove Jonny and me to the airport and we were there in plenty of time. They started boarding pretty early. We saw the Church family and the Andersons on the plane. We got off the plane and got to the car and got to the house a little after 9 AM. We brought in our stuff and I changed into my church clothes and went over to Sacrament meeting. Jonny was really tired and didn't want to go so I didn't make him. I told him if he actually went to sleep then he didn't have to go so that's what he did. I think it was a little before 5 PM when Michael and Daniel arrived. That means they did the trip in about 11 hours, I think. We brought in all the stuff of Emily's and put it in Andrew's room. I had ham in the crockpot for everyone. Michael gave a short family home evening lesson and we talked about our week. What a great trip for Spring Break! It was Jonny's idea, and I'm so glad we could make it work!