Spring Break 2019

If you recall, we (ie Santa) gave our kids a trip to Great Wolf Lodge for Spring Break.  And I was pretty excited.  No cooking or cleaning.  Just a chance to read some books and let my kids splash all week.

Then we found out that my mom needed another surgery.  She has been struggling with a new infection for a few weeks.  Antibiotics + anti-fungal weren't clearing it.  (Did you know that taking antibiotics only kills the infection in living flesh?  So the infection on the plate couldn't be cleared by just taking meds.)
 So they needed to remove the plates in her chest.  We found out on Thursday night, the 18th.  Spring Break started on the 22nd.  I had a total meltdown.  It was like all the pain of November coming back.  And I couldn't do Great Wolf Lodge when my mom was going to have another surgery.  But I was so worried about Derek and the kids--Derek was fabulous.  He got 2 extra days off of work so he could go and help me decide to change our Spring Break plans.

We ended up having a fabulous trip.  My mom came through her surgery so well.  She was back out of the hospital in 1 day!  She was home for Easter. 

This is 1/2 of one of the plates from her chest.  My dad said he wanted the plate since it was $25,000.  Ha!  Doesn't look as much like a plate as I expected.  But they used it to screw her sternum back together.  She still has one plate inside.  But they said her sternum had been healing nicely, so they didn't need to put any new ones in. 

We played UNO, Scrabble, worked on a really hard puzzle, and even took my  mom out for Pizza.

We promised the kids it would still be a Spring Break with lots of fun.  On Tuesday I stayed home with my mom and worked in the chair next to her.  Both of my sisters called, so I got to catch up.  Derek took the kids to "This is the Place" Monument Park.  Where Sarah commented that she was glad I stayed home because I would have "rained on their parade."  Ha! On the way home they went to Temple Square, touring the conference center and the family history center.  Derek and Libby got super sunburned.  Oops!   

It turns out that Dad makes them read a lot of plaques!  

After a delicious taco dinner at home, we went to see Missing Link with my dad.  $5 movie night is a thing in UTAH!  It was awesome.  Cheap popcorn too! 

Day 2: Hogle Zoo & the Utah State Capital ending at the Pizza Pie Cafe.

Hogle Zoo is WAY cooler than I remember.  They have upgraded lots.  But, they didn't get rid of the lion head drinking fountains!  

We went with Drea, Ruger & Reagan and Drea's friend Sarah met us there.  I didn't get many pictures.  Hopefully she got some more.  But it was a perfect morning for the zoo.  Not too warm, but sunny, and all the animals were out! 

On the way home from the zoo we went to the Utah State Capital.  The week before we left we went to the WA state capital on a field trip with the 4th grade.  It was really fun to see the Utah Capital since we had just been to the WA capital.  Sadly the Legislature isn't in session.  But we tagged along with a tour group already in progress and it was really amazing.  It is a spectacular building.  So beautiful.  Libby's sunburn was killing her, so she was over it.  Ben was dragging too.  But the rest of us enjoyed it!

Bryn & Brian brought their kids up and we went to Pizza Pie Cafe.  It's a pizza buffet, perfect with our crowd.  But totally brutal for me since I am eating Gluten Free right now.  But they did make me my own little Gluten Free Pizza.  It was fine.  But there is just something about Gluten.  I am feeling better though, so I am sticking to it for now.  (There is a whole other story about my digestive journey...maybe another post on another day.)

Day 3: Logan!
I love taking my kids to Logan and daydreaming that they will be Aggies one day too! We got everyone a shirt or sweatshirt.  Walked up Old Main Hill, and walked around campus a bit.  It is even more beautiful than it used to be.  I love Logan!

 Then we stopped in at my grandparent's old house.  The new owners have said we could come and look at all their renovations.  I texted her the night before and we set up a tour.  They are doing a great job.  The house needed a lot of work, so I know they are brave!  They are also doing a lot of the work themselves.  Libby kept saying, "This looks like an episode of Fixer Upper!" 
It makes me happy (and I got a little teary) at how they are preserving many of the things about the house, while updating and making it more functional.
I didn't take any pictures though.  Ugh.
Then (after a yummy Mexican lunch on Main Street) on to the cheese factory! We bought lots of cheese, and of course had ice cream.  We bought a lot of cheese to bring home. Luckily I can eat cheese during the next phase of my digestive healing journey.

 My favorite stop was actually our first stop in Logan, the temple.  We took pictures outside.  It is fun to think that our eternal family started with Derek and I's sealing in 2003. 

We don't look any older, right? 

Then we went back and babysat Nick and Drea's kids so they could go out for her birthday.  It is fun to be with littles for a bit to remind me how glad I am that we are through that stage!

We had an uneventful and relatively quick (just under 13 hours) drive home on Friday.  Derek had committed to work the Shoreline Invitational Track meet on Saturday, and I was helping at a funeral luncheon, so it was a short visit.  But I am so glad we changed our plans.  It was good to see my mom doing so well, rebounding quickly from this last surgery.  It was fun to take our kids to explore in Utah.  It was awesome to spend so much time together. Yesterday (in addition to the funeral lunch) I tackled a massive to do list (and I have some more today), but I feel ready to face down these last 8 weeks of school.