Escaping the Heat

On August 1st Josh helped me load up the car and the girls, Emerson, and I headed to Logan, Utah to escape the Arizona heat, visit family, and so I could teach and help with horseback riding at a residential treatment home for girls.  I was a little nervous, one because I have never driven 14+ hours with the girls while they are awake, and two because I was going to be driving alone which meant I had to be the driver, navigator, and entertainer extraordinaire.  Despite my apprehension I knew I could make the journey by myself.  If there is anything being a mother has taught me, it is that I am far more capable than I ever imagined and if I set my mind to do something, I can do it!  So, we said our goodbyes and headed out.

The trip went far better than I could have dreamed.  Freya remained content as long as I kept passing back snacks and Lillian kept herself entertained with stickers, coloring, books, sewing, her Girl Music (songs from Disney movies. I have no idea why she calls them her Girl Music), snacks, and me telling her Lillian Fay stories.  Other than all the food littering the backseat and lots of peeing on the side of the road, the trip was uneventful.  We made it to Logan in 14 hours and 15 minutes.  Hallelujah!

Lillian had a list of things she needed to do while visiting Nona. The first was digging for worms.  She got to that the first morning we arrived!  Freya even got involved, though I think she liked the mud more than she liked the worms.

Second on Lillian's list was Hawaiian shaved ice.  Since we can only get this syrupy goodness once a year, we indulged and ate it pretty much every day of our stay.  Freya, the eating machine, loved this part of our trip the most.

Third, we had to go to the grocery store with the baby carts.  Freya had a great time loading up her cart.  For only being able to see the bottom two rows of food, she found some good stuff!

Lillian's fourth and final request was to play with her cousin, Elle. Playing for these two bossy blondes is rough and tough and includes lots of pouting, and power struggles but they somehow manage to make it work.

Though that concluded Lillian's to-do list, we found plenty of other fun things to do when I wasn't busy riding or teaching.  A new little splash pad opened up just down the street from my mom so we spent plenty of time playing there.  Freya was not a fan of the freezing cold water but she was curious enough to stick her little hands in some of the smaller sprinklers.

When there wasn't quite enough time to go to the splash park we drug the old inflatable boat out on the front lawn and played in that.

We also attended the Cache County Fair and Rodeo which is always a blast.  I love going to all the little rodeos when I visit Logan in the summer. As silly as it might sound, I feel like they bring me back to my roots and make life seem simple again.  Cool nights.  George and Garth. Glittering cowgirls. Jeans and boots. Pounding hooves. Whooping and hollering. Moments to live for. Life at its best.

It is impossible to visit Nona without going to Deseret Industries to look for fun junk.  In honor of the occasion I decided to curl Freya's hair.  We wasted most of our time laughing at Freya swinging her curls around but we were able to find Lillian a bicycle to ride when she visits Nona.  It is a bit of a lemon but she doesn't seem to notice.

We all love the luscious grass here.  The girls like to run and play in it in the evenings and they like hitching a ride on the lawn mower with P-pa when it needs a trim.

One morning before I had to teach a class, we were able to meet up with my Great Aunt Patty for some fun at the park and a visit to the Willow Park Zoo.  Lillian likes to bring Cheerios for all the animals.  We stepped up our game this year and brought carrots for the reindeer.

Lillian was able to ride Tex, one of the best horses I have had the privileged of meeting. He is a 31 year old ranch horse who has done and seen it all.  I would love to take Tex home with me.

These Alpacas live around the corner from my mom.  Lillian was so excited to go and see them.  They were not as excited to see her.  She sat and waited patiently for them to come up to her.  Just when I was beginning to think it would never happen, one of them crept up for a quick nibble. It totally made her week.

Freya loved playing with all the dogs.  She figured out where Nona keeps the dog food and would go and get handfuls to feed the dogs.

 Much of the time she kept herself entertained carrying around this Easter basket full of eggs.  She would hitch it up on her shoulder and toddle about humming little baby songs to herself.

To Nona's delight, Lillian became quite adept at washing dishes.  As P-pa would say, she washed those dishes so well she could see through them!

The only problem we had at the beginning of our visit was a lack of princess dresses.  Lillian used her trusty grocery sack dress and made a makeshift crown out of a paper plate or she used a tulle dress that makes her look like a bundle of rags.  Papa finally came to her rescue and sent her a Princess Anna dress.  Now the remainder of her visit with Nona will be perfect.

Our adventure here in Utah is not yet complete.  We will be here soaking in paradise just a little while longer.  I hope the time drags by.  We are not ready to go home!