Troll Infestation

We stuck around Tucson just long enough to celebrate the Fourth of July with friends and family before heading up north.  The girls and I got in to the spirit of the holiday a little early and dressed up for church on July 3rd.

 On the 4th we went to a pool party at a friend's house where we swam, ate BBQ, and had a water balloon fight.

 In the evening we went to our town carnival to eat, play, and watch fireworks with more friends, Papa, and Grandma Jean.

 The fireworks were great. I enjoyed watching Freya shriek with joy every time a new one shot in to the sky.

After a night of fun we packed up the car and the girls and I drove 14 hours to Logan, Utah to visit Nona, Ppa, Auntie Sam, cousins, aunts, and uncles.  The girls did great on the long drive.  They read books, listened to stories, colored, made necklaces, practiced the alphabet, played I Spy, and did pretty much everything but sleep, which is what I was hoping they would do!

As soon as we arrived, they set out to cure Nona of her troll infestation.  For several weeks we had been receiving videos and pictures from Nona showing naughty little trolls running around her house.  The trolls chased the dogs, chewed up Ppa's socks, made little beds in the grass, and ate all the breakfast cereal.

 Lillian spent her evenings tracking the trolls. Some nights they were very active and she would see them scamper across the yard, leap from the balcony, or peer at her from upstairs windows but they always disappeared before she got to them.

One night I went to check on Freya and found two of the trolls sleeping in her bed!

While looking for the trolls one evening, Freya discovered a new type of troll, the rock troll. She wrapped him in a blankie and took very good care of him.

Lillian did eventually catch all five troublesome trolls. She carries them with her in a giant canvas bag everywhere she goes so that they do not escape.

When we were not hunting for trolls we were doing all the things we love to do when we are in Logan. We eat shaved ice,

take baths in Nona's sink,

visit our favorite horse, Tex,

play at the splash pad,

have fun with family,

 and enjoy the cooler weather, green grass, commanding mountains, and wildlife that make Cache  Valley one of our favorite places.  The girls enjoy doing things like watering Nona's plants and visiting all the animals in the neighborhood.

Things like splashing around in the canal down the street, eating apricots warmed by the sun, collecting bugs, feeding ducks, visiting Creamies, and rowing around the lawn made every day an adventure.

Despite the fact that I work teaching while I am there, there always seems to be more time for tea parties, forts,fairy lanterns, and other magical things.

A few other things that make Nona's so wonderful are the massive amounts of dessert we eat and the fact that pants are optional.

Though we enjoy doing all our normal Nona's house activities, we also like to try new things while we are there. This year we went to the Tracy Aviary with my cousin and her family who were visiting from France.  The highlight of the "bird zoo" was definitely the owl we were able to see up close.

Another weekend we visited the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium where Lillian was able to see her new favorite animal, a sea turtle, and Freya met Dory.

We also took a trip to the Logan temple. This was the first time the girls had seen a temple up close and they were in awe of its beauty.  We spent a great deal of time walking around the temple grounds looking at the fountains and flowers.  As some of you may know, this temple is placed on a rather large steep hill.  Well, Lillian, who was ahead of me, decided she was going to walk down this big hill.  Unfortunately, Freya decided to follow her.  Knowing exactly what would happen if Freya tried to go down the hill, I broke in to a run in an attempt to catch her before she started her decent. I wasn't fast enough. Her little legs started running faster and faster down the hill until she fell and rolled all the way to the fence at the bottom.  At one point I yelled to Lillian, "Stop her!" but Lillian just watched as Freya rolled by.  Thankfully she was just shaken and not injured. Later that day when she saw Nona she said with the saddest voice she could muster, "Roll. Hill." and stuck her bottom lip out.

Pioneer Day is a big holiday in Utah with flags, fireworks, and lots of different parades.  We went to an evening carnival in Hyde Park and watched the Hyde Park parade and the Logan parade. 

After two days worth of parades Lillian started asking me daily if we could go to a parade. That made me smile. Last, but not least, we celebrated Nona's birthday before going home.  We made her a lemon cake and went to dinner at Elements.

We ended up sneaking away with another rat, Matilda, so that Madeline can have a baby sister.  Sam keeps us supplied in rats, a pet I never thought I would have but have enjoyed very much.

 It was difficult to leave, it always is, and listening to Lillian and Freya say,"Goodbye grass. Goodbye trees. Goodbye mountains. Goodbye temple. Goodbye cheese factory. Goodbye shaved ice...." for a good half an hour didn't ease the ache in my heart. When we go I always have to remind myself that we can return, that there are people at home who we love, and adventures waiting to be had there.