Earlier this week, we had a quick, 24-hour jaunt up to Provo and back so that I could see one of my best friends (Karin Holmes Bean), who was in town for a reunion and a wedding. Since I almost never get to see her, it was worth the drive for the visit. I got to chat with a dear friend, we had lunch at a yummy Thai restaurant, and the kids got to spend time with grandma--so it was (I hope) a win for everyone).
Thursday night, Dan and I saw the new Ant Man movie. I wasn't thrilled about a movie starring a man who can shrink to ant size and lead hordes of ant armies, but we were celebrating Dan's birthday early so I let him choose. I was pleasantly surprised! Marvel has mastered the art of mixing humor and pathos with its superhero movies, so the movie itself was good. Plus, Paul Rudd is just adorable, superhero or no. (Great casting call, btw).
Friday, we loaded the kids into the car for another mini getaway, this time, to Mesquite.
We were about a mile from the Black Ridge when our car began fishtailing across the road. Luckily, no one was near us at the time. After a terrifying few seconds, we managed to pull off the road and Dan confirmed that we did, in fact, have a flat tire. While he tried to jack the car up on the inclined shoulder, I tried to get the spare tire out. This was no small feat, since the tire in a minivan like ours is between the front seats and middle row of passenger seats. I had to scoot the front seats all the way forward and try to work the tire out while holding the door to the secret compartment open. (I have a lovely set of bruises on my arm to prove that this wasn't a piece of cake). Luckily, we finally got everything to work.
Unfortunately, this meant that all our plans for the morning were abandoned in favor of dropping the car off at Big O Tires in St. George. The car was ready just in time for lunch with the cousins and a drive south to Nevada.
July maybe isn't the best time to visit Mesquite: it was well over 100 degrees when we were there. Fortunately, we were primarily concerned with the pool. Though we couldn't check into the hotel when we arrived, they did let us into the pool. (The water was cold! But I suppose with the heat most people found it refreshing). Here's Oliver snuggling into the towels when the water got to be too much.
There was some miscommunication about breakfast (and I forgot my cell phone, which compounded the problem), so we ended up going to the buffet without the cousins. Of course, Andrew was in hog heaven: after 3-4 rounds, we only just managed to keep him from topping off his breakfast with a bowl of ice cream. Oliver made up for not eating any dinner by eating 4 pieces of bacon, some oatmeal, two mini-muffins, some fruit, two pieces of sausage, and a piece of french toast. I thought the food was okay--but the omelets were great.
After breakfast, there was more swimming (Oliver just wanted to go down the mini water slide on my lap, on endless repeat), a just under the wire checkout, and a drive back to SG for lunch and Costco shopping.
If it wasn't particularly glamorous, considering it was Dan's birthday and our 12 year anniversary, we had a good time anyway.
I spent most of this morning making this beauty (German Chocolate cake). Sarah told me at dinner tonight that she only makes it for Aaron once a year (she refuses to do it more than that), and now I know why. It's not particularly complicated, but it takes a lot of time and about half a dozen pans and bowls. But I love Dan, and it's his favorite.
Dinner, in honor of Dan, was day-old KFC (reheated for the occasion), corn on the cob, biscuits, and potato salad. And, of course, the cake.
No comments:
Post a Comment