Having Fun in South Jordan, Part I

I stopped writing logs every night because it got exhausting, but the pictures should be enough to tell what fun things we did:

July 1

Ian still snoozing in the bed next to me in the morning

July 1

 I drew this fairy for Elisa using colored pencils at Lisa's house. I think I made her chin too big. I don't know what happened to it because it never made it home.

July 1

Dinner at Chick-fil-a. I don't remember why Elisa and Aaliyah weren't with us. I guess they didn't want to look for fireworks with us. Lisa insisted we looked at several fireworks stands so we did. We didn't buy very many fireworks. I believe I bought a few sparklers. The boys were hungry and wanted Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Calvin forgot to put on his shoes before getting into the van, so he had no shoes the entire trip! 

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July 3

We went to an indoor pool in DayBreak since the South Jordan one was closed for the summer. The kids got lots of quality swim time in and had a real good time!

Later that evening:

Lisa, my mom, Aaliyah, and I went out for dinner to Itto Sushi since my mom had a Groupon for it. Even with it, the meal was quite expensive. It was good sushi though and fun to see them light it on fire. After sushi we went to get some shave ice.

South Jordan Part I: The Rest of June

Here are some logs I made between the family reunion and July:

Sunday June 25

The kids hung out at Lisa’s house the entire day. Erik and I went to my parent’s ward. The organist was really awful, the speakers weren’t that great, and only one person acknowledged us. Erik went with my dad to Sunday school. My mom and I debated whether we should go to relief society but ultimately decided against it. I made some tuna sandwiches for lunch. We just hung around and chatted, and I did my nails. We decided to go fetch the kids at Lisa’s house in the early evening. I didn’t want them staying the entire week since the child care isn’t always on par. For dinner we ate spaghetti, and Aaliyah spent the night on the couch. I shared my bed with Elisa, and Ian slept in the bed next to mine.

Monday June 26

I woke up around 7 and waited a few hours for everyone else to wake up. I ran on my dad’s treadmill for 2 miles and got ready for the day. I dropped Ian off at Lisa’s house, and the rest of us (my mom, Gabe, Elisa, Aaliyah, and I) all went to Sam’s club, ate lunch, and bought a bunch of stuff. Elisa bought herself an ice cream sundae kit. We went back to the house to put the food away, and after hanging out for a bit, we drove to DI for a look around. I found a few books that looked like a good read, and Elisa found some heelies, fuzzy slippers, and a beanie boo. Poor Gabe didn’t find anything. My mom wanted to stop by a Mexican restaurant just a few buildings down for some menudo and taco combos. The menudo was disgusting, the horchata was watery, flavorless, and too sweet, the beans and rice were bland, but the tacos themselves were pretty good, and I liked the sauce. Gabe wanted to cook hamburgers himself but had trouble taking direction and loudly rebuked my mom when she said it was blood that was coming out of the patty. He took a few minutes to pull himself together emotionally and thankfully finished cooking the burgers. We needed to get Aaliyah back home so we (minus Gabe) went to Lisa’s house. She was busy painting and painting while my mom watered her flowers and I picked more lavender to dry. Back at my parents house, we just watched a few shows and went to bed.

Enjoying lunch

Tuesday June 27

I spent most of the morning hanging around and not doing much of anything while the kids watched YouTube. Lisa was supposed to bring her kids by since she was going to her job, but she ran out of time and left them home for one of us to pick up. I ran on the treadmill and showered. My mom and Michael picked the Blaylock kids up around noon. On the way back she picked up some pizza from Papa Murphy’s, and we all ate that for lunch as we sat out in back talking about nothing in particular. Lisa came to get her kids around 4. After she left my mom and I and Gabe, Elisa, and Ian went to Sam’s club to take a few things back. I bought a few more items but not much. I let them get some ice cream and icees before we left Sam’s club since they are so inexpensive and yummy. Then we drove next door to Walmart. I bought mostly stuff for Elisa. Our last stop was the mall, which I wasn’t too excited about, but I’m glad I went since I got a few shirts at Maurice’s for only a few dollars each. I was annoyed with Gabe and Elisa because they were no where to be found and we had to wait for them. Poor Ian was miserable waiting on everyone. He was about to melt into a puddle of boredom! That night my mom and I watched a few scary movies, one in particular about Robert the Doll. Gabe snuck in and watched almost the entire thing but he probably shouldn’t have, since the poor guy insisted on sleeping with a light on!

Kitty is such a nice kitty!

Elisa's thumb was healing nicely

One of many trips to Sam's club.

Wednesday June 28

I didn't take pictures, but I went to visit my cousin Cristi who lives just around the corner from Lisa. She has a boy around Gabe's age and I contacted her because I really wanted Gabe to hang out with a boy around his own age. He sister (my other cousin) Melissa was also there visiting Cristi--I thought it was a weird time to invite me over but whatever. Gabe played video games with his 2nd cousin, Ben. It was fun catching up with Cristi. Her other sister (Trisha) was going through a divorce at that time from her porn-loving, womanizing husband, so we talked about that for a bit until Melisa realized her little girl who was maybe 2 may have got into some medications so she rushed off to the urgent care. And Cristi kept getting up during our conversation multiple times to check on random things. So, an awkward visit when all's said and done. Melisa's daughter didn't end up ingesting any of the medication thankfully. I didn't hear from Cristi for the next week but she also didn't hear from me--we caught that nasty cold that Michael gave to all of us. I think Elisa was the only one to not catch it.  When I finally did text her, she said they were going camping. So, a dead end there trying to find a friend for Gabe. Maybe we will try again next year, but probably not. 

Thursday June 29

I didn’t do much I’m the morning but watch episodes of Servant, but I did manage to read some of my book and get a run in out the treadmill. I had to rescue Miss Kitty who was meowing and meowing at me to come free her from the gated window well from which she had crawled into. She got outside because one of the kids left the door open. I had to pry open a screen in the basement to let her in. Alas, the screen didn’t want to go back, try as I might, so I left it for my dad to take care of later. The girls were still at Lisa’s, and Ian was bored so I took him over to Lisa’s. Elisa wanted to leave immediately and Aaliyah of course followed, so I took them to DI. I found a piano figurine for 75 cents and some drawing things for Ian. Then we headed back to Lisa’s to watch the boys while Lisa went to her “job”. Her place was really messy, so I spent the next several hours cleaning, making sure the boys helped too. I sent them and even the dog outside while I cleaned. There were so many dishes that I couldn’t finish them all, but I got a lot done. I made the kids fish sticks, and when Eric came home he made me a gyro that was especially yummy since I was starving by then. We chatted for a bit, but I was antsy to leave. Ian wanted to spend the night there, so I let him and took Aaliyah and Elisa back to my parents house. I was immediately coerced into a gas-getting plan that ended up being a waste of my time. I drove their Chrysler van all the way up to a shell gas station only to drive it right back to their house since there was a limit to Michael’s fuel rewards. The rest of my evening was spent with my butt firmly planted on the sofa, watching shows. I briefly went upstairs to help the girls get ready for bed. Lisa came over and watched a few shows with us until well past 11. Aaliyah slept in Ian’s bed, and Elisa slept next to me like she did most nights.

Michael wanted to show us the movie "Helltown". He thought it was a real documentary, but I knew better. I had to show him this article. I wonder what else he believes that isn't true?? Haha

Yummy! The gyro Eric made me

Friday June 30

The morning went mostly the same as the day before except I didn’t do my run. Around noon I took the girls and Gabe to five below since they’ve been begging to go for days. I found a charger for my nail drill and a keychain for Erik’s keys to the van. Elisa found a few things and so did Aaliyah. Poor Gabe didn’t find anything. I also bought Ian some Mac n cheese candy! We went to Lisa's house and spent most of the day there.

I left a little something in Lisa's sketchpad for her to find later.

The boys had a good ol' time making "cherry juice" from cherries from the tree in the front yard.

Elisa snoozed next to me most nights

Bear Lake Family Reunion: Days 3 and 4 - Accidents Happen

That afternoon after boating, most of us were doing our own thing. Erik left to exercise. I did lots of manis and pedis! While I was busy doing nails, Elisa and Aaliyah got on the saucer swing together. They had been playing pretty rough on that thing for the past few days, and I even went out there to tell them to stop spinning so hard a day or two before.

Doing nails

Elisa and Aaliyah would spin around to wind the swing (really tight!), then let the rope unwind and spin them some more. Unfortunately, this caused the peg that was anchored to the wooden beams to loosen and fall out, which made the whole swing plop on the hard concrete. Unfortunately, Elisa's right thumb happened to be between the swing and the patio when they landed. Ouch. When Erik came back, he called up his hand surgeon friend and texted him pictures of Elisa's thumb. He didn't recommend driving over an hour to an emergency room, but he did recommend she get a splint, ice, and an x-ray within the next few days. Erik found the first-aid kit and made a modified thumb splint using a tongue depressor and instructions on the internet. Needless to say, the trip wasn't quite as fun afterwards.

The swing 

Ouch

Poor Elisa

For dinner, we had baked potatoes. Erik, Bryce, and Gabe watched Weird: The Weird Al Story in the basement.

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Before leaving the cabin, we had to gather all the dirty linens and towels. We washed, dried, and folded all the beach towels and started a few loads of regular towels. The trash had to be collected from the entire house and thrown in the dumpster near the entrance to the subdivision.

Warming up in front of the fireplace. It was pretty cold in the mornings

Aaliyah eating breakfast

Aaliyah and Eric playing one more game of chess

Getting ready to leave the cabin for good

On our way out, we stopped to visit my Great Uncle Kenneth again in Laketown. He gave us another tour of his garden, yard, and house. The kids seemed to enjoy looking at the plants and animal traps on the property.

Then we drove back to Lisa's house. On the way, we stopped at Wendy's. As soon as we arrived, Erik took Elisa to an urgent care nearby. Unfortunately, they weren't able to take x-rays on the weekend. Instead, Erik drove Elisa over to Riverton Hospital. The x-rays didn't look too bad, but the radiologist said that Elisa's thumb was fractured in three places. Erik sent the x-rays to his hand surgeon friend who said that she didn't need surgery. She just needed to keep the thumb in the splint and test its movement every so often.

Bear Lake Family Reunion: Day 3 - Boating

Friday, June 21, 2023

It was boat day, but storms were in the forecast. We decided to go ahead with the boating plans anyway, since forecasts aren’t always correct. Erik took the first group consisting of almost all of the guys plus Makayla.

The boys played a quiet game of chess in the morning

The girls took awhile to get ready for the boat ride. Aaliyah had to wash her swimsuit. Luckily, this cabin had a rather large laundry room

The outside of the cabin

The rest of us girls left about an hour later. I’m glad we left when we did! Lisa drove us all in her car to Rendezvous Beach, about 20 minutes away. We had barely enough seats. We signed our names at the office and put on our life vests. Erik helped bring the boat close to shore so that we could get on easily without wading too deeply through the water. The water and air were absolutely freezing cold! I had changed into shorts because I was told we’d be wading through water, but, thankfully, I wore a jacket and brought my blanket! We were able to spend about a half hour on the boat. We all took turns driving the boat. Well most of us. I had no interest, so I didn’t.

Making sure we didn't have to pay for any preexisting markings

Despite the low temperature of the water, Bryce decided to get on the tube. I thought he was crazy, but hey, at least someone got to use the tube. Elisa was wanting to go next, but just as Bryce got back in the boat we heard a thunder and saw some ominous clouds. We turned the boat around and headed back to the beach. We got rained on as we ran to our cars.

I was cold enough just sitting there, I don't know how Bryce got in that water.

After returning the boat, we decided to get some lunch at LaBeau's Too. Everyone really enjoyed their burgers, fries, and shakes. The weather still didn't look good. Most of us went back to the cabin to warm up while Erik, Bryce, and Makayla went back to the boat to get all of our stuff.

Yum! Actually, I do not think their burgers are that great, but the shakes are good!

Warming up and chilling out