Spring Break 2015

Oh, what a Spring Break we had! We really "packed it in" once again!

The break started with illness. I had been fighting a nasty, NASTY cold all week at school and really looked forward to collapsing on Friday afternoon. Which I did. Last Saturday and Sunday were filled with five General Conference sessions watched at home in great comfort. It was pleasant. We purchased a new framed picture of Christ on that Saturday and hung it up on Easter Sunday, the first thing to go on the wall in our new place. LOVED General Conference! I stand all amazed at the love Jesus has for us!

So we left on Sunday afternoon to head for Panguitch whereby we secured a "free" room at the Quality Inn. It was freezing cold inside and took about two hours for the room heater to make things tolerable. The next morning we headed into Bryce Canyon National Park with a couple of quick stops before moving on toward Kodachrome Basin State Park.

We hiked the Panorama Trail in Kodachrome and met Fred Flintstone! We enjoyed playing in the desert once again! It was perfect Spring weather and so good for our bodies and souls to walk around in red dirt.

The following day we explored the Cottonwood Canyon Road which has a lot of sightseeing to offer. We hiked into a couple of washes until we got turned back by piles of boulders proving too risky for me to climb. Mr. Six Foot Three could have gone on, but not without his Beloved.

The wind was killing us. K had to take his contacts out like three times in an hour due to the sand blasting going on. We thought we would check out another state park, but bagged that idea due to the windy location. We finally found another little camp called...drum roll please...Deer Creek (how many places are named that?) off the Burr Trail. It was "tucked down in" and we decided we could live with it. We set up camp and took off on another hike. When we woke in the morning, it was SNOWING. Rain and snow. It wouldn't be Spring Break for us unless we found snow! The highest temperature on our trip was 68 and the lowest was 25!

Well, we had to make our way home because the in-laws were flying in. We had Mom, Dad, Aunt Judy, and Grandpa (aged 92 and jumped on the plane in Iowa without hesitation for his next adventure). We couldn't fit all of them and us and their luggage in one vehicle, so we both drove to the airport to get them. That first day, we brought them to our place so they could ooh and ahh. We had Taco Soup and Cornbread Supreme for dinner with English Trifle as our dessert.

The following day we hit the Tulip Festival and 250,000 tulips later...we had a few photos turn out. They loved every second of it! They weren't used to the warm Spring weather so that was a big treat for them as well. We took them to JCW's for lunch because they love hamburgers and shakes. While waiting for the food to arrive, Grandpa told about the time he went to Mammoth Cave. After he talked about crawling around through narrow passages and climbing back up out of the abyss, I asked when he went. It was when he was in the service. He and a couple other guys were driving some tanks somewhere so they decided to stop off for a cave tour. I asked, "So, did you drive your tanks right into the parking lot?!?" Yes, they did. We made Baked Ziti for dinner.

The next day we went on a walk in the canyon and had a picnic afterward. We fed the fish for twenty-five cents. TR took a nose-dive with his health around that time, so we scrapped the remainder of our afternoon plans so he could crawl into bed. During that time, I beat the pants off everyone at Scrabble (just lucky that day).

For dinner, my father-in-law took us all out to Milagros, a new restaurant for each of us. Wonderful! I wonder why I don't hear people talking about it. We all loved it!

Today we simply picked them up and drove them back to the airport. Teary goodbyes as usual. Grandpa asked me if I needed any gas money. No, I don't, Grandpa. Such a Sweetie. They have landed and are now safe at home. I left the airport and headed to Church in my ward (6th Ward). I caught the last half of Fast and Testimony meeting. Then I proceed to the first ten minutes of Gospel Doctrine Class but had to leave for a Scout meeting with 8th Ward. Left that early to join K in the 3rd Ward for the Sacrament. They had three baby blessings first, so we were there awhile. By the time the Sacrament had been administered, I left to catch the last twenty minutes of Relief Society in the 6th Ward. Later, I met with my presidency and the new presidency of the 1st Ward to train them. Then we had our own presidency meeting. THINGS GOT CRAZY once we dropped the relatives off, but at least I tried my best. Spring Break is now ovah!