Lately, it seems we make it out to Utah at least once a year or more. It is a long drive but since my car gets good mileage and our friends are very hospitable, going to Utah is the cheapest option for a vacation right now.
Tom hit his 6 month mark with the firm and accordingly got 1 week of vacation. We decided to make good use of it and drive out to Utah to pick up my piano, attend a friend's wedding, see all of our other friends, and spoil ourselves for a couple days.
We started out bright and early Saturday morning at 7 am. We turned Constance's car seat around for the long trip and she seemed much happier.
It was lovely getting an early start because around the time when Constance started getting cranky and my stomach started hurting, we were almost there.
I was very excited to find out that my Uncle and his family were in Utah so we met up for dinner at Sweet Tomatoes in Sandy. Constance got to see a few of her many second cousins, and during dinner she also managed to make flavored water by sticking a food-laden fork in my water and swirling it around.
Constance did not want to go home with Tom and I; she opted instead to climbing into my Uncle's rental SUV and settling herself into baby Mia's carseat. She's definitely a fan of big cars with lots of kids in them.
We spend the first night at my friend Jessica's house. Constance had a rough night, which got started when she smacked her head against the wall. So I kindly let her take my place and blankets on the air bed.
The next morning was much better when she got to play with Kaylie. Kaylie and Constance are only 3 months apart and hit it off from the minute they saw each other. Kaylie showed Constance her fishies and they sat together on the couch smiling and giggling. Then Constance showed Kaylie her magazine with monkeys in it.
We made it down to Provo on Monday to have lunch with friends and to tour the renovated M. L. Bean Museum at BYU. Constance really liked the giraffes, lions, and elephant.
Unfortunately, Tom and Kyle left to walk to lunch before I made it back to our car to discover the window down and the keys missing. Luckily, no one had taken anything from the car but I still didn't want to leave it there like that any longer. After a couple of attempts to call Tom and Kyle, I left Constance with my friend Janene and sprinted after them.
It was a very hot afternoon. I'm not in the best shape for running, and especially at 13 weeks pregnant tend to lose my breath very easily. Luckily, when Tom and Kyle finally came into view, a jogger came walking up in my direction and I begged him to run after Tom and tell him to turn around.
Life was much better once I was back at the car with the keys and driving down the road with the A/C at its max.
As it turned out, Monday was also Teresa's birthday. She was writing a paper that was due on Thursday but I was able to steal her away for frozen yogurt later in the afternoon.
We of course saw my mom, which was interesting as usual. We took most of the Montessori preschool stuff my mom has been storing at her place for ages back with us to Colorado. I'm excited to have so many things handy that I won't have to make or buy.
Even though, we're still on a pretty tight budget, we managed to spoil ourselves with delicious food. We stopped at all of our favorite Utah-only restaurants including Zupas, Happy Sumo, Emmanuel's, and Cafe Rio. I even went to Winco to buy some of my favorite snacks that I've only seen sold there.
On Tuesday, we headed up to Salt Lake City for our friend Mark's wedding. While Tom went in to their sealing, Constance and I wandered around Temple Square.
Our friends Kyle and Amy treated us to dinner before the reception. While we were standing in line at Cafe Rio waiting for them to make our food, one of the workers noticed Constance and waved at her. Constance waved back and smiled shyly. This went on for a little bit. Then the worker left for a minute and came back with a little cup of cut strawberries just for Constance. What a lucky girl! Those strawberries must have been yummy because she wasn't interested in anything after that--only ice chips.
Tragedy struck again at the reception though. And for the second time in two days, Constance slipped right out the back of a folding chair and landed on her back, hitting her head on the floor. It's hard being small and vulnerable.
I attempted to find some clothes at University Mall, but Constance had eyes for only one thing--a car. She kept running back to it and trying to open the door and getting very upset when she couldn't get in and drive away.
Some of my favorite moments during our stay in Utah was watching Constance interact with my friend Teresa. They washed the dishes together, played with plastic cups, sang, and went on roller coaster rides on the reclining chair. It was so nice to be able to curl up on the couch and not have to jump up every minute to get Constance something.
When the piano moving day came, we headed over to my dear adopted mother Joan's house. Joan graciously stored my piano at her house for the past year while we got settled in Colorado.
The piano movers packed up the piano with lots of padding and secured it in our moving truck.
Then the caravan back to Colorado began.
It was sad to have to leave all of our friends again. Vacations are fun and it's hard to come back and resume regular life, especially when regular life has been a bit trying lately.
Constance seemed especially disappointed. She loved meeting so many friendly new people and playing with all of the little kids. For a 1-year-old, she did remarkably well sleeping in new places at night, taking naps in unfamiliar bedrooms, dealing with the Utah heat, and changing the daily routine based on where we were at.
Hopefully, we'll be able to make another trip next year.
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