Cedar City - Part Two

So besides the house, we actually went down there for the theater. This year I saw 4 plays: As You Like It, MacBeth, The Importance of Being Ernest, and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.

All of them were well done, but I probably like Gentleman and MacBeth the best. The younger kids didn’t go to the theater but we did catch a Greenshow with everyone and we all got to wander around the grounds a bit. I love the whole setup they have there. 

Besides the theater, there were a couple other things that made the trip especially fun. We didn’t plan this because we didn’t know about it, but they have a Renaissance Festival every 3rd week of July and it’s free to go to. So we got to wander around that and see the booths and the kids played in some bounce houses and there was entertainment and food. It was a fun way to spend a couple hours one morning. 

Since we didn’t have a hotel pool this year, we checked and they have an aquatic center and we tried it out and we are never going back to hotel pools again. Ha ha in Cedar City, at least. It was so fun and not expensive for what you get. I think adults were $5 and kids were $4.50. The pool has a big kids playground and then a slide and a lazy river. Plus there is a hot tub and an outdoor pool. Kids and adults had a blast. The lazy river was my favorite part, but the kids playground with the buckets that dump water every so often was also pretty fun. 

The weather was also great. I had thought it would be super hot down south, but it was actually cooler than home. They had some monsoon rainstorms a few of the afternoons, but it never interfered with our plans and it was so nice to see some rain and have the cooler temperatures. 

Since this year was a big year with the house and all the kids and 4 plays, I thought maybe I would take next year off… but then I saw what’s going to be on and have to think about it. I can probably be talked into doing a trip like this again, maybe with even more of the family. But I could also just go down by myself and see a few plays and go home.  So I won’t rule anything out. We for sure want to do this again though. It was truly a great vacation.  

Cedar City - Part One

We did our trip to Cedar City and the Utah Shakespeare Festival this week. It’s one of my favorite things and I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. This year it was me and my 2 sisters and all their kids (minus one and then plus one from my brother). So nine of us. We decided with the price of 3 hotel rooms, it would be easier to rent an AirBNB. It was a good decision. The house was in a different location than where we are used to staying, but it was actually really easy to get places and close enough to everything we wanted to do. I had a really good time. 

The house was little pricier than we had wanted to spend, but my very frugal sister had love at first site and we talked my other sister into it. The entire house has every room decorated like a different movie. Pictures just don’t do it justice. 

Barbie Room - the twins favorite

The Up room - this was my room

The Star Wars room - one of my sisters stayed here 

The Harry Potter room - one sister and a couple kids slept in the 4 bunk beds -(one bed for each house)

The Pirates of the Caribbean room - my 2 oldest nieces slept here

Then there was the Home Alone bathroom and the Raiders of the Lost Ark living room. Plus a Napoleon Dynamite game room, and a movie theater room that was not even on the listing. Adults and kids alike had so much fun. One of my sisters is planning her own family trip there already and I’m pretty sure we will try to go back. 

I think we counted 8 tvs and then there were games of all kinds and a trampoline in the backyard. As soon as we saw the house, we knew we didn’t need to spend a lot of money on entertainment. 

Truly an experience that was worth a little extra money. 

Holiday Weekend

It’s been a nice 3 day holiday weekend. It could have been much hotter so that was a win as well. I didn’t do much on the 4th. Just puttered around the house and cleaned and organized a few things. Saturday, I started with the farmer’s market and then met up with my sisters and all the younger kids to play in the river. It was nice and cold and felt great. Then in the evening, some people from church who are my ministering family dropped by with a vase of roses. I do love flowers. That was really nice of them. And today just church and family dinner.

Just Life

Ug. Navigating life without your parents is sometimes challenging. It’s not that we can’t do it, but it’s an added complexity and the grief is still there as well. It’s got me a little weepy today. Just another low spot in the roller coaster. I’ll get through it. 

I’m also struggling after being gone all weekend. It was fun, but I didn’t have that time to re-group from the week. I’ll get through that as well. Just need to get some time in to focus and plan some things out. That always helps me. 

Then to top it off, it’s June 24 and I have read 2 books this month. Two! That’s so unusual for me. It’s just been a busy month, I guess. There’s so much that I need to start doing, or stop doing. I just need a few minutes to think and plan and organize. That will also make me feel better. Then I should pull the weeds in my flower bed and when that’s done I should start a new book. :) 

On the bright side, one month of hot summer is almost over. Only 2 more to go and I still have fun things planned. There are definitely little joys to be found along the hard times.

San Jose

So awhile ago, my 20 year old nephew decided he wanted to go to a v-tuber con in San Jose. I didn't realize what it was and thought it was some kind of regular con like Fan-X so I told him I'd go with him. I take the girls places all the time. 

It turned into a bit of drama because he thought we weren't getting there soon enough because we were flying in Friday morning and the con started an hour earlier than we got there. (The doors opened, but most things had not opened until after we got there and had our badges). I was not going to take more than 1 day off work for this thing. Anyway, it was a bit of drama and with his high anxiety, he was freaking out a bit. It turned out fine and he actually got to meet his person twice and was there early enough for the goodie bag. By the time we needed to leave on Sunday, I think he was conned out and didn't mind leaving a few hours before it actually ended. 

I only went to the con on the first day and it's not my thing. It great that other people love it, but after about 4 hours I was tired (we had gotten up early for the flight) and wanted real food. So I left to eat lunch and then check into the hotel. 

Saturday I dropped him off at the convention center and I drove to the coast. I had looked at things to do in San Jose but then decided that I was so close to the ocean, I should go see it. I drove to Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz. I got there at low tide (not on purpose) so was able to explore some of the tide pools and just sit there in the sun and listen to the waves. It was really wonderful. I'm not a big fan of the sand, but I do love the waves. I was able to take a short walk along a butterfly sanctuary as well. 

And on Sunday, I dropped Spencer off in the morning and then went over to the mall to park the car. From there I walked to the Winchester Mystery House for a tour. It was fun to see the old house, but this is one historic house that I can truthfully say I would not want to live in. With all the windows and doors that go nowhere and weird passages, it was very strange. 

Then I hung out at the mall for a few hours until it was time to pick up Spencer and head to the airport. So quick trip and I'm tired today and I'm glad it's over. It was fun seeing Spencer's reaction to his first time flying. He had a pretty rough first day and between me and his mom we had to talk him off a ledge, but I helped him figure some things out and he had a blast the next 2 days. He talked non-stop on the way home and I was so tired and so tired of people, I was probably a bit grumpy with him. But I'm glad he had fun and discovered that he can do a lot of things on his own. He's already planning his next con. I will not be going with him. LOL

Camp

Camp is over! I’m sitting in my house and it’s quiet. I don’t even have the tv on. I have showered and have my Dr. Pepper. For the record, I did have a good time. The girls were really fun. It’s a different group because of some boundary changes and I only knew half of them from last camp. 

It’s still not something I want to do again. The bad thing is that it was a pretty successful camp and my bishop was one of the priesthood leaders. Ha ha so he has no reason to change it. 

We were at camp Helaman Hollow near Schofield, UT. It was a beautiful site and there were missionaries that serve there: Elder and Sister Woodruff. So they trained us on using the zip line and let us borrow their kayaks to play in the reservoir and were just really amazing people. I did the zip line once. I’m not sure it’s something I love. My knees were shaking at the end. The hike was beautiful and I loved sitting at the campfire for testimony meeting. 

We had one little problem when we found out that one of the girls had lice. She had been treated for it on Sunday, but still had nits and her parents sent her anyway. She had to be isolated to sleep the last night and was given a mayonnaise treatment. The other girls in her tent were checked and it doesn’t seem to have spread, but the YW leader had to let all the parents know. That was really our only bit of drama. 

So, it’s over for the year and I’m grateful for that, but also very grateful that it went as well as it did. Now I want to sleep for days and enjoy the quiet and my last day off. Tomorrow I will deal with airing out my sleeping bag and getting my car washed. 

Fun Fun Fun

Summer has arrived. I had to turn my A/C on in my house because my bedroom was too hot to sleep. We are actually having a cool down for a few days this week but I think it’s time to get out the other oscillating fan. My ceiling fan is just not cutting it. The heat always takes some getting used to and I don’t like being out in it. I’m trying to get myself out of bed a few mornings a week to exercise but it’s hard. I just don’t sleep well. 

I feel like I’m doing nothing but camp now until it is over. Ten days. Ten more days and I’m free for the summer. Free to do other fun things ha ha. I’m going to a con with my nephew later this month and then I have my Cedar City trip with my sisters in July. Then a work trip in August. And in between all that will be some farmer’s markets, hiking, playing in rivers. Fun summer stuff. And then these 3 months will be over and I can start thinking about fall.