Utah Trip

I was lucky enough to tag along with this lovely lady on a roadtrip to Utah--the land of friends, relatives, Tai Pan Trading Company, Kneaders, and Costa Vida/Cafe Rio--not in order of importance.

B did her signature pterodactyl scream intermittently during the 14 hours trip. It was lovely. Did I mention the kids had so much fun they didn't sleep a wink? For 14 hours straight?? Yeah. It was that good. Actually, it wasn't so bad. We had movies running the whole time, but I've made it up by having B read a million books since returning home. Hopefully her mind erased the fact that I let her watch Curious George (at least) two times.

Here's what we did while in Utah.

Saw relatives, who lavished B with love, fun, and attention. She had so much fun with her cousins and Aunts and Uncles.

We got in some peekaboo

Some balloon time

Scotty let B jump on him--nice boy

Played with our fun cousins. I got the privilege of teaching one how to prank call her older sister with an unknown phone number. Coolest Aunt ever.




Everyone was super sweet to Beezie--too bad she didn't return the favor with her poor abused dolly.


I finally got to check out Kneaders. I actually requested lunch there with Brooke, since I've been reading about it for years on her blog. It totally delivered. This lady knows her stuff. We had a fun lunch, then cruised around the mall. And by that I mean we tagged along while Brooke tried on swimsuits and shoes, and I chased B around while she tried to knock over mannequins.

She's so tall and statuesque. I look like I'm Snooki-sized in this picture.

I also got to hang with one of my besties from back in the day, Meredith. We met in 1995, and shared a love of Doc Martens, clubbing until the wee hours, wearings high-waisted jeans, and stalking losers, including two gems named Mario and Miguel that we scrapped over for weeks.

We've evolved. But that didn't stop us from making fun of all the losers we dated until the wee hours of the morning. She said the last time she stayed up until 1:30 AM was with me years ago, and I actually believe her.

We also got to check out the Treehouse Museum in Ogden, and it totally blows all of our museums out of the water. This place is awesome!

This photo is only fair of B, but it shows off my freshly cut and highlighted hair...all for $75. I need to add this to the list of reasons I love this state.

B taking (better) care of the dolly in the hospital nursery at the museum

Reading a book in the old-fashioned schoolhouse. Shout-out to the Ingalls family! My little pioneer.

She also got to drive her older cousins around, much to every one's delight.

I ate an unmentionable amount of Cafe Rio and Costa Vida. I try to overdo it, so it starts to taste gross, and I no longer crave it. It never works, but I still keep on trying. Fight the good fight, I say.

We were expecting super cold weather, but the weather was actually quite pleasant. I had a ton of cold weather wares, but we didn't need any of it. Except the cat hat at breakfast, but that was more a matter of preference.

Thanks to all of our friends and family that took the time to meet up with us. Special thanks to Tai Pan and all the crap you sold me--so much, it required me to bring an extra suitcase home with me. The better to beat Ashley with in the 'Spring Has Sprung' Display-Off Round Four. Let's go!