Spring Break

After a lot of arranging and coordinating schedules, we were able to come up with a plan for Spring Break.  I flew up to Utah early last Wednesday (thanks to Blair, my bro-in-law, for the 5am pickup and delivery to the airport).  I lined up babysitters and carpools for the next couple of days.  Paul and the kids finished out the week at home and then on Sunday, they drove up to Utah.  It worked out wonderfully that spring break fell this week for us.  Paul worked ‘from home’ in Utah for Monday and part of Tuesday and then we took him to Salt Lake so he could catch a flight to Arizona.  The kids and I hung out for a few more days before heading for home. 

When ever we are in Utah, the time flies by.  There is always so much to do and see that we just zoom through the days.  The kids always love it but even Cooper and Cassidy did really great this time.  We didn’t turn the television on one time this past week!  The kids just played and played.

Its great to be a visitor in different cities because everything is new to us.  My mom and I took the kids to the Bean Museum at BYU.

The museum was really interesting.  It was full of stuffed animals.  The building itself is old and the lighting is awful.  It’s open to the public and it is free, so that made it really nice.

At first the kids didn’t know what to think.  The displays are quite impressive and real.

Cassidy was not afraid at all. 

But apparently Kara was!

The green carpet and yellow lights gave the whole place a ghastly glow.

A little more confident with this one behind glass!

Grandma used the wheelchair while we there just so she could preserve some energy.  But I really think it was for the kids enjoyment! 

They were on a rotating list of whose turn it was to push her around.

What a good sport Grandma is!

And when they weren’t pushing her around, they were riding on it with her.

When we knew we had to take Paul to the airport, we decided to make an afternoon of it.  We (mom, Amy’s kids, and my family)  went to the Children’s museum in Salt Lake.  Our kids and the hundreds of other kids that were there that day, had a fun time.  The Rindlisbacher girls had to head home early so Grandma took them home.

We had planned to stay and have dinner with Paul and then take him to the airport.  It turned out that his flight got delayed by two hours so we had extra time to hang out.

It has been a long time since Allie and Kara have been to Temple Square and Coop and Cass have never been so we decided to go check it out.

It was wonderful.

The Visitor Center was quite and calm and there was just a handful of people quietly reading and viewing the wonderful displays.  I saw a sign that said they were showing the movie, The Legacy. 

 

I remember seeing it when I went to EFY at BYU when I was a young teenager.  I remember it being very powerful and memorable.  I asked the temple missionaries when it was showing again.  They said that they could start it whenever it was asked for and that they would be happy to start it for us.

We went into a room that was about two times the size of a relief society room.  They projected the movie onto the wall and we had our own private showing of it.  It was great.  Coop and Cass didn’t like a few parts of it but they made it through the whole thing.  The girls thought it was very amazing.

After it was over, we walked the grounds around the temple.  It was really neat especially after just seeing the movie and knowing the struggles the early pioneers had in getting there and building the temple.  We commented on how amazing it is to think that 120 years ago those pioneers walked these very grounds.  And while it is different today because of modern conveniences, it was shaped by the sacrifices of those early saints.

Our efforts to capture this moment with a photo were unsuccessful.

A cell phone was not adequate equipment to catch this little boy, especially when there were huge statues nearby that were so intriguing to him.

The sun was just starting to lower behind some of the nearby buildings and it was a beautiful evening.

It was a really nice bonus that we were able to go to Temple Square.  Even though Paul had to take a really late flight and didn’t get to his destination until after midnight, I am really grateful for this unexpected family experience.

We stayed for a few more days and then headed home at the end of the week.  I really enjoyed the change of scenery and spending time with family and the break in schedule.

Thank Goodness for Spring Break!