A few weeks ago, I caught up with one of my newer work colleagues, Mark Hamilton, who I attended the MTC with. It was a joyful reconnecting and I learned that he studied broadcast journalism and does video reviews for fun. After watching his review of the Bonneville salt flats, I got it in my head to go with the family, because non of us have ever seen them before. So today we went. Before I tell you all about it, first a quick rundown on the morning.
This morning I meditated which was so wonderful and nourishing. I also did some quarterly personal goal setting and attended church with Lily (after Lydia and Mary attended the kids church). As always, church was wonderful. This week I was particularly uplifted by the small group and large-group chit chat we had. The group is so loving, courageous, accepting, inspiring and aspiring that I always feel enriched just being with them.
After church and goal-setting, I took some time to help make Ammon a robot valentines box. We’ll have to get pictures of everyone’s boxes on the blog because Lydia and Mary each made really cute valentine’s boxes, and Lydia made a cute one for Clarissa. Only Ammon didn’t have a box to use. The other day I complimented Lydia on her amazing box and told her a story of a robot valentines box I made when I was about her age. She was very interested in the story and wanted to know more. Today I decided to recreate that box for Ammon. So Ammon and I worked on the box together. It was so fun to do a project with and for him! Picture to come.
Then we did the painful routine of corralling everyone in the car and we headed out to the Salt Flats.
Last night Lily and I were discussing how we would manage Clarissa, who has been potty training for a week, on this trip. We didn’t want to put her in a diaper and have her regress, but there are large stretches of road on the way to and from the salt flats with no restrooms. Then Lily suggested we pack Clarissa’s plastic pink trainer potty. I don’t know why, but I got this vision of her peeing in her pink potty by the side of the road in the absolute middle of nowhere in Utah’s West desert and for some reason that thought just tickled me pink. Maybe it was the juxtaposition of our pampered princess on her pink princessy potty against the rugged landscape of Utah’s West desert. Anyway, it was a very amusing idea for me.
Well, I told a story to the kids in the car about a boy who had a pet Beagle and eventually convinced his parents to also get a Bernadoodle, and then later on our journey, my dreams came true. Clarissa napped and had kept herself dry, and when she woke up, she asked to pee. Sure enough, we were in absolute desolation in the middle of no where. We pulled over, put her potty on the side of the road, and celebrated when she put peepee in it. I took a number of pictures.
After Clarissa’s potty break, we pulled off on exit 4, had more potty breaks at the gas station and then made it to the Salt Flats. There was a sign saying it was closed to vehicles due to the wet ground, but the ground didn’t look very wet, and there were quite a few cars driving on the salt. We parked and explored the sand by foot. Also, we brought kites hoping for some good wind. The wind was perfect and we had such a fun time flying kites as well.
After our kite flying, which was a complete blast, I felt like it wouldn’t quite be the full experiences without driving on the Salt Flats. So we all got in the minivan, and I drove up to 105 miles per hour. We then turned around and felt good about that. There were other cars driving around, and there aren’t any lanes or rules, and it felt a bit scary to be in a free for all at that speed, but it was fun especially for the kids.
We then drove to Spitz, one of our new favorite Mediterranean eating places. We were sooooo hungry on the way and we were so glad to get our food. Then we saw my dad and Suzanne for a quick visit. After we used their restroom and saw their new carpet and couch, they came out side and visited with us while we were in our car.
The kids were beyond excited to talk to them and fought a bit over whose turn it was to talk to them. There was so much excitement and happiness in seeing them, and we can’t wait to see them more often!
We then drove home, put the kids to bed and I blogged a little. Lily and I both felt very satisfied from the day’s adventures.