Utah

Since I moved to Texas, I have had to space out my visits home. This year, as I have had to travel more than I usually do for semi-work-related things, I decided to make one trip in the summer and make it good.

I normally work Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which meant if I left on a Thursday, and took the following week off, I still didn't have to be back in town until Monday night, which is exactly what I did.

Melanee and the kids picked me up, and we headed back to Lehi to get George from work. While we were waiting for him, we got out of the car and played on the lawn at IM Flash. Here are some shots of the kids as we waited. It ended up taking us a lot longer than we anticipated. Sammie had to use the restroom, and Mel made George go back up to his office and print out coupons.

I bought this drum for the branch movie. I had no use for it afterward, so I brought it with me to give to Kevin. His parents were overjoyed that I found him a toy that makes noise. I love the expression on his little face.

Here is Sammie doing ballet for me on the lawn outside IM Flash. I have other great shots where she is dead asleep wearing her Cinderella dress and a Disney Princesses Pull-Up, but I promised her parents I would not post them here.

After picking up George, we drove to Sweet Tomatoes, where we met up with my mom. Sweet Tomatoes is one of my favorite Utah restaurants, so I was very excited. Plus, they have a wide selection, so the kids liked it, too.

One of Kevin's favorite things is to put his face against glass. Here he is pressing against the door to Sweet Tomatoes while his father tries to get him to stop.

It seems like my visits to Utah are too short, and I try to cram as much in as I possibly can. I spent a couple of days with my girls in Provo, checked in with professors and old friends from my MFT days, and spent time with various family members. Also, Melanee and I had several recipes we wanted to try out, and she promised to show me how to make bread and a quilt. For this reason, I don't have a very exact chronology of how events unfolded during my visit. Here are some of the highlights:

We spent a day at Thanksgiving Point, taking the kids to see Up! and then to the dinosaur museum.

Here's a shot of Sammie and I at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. They have an exhibit that demonstrates erosion. Sammie was not a big fan of getting sandy. Sammie, Melanee, and I were all wearing matching outfits that day. I'm pretty sure Sammie wanted to wear a dress or a Halloween costume or something Mel didn't want her to wear, so, to get her to wear the outfit her mother had selected, I put on a matching outfit. Then, Mel came out of her room wearing a shirt that was the same color as mine. She tried to change, but Sammie insisted that she match us.

I love this picture because it reminds me how different Melanee's life is from my life. In my regular life, people rarely put their feet on me. Melanee does not have that luxury.

Some things I do not have pictures of:

George introduced us to the movie Troll 2, which we watched with the corresponding RiffTrax. Without giving too much of the intricate plot details away, I will say this about Troll 2:

• It is not about trolls. In the entire movie, not one troll ever appeared.


• It has to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The special effects were laughable, the plot was nonsensical in most places, and bizarre in other places, and it contained some of the worst acting and forced dialogue that ever existed. Not surprisingly, two of the actors have also appeared in some very prominent Mormon movies (that it is to say, movies made by Mormons, about Mormons, but not actually put out by the Church).


• It was filmed in my mother's home town, Morgan, Utah. In fact, there were a couple of scenes in which they used locals as extras, and my mom recognized some of them. I don't think it's something the good people of Morgan like to bring up.


• One of the actors in the movie has gone back and made a documentary about the movie. It has gained something of a cult following as one of the worst movies of all time, which is what the documentary is about. Also, I think the director appears, defending the decisions he made regarding the plot and dialogue. The documentary is currently being screened at independent film festivals across the country. Rest assured that, when it is available on DVD, Stephanie, Ashley, and I will have some sort of ceremonial screening of it.
  

George, Dad, Anne, and I ran in the Provo 5K on July 4th. It was not too spectacular for me, but I did appreciate Melanee, Sammie, and Kevin cheering us on a the finish line. Mel took a picture of me, but I do not have it on my computer, and I'm not sure I would post it if I did.

I watched Sammie and Kevin while their parents took an overnight trip. We watched 101 Dalmatians and the Little People video (at least 5 times), made bread and cookies, and danced in the living room. And we were all alive and not injured when their parents came home.

Mel showed me how to make a quilt (more on that later) and some of the worst jam of all time. It wasn't her fault that it turned out bad, but it did turn out pretty bad. We also made lemon pasta, peach crisp, yogurt cream, and chicken tikka masala, all of which turned out really well, so I guess it was inevitable for us to have one recipe that turned out badly.

Except for the apricot jam, it was a great trip, and I had a fabulous time seeing my family. It makes me wish I lived closer to them, or that I could visit more often. Some day.