Utah Trip June 2020 - Week 1

In late May our home state of Utah went into phase 3. Normally I'm not a big fan of visiting Utah when it's hot, but since we were still in stage 1 in Washington, I was eager to go. We still had 3 weeks left of distance learning for the kids, but they could do that just as easily in Utah, and Oscar could work remotely just as easily from there too.

We started our drive down on May 29th at about 10am. The kids traveled really well. We stopped in the Tri-Cities to pick up lunch, but because no indoor dining was allowed, we had to go to a nearby Target to use the bathroom. There was a line just to get in the store since they were at capacity. Simply getting food and using the bathroom took well over an hour! To add to the craziness Allison spilled an entire 20oz cup of soda all over herself inside the car. Fortunately most of it landed on her blanket, which is more easily washed than the interior of a car, but it meant she couldn't use her favorite blanket until we could get it washed two days later.

In spite of the lack of blankets both kids napped, played with their toys, books, and Kindles, and were able to run around at a park in Nampa, ID.

A friend of mine who lives in Nampa recommended this great sensory playground. The kids really needed some activity after 8 hours in a car. It made for a great break. It was HOT, though, around 95. Some of the equipment was too hot to use, but they made due with what they could. At least it was 7pm, meaning the sun wasn't so high in the sky, and not all of the equipment was equally hot. Once they were good and worn out we picked up pizza then stayed one night at a Best Western in Boise.

Here's Allison saying "send me the picture" while I was still taking a video of her playing on the playground. She says that often, like she has her own phone that I could send it to.

The next morning we continued our drive for several more hours until we made it Lagoon. It was the first theme park in the country to reopen. 

Oscar met up with his brother at his parents' house while Tyler, Allison, and I met up with my family at Lagoon. We arrived before they did so I took the kids on a few kids' rides until they got there. Allison was terrified out of her mind on Ladybug Bop, but in subsequent visits she faced her fears and learned to love it.

Mom, dad, and Mike's family arrived while the kids were on the children's Bumper Cars.  We then went on the Jumping Dragon and Bombora where Allison's glasses went wildly askew from the speed.

The kids rode Puff the Magic Dragon with cousins then mom and dad took Allison on the train and some other childrens' rides while the rest of us went on Cannibal, Spider, Collossus, and the white roller coaster (which is looking more brown these days. They're actually considering painting it pink).

Tyler rode Wild Mouse with the cousins and we all met back up to ride the Tidal Wave. Allison was also terrified on this one but then realized she liked it and rode it on other visits.

And we finished up with the Terror Ride. Allison was fascinated by the monsters opening the windows as we stood in line. She wasn't scared at all on this one. She told me she took a nap on it and said "it was like Halloween!"

The next morning mom and dad took Tyler and Allison to their apartment playground while Oscar took a walk by the temple. We loved going on walks together in the morning while we were in Utah. Later we went swimming at the apartment pool and had a barbeque at Mike's for dinner.

Mike has a big blowup movie screen and hammocks in his backyard. We let the kids watch some cartoons on it, but we had to take them back to mom and dads' before it was dark enough to really enjoy it. They were less than thrilled about that, but they were exhausted. They threw huge fits all the way back to the apartment but fell asleep almost instantly. We made it a habit of putting Allison to bed in dad's room since the kids don't do well falling asleep in the same room together. We'd move her to her little pillow bed in the living room once we were sure both kids were totally asleep. Tyler slept on one of the recliners then switched to a blowup bed of Mike's a few days later.

Tyler had wanted to bring his Jenga blocks on the trip, but I told him we didn't have room for them in the car. Fortunately cousins had their own giant Jenga blocks!

On Monday we went back to Lagoon, starting with Lagoon-a-beach since we hadn't gotten to do that last time. I made sure to take care of their distance learning first though.

The kids area was popular! Allison loved the purple slide. I was really pleased to see she's become more tolerant of being splashed on the head and in her face than she was the past two years. She'd never have gone down this big white slide knowing she was going to have to go through the little waterfall first.

After that we took them on a few rides. They were happy to ride the fire engine. It'd had a huge line since it's new this year and requires social distancing on the ride, so very few can board it each time. This slows down the lines quite a bit, particularly on The Bat. Allison is just tall enough for the Bat and likes doing it, but most of the time we went the line was too big or it was temporarily shut down.

The Paratrooper is fun. It looks fast to watch, but it's actually super refreshing.

Mom and dad took Allison on a few rides while Tyler, Ethan, Emma, Sophie, and I went on Spider and Wicked. Wicked always had an enormous line, but kids above 46 inches and under 50 inches actually wait with their parties in a shorter line so they can get a booster seat. I wished we'd known that on Saturday when we skipped it altogether.

Sweet sleepy kids while Oscar and I went on our morning walks. We nearly always took a route that passed the Jordan River temple on our way back.

One day I taught Tyler, Ethan, and Sophie how to play Rumikub. They had it unopened in their games closet. Ethan whooped our butts!

After our game I took Ethan, Tyler, and Allison on a hike to the Bear Canyon suspension bridge near Draper. The kids really struggled in the high 80's with no shade, but Ethan did a great job helping them to keep going. After our first steep uphill stretch we could see the bridge, which definitely helped keep us motivated. It's always nice when you can see the end goal. 

Here's Allison running across the bridge and attempting to run to me at the top. Poor girl was so tired!

Ethan found a rock he'd climbed when he'd done this hike before and the kids insisted on climbing it with him.

Then Ethan found a rock he'd never climbed. Tyler wanted to climb it too. Allison not to be undone by her older brother and cousin climbed it as well. It was my kids biggest hike yet, 2.3 miles, on a trail with zero shade at 88° during the sunniest part of the day.

This is a large part of the reason I was eager to come to Utah. I wanted to get the kids outdoors more, but there are certain activities, like hiking, where I don't feel comfortable taking them both on my own. Lagoon being open while we were in Utah was just a nice bonus. Simply having the help of grandparents and older cousins with watching, educating, and entertaining my children was an enormous weight off my back.

I did eventually let the kids have a movie night after they'd slept well the previous evening. Allison couldn't handle it though. She was far too active to sit down and watch a movie. I had to take her back to my parents and put her down to bed.

Here are some pretty views from our morning walks.

On Wednesday we went swimming during the day. Allison was so tired she fell asleep for a nap on grandma. Later we went to the Wild West Jordan playground.

Allison made a friend of course. My social girl got her to swing with her and go on the zipline with her.

Tyler liked pushing this heavy elevator platform up in order to ride it back down. It was some good sensory play for him.

After the kids played we got some delicious ice cream at Leatherby's.

Here's Allison getting cuddles from grandpa at night and Tyler in the morning.

On Thursday we went to Lagoon again, this time without mom who was feeling too tired. Allison kept referring to Lagoon as "the Goon." We focused on doing rides all the kids could do together.

The kids did Bulgy the Whale and the jeeps, which had both been closed on our previous visits.

The kids rode Puff then we went over to Pioneer Village for the water rides.

Tyler and Mike's kids wanted to ride the 48 inch swings, so I took Allison on a few kids' rides.

These little boats are actually 46 inches and under, so only Allison can ride them. She loves the additional bell ringing. The little boats at Wild Waves should get those. 

After that we rode the train, the skyride, the carousel, and the flying aces with everyone. Then I took Allison on the ferris wheel while the other kids rode Cannibal.

The park was closing soon, but we squeezed in Tilt-a-whirl and Dracula's Castle before it was time to go.