After Jeremy's graduation we decided we wanted a celebration weekend. So on Thursday afternoon we drove North, and made it to SLC at about 8:00. That weekend was a family Reunion, and some of our family was already planning on heading that way. We decided that along with Laurie and Chrissy's families we would have a Lagoon day on Friday.
My little family was on our own for the first bit of the day at Lagoon, none of the other family groups had stayed in the same hotel and we all arrived at different times and with different initial agendas. We rode "The Bat" first, but Jerm opted out of Frankie's requested second ride and took this picture of us instead.
When we went to meet up with my family, Frankie decided he would jog through the little splash pad fountain. It turned on full force when he was in the middle and he got soaked. He was so mad, and Jeremy and I thought it was so funny which didn't help matters. I got this one picture, and then we changed his shirt, which was the only extra clothes I had. The rest of him had to dry slowly.
Lagoon was weird. After discovering that Frankie was too short to ride the White Roller Coaster, I feel like we didn't even walk in that direction and we missed half the park. We had no plan and we zig zagged back and forth 20 times. Having the comparison of Disneyland in his head, Jeremy was unimpressed with Lagoon. It is amazing how inefficient they are with things like boarding and exiting the rides. And the rides are so short! But, it was fun. And Frankie loved the little roller coasters he could ride, especially Bombora.
Mid-day, we went to Laguna Beach. If I had realized that Frankie couldn't go down any of the waterslides because they all have a crazy tall height requirement, I don't think we would have bothered with this. It did feel good to cool off, but it wasn't worth the trouble to just play in the kiddie pool area. After the water we left the park and went to a little cafe/burger place for lunch, then we came back and continued trekking around.
Hunter is such a fun teenage cousin. He wanted to make sure he got to take Frankie on the flying aces. We went over to an abandoned pavilion right next door, ate our dinner we had brought in, and the boys rode the aces.
Here is Jarek since he missed the group picture above.
Hunter and Frankie rode a second time, and Frankie was so excited that they got to be on the plane with flames. Hunter had that thing flying very high, and I really think they almost broke the ride. The cables looked like they were going to snap, and they started slowing it down right after it happened. It was a bit scary, but of course Frankie loved it.
Starting to wind down at the end of the day. We went over and rode the log flume and the rapids last, which was sort of poor planning. It had started getting chilly.
In the afternoon we decided to rent this stroller for Frankie, partly on the logic that if we had a stroller maybe he would take a nap. When they rolled that thing out after I had paid my $10 bucks AND left my drivers license as collateral, I about laughed out loud. Do they really think someone is going to steal it? It was the most uncomfortable, bolt upright positioned thing you've ever seen. We only saw one other person with one the whole day. So, no nap happened, but I do think it helped Frankie survive. The cousins all battled over who got to push Frankie around, but Hunter usually won and took him on some great excursions. As I heard them arguing over who got to push or ride with Frankie I came to a conclusion: not only is Frankie an only child, he is often the youngest too. What a life.
So ends the Lagoon adventure. We would go again, but not unless Frankie is tall enough to ride everything and not without a plan.
I Pricelined our hotel for this trip, and we ended up at the Peery Hotel. The picture below is of Frankie on the staircase in the lobby. The location is really cool, right in downtown, and I love the old architecture. But I neglected to read the fine print for Priceline that it only guarantees you accommodations for 2 people. Thus, Frankie didn't have a bed, and slept on an air mattress on the floor. We didn't have continental breakfast, we had to pay for parking, and the room was tiny with a view of mechanical equipment. If I had booked our usual hotel we like to stay in in Salt Lake, it probably would have ended up actually being cheaper. Ah, well-live and learn. And save Priceline for couple trips.
On Saturday we slept in, (even Frankie, miracle!) and then had time for a quick trip to the GAP. The only time I can get Jeremy to shop for clothes is when we're on vacation. Afterwards we went to the family reunion, and I neglected to take any pictures. It was wonderful to see everyone and catch up - I really hope that someday we can get a lot of those people to the new cabin.
Which is where we headed after the reunion. It ended up being just my little family and my parents at the cabin for Saturday night and Sunday. I was worried Frankie would be bored with no cousins around, but it ended up being really neat for him to have that individual time with my parents.
He helped my Dad with a hummingbird feeder:
And on Sunday we took a little drive to Cedar Breaks to see the wild flowers and such. Here we are at a lookout point:
And not looking at the view, but the chipmunks:
My son has started to be rebellious about me taking his picture. Isn't the stripey sweater awesome? It almost hurts the eyes but I love it.
The view:
My cute Mom and Dad:
My Dad took us way on top of the mountain where there are a bunch of radio and satellite towers. This cool building is actually an old double outhouse. It's amazing to think that someone put that much craftsmanship into an outdoor toilet. I would love to know the story behind it.
Frankie knows that when he picks me a flower I usually put it in my hair. So he helped me:
Back at the cabin, Jeremy and Frankie did some deer watching.
