We got Brooklyn back on Wednesday, and that was a process. We were supposed to pick her up on Tuesday, which would have been ideal because Brandon works Wednesday thru Saturday now. For one reason or another, they couldn't finish the repair in time on Tuesday. The dealership was going to send an Uber to pick me up, but there weren't any available, so they sent their courtesy shuttle. Normally the shuttle wouldn't come all the way here, but there wasn't another option. Brandon wouldn't be home in time to drive us out there before they closed and pick it up. I picked up Brooklyn in Provo and headed to SLC in preparation for picking up Alanna and mom. What I didn't realize was I was going to drive right by IKEA. Was I in the far-left lane? Yes. Did I cross over the five lanes to get off at the next exit and head to IKEA? Also, yes! It was a quick trip for some Swedish Meatballs and to grab three more of our favorite towels. Then I headed to SLC where it started snowing pretty steadily.
Alanna came back from her trip to Buffalo where she had a fantastic time. She spent her time with her grandparents, and some great friends. Alanna and mom's flight arrived at midnight, and in true SLC fashion we were expecting three to five inches of snow overnight. So, we got a hotel room for the evening. Wednesday started the seven-day run of driving back and forth from Heber to Salt Lake City. The next day was stunning, and we drove back to Heber City. For most of the day we relaxed, and in the evening, we went to the hot tub to relax even more. We were all pretty exhausted from the night before and slept quite hard. The next day, Friday (day three of going to from Heber to SLC and back), Dana was coming in to be here for her nieces first Roller Derby bout. Little did mom and Alanna know, Mischa was also on her way in for the weekend!
Misch arrived around 10:30am and immediately wanted to get something to eat. The excitement she had when she discovered that there was Del Taco in Utah was similar to a child or puppy (in the best way possible). The four of us chowed down on Del Taco while we waited for Dana to arrive. Dana got in, and we headed back to Heber. This time the weather was cloudy, windy, and did not allow the mountains to put on a show like the day before.
Saturday (day four of going from Heber to SCL and back) morning we headed to the cabin that Dana and Mischa were staying in for breakfast and to make our Derby shirts. We had to represent for Alanna AKA Squishy Pantz #716. Yes, seven-one-six, just like Titi Dana. The bout was St. Patrick's day themed and the Juniors were Leprechauns vs. Unicorns. Pantz was on the Unicorns. We then headed to the hot tub because the day was bluebird skies and in the mid 30's. We headed to out to the bout around 3:30 because Alanna had to be there by 4:30, but we couldn't go in until 5. So, we did the only logical thing and had a dance party/tailgated in the parking lot. Rocking out to the Wobble and Hanson; would you expect anything else?
Pantz killed it jamming and blocking, and we killed it cheering her on. It was so exciting watching her do something she is so passionate about. As much as she won't admit it, she loved having her own cheering section. She was nervous and excited all day, very concerned about winning. Her excitement and concern came through and her team (The Unicorns) won 142-113. She had an awesome 16-point jam right at the end of the game. The crowd (us) was going crazy! Her smile was from ear to ear knowing she just rocked it! Alanna wasn't the only winner though. They had some raffles going on and we won a couple of baskets. It was probably one of the best events we have been to, minimally it was my favorite so far. Sunday (day five of going from Heber to SLC and back) Dana was flying back to Colorado. Before she took off, we went into Park City and walked around. I've noticed a trend where we go places that has cute shops and yet we all tend to purchase is food items, coffee, sweets, bread. The good stuff! After roaming for a bit, it was time to take Dana to the airport. It was a quick visit, but she will be back in May for her bout in SLC! It took a minute for us to realize it, but we will be here for the tournament weekend Dana is playing in.
Monday (day six of going from Heber to SLC and back) Mischa was leaving to head back to NYC. We had planned to go to the Goodwill Outlet, which is often referred to as "the bins", but some people slept in a bit too late. We said "see ya later" to Mischa and headed to the Goodwill Outlet after. That was quite the experience! The pricing is by the pound, not by each item, and you have to go through the bins to find what you are looking for. However, you don't really know what you are looking for, you are just looking. I wasn't ready for how intense people are when going through the bins. We clearly were rookies; we didn't grab a shopping cart to hold our items. Your arms get tired holding onto things with one arm and tossing things with the other. We found a few items, but nothing like the cart full people were leaving with.
Tuesday (day seven of going from Heber to SLC and back) mom was heading back to Buffalo. The whole time she was here I had in my head that she was flying out around 7pm. She was not. Her flight left at 5pm. We had our morning to hang out, then headed to SLC around 2pm. After dropping mom off at the airport we went the movies to see Scream 6. After that we headed back to Heber, which was where I wanted to remain for quite a few days! That drive back and forth totaled more than 14 hours of that week. The rest of the week was spent working and cleaning from our weekend shenanigans.
On Friday I drove Alanna up to Park City to snowboard with Brandon while he worked. It was a bit weird to drop off Alanna, our 13-year-old daughter, and watch her walk away from the truck by herself. So grown, and so independent. Brandon ended up clocking out early and the two of them had fun taking a bunch of runs. Saturday was another day of not doing much, and it was great!
Sunday Alanna had derby practice. We had to leave a little bit earlier than normal because the route we take to practice was going to be closed to relocate 80 to 100 Elk from the golf course area to, who knows where? We have so many unanswered questions. How do you round up that many wild Elk? What if they happen to not be there that morning? Where are you taking them? How long does it take? How do you do this for your profession? Is this an every year thing? And so on. We don't have answers to any of that currently, we had to get to practice.
One thing that Brandon and I have been missing (this is silly) is a good laundromat. Our RV resort has washers and dryers, but they are small, cost a smidge more than we were used to, and we had a ton of laundry to do. We found one a couple minutes away from Alanna's practice space and went to check it out. Laundromats are one of the places that I prefer to go to with Brandon. They aren't always in the greatest area, with the greatest people. This one was actually pretty good! We were able to get all of our laundry done in time to pick up Alanna from practice. Then, we headed to the movies again! Two in one week after not going to the movies in forever! We used the movie tickets we won from Alanna's bout and went to go see Shazam! It was a really nice day with the three of us. We are loving having Brandon home on Sundays so we can have a day as a family without either of us working.
Things we learned:
- Ikea is in between Provo and SLC.
- Del Taco is pretty good.
- Surprising people with people is nice.
- Alanna is a kick-ass Derby player.
- Alanna knows almost every word to Shoop by Salt n Pepa.
- My soul-mate Johana is amazing and make Alanna her jersey because the one we ordered didn't come in in time.
- When my sisters and I are together we are idiots (in a good way, and we knew that).
- Hanson forever.
- You can relocate 80-100 Elk (but that's all we learned about that)
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