Park City

In November our Grandpa came to Utah for a business trip and also to check out his new condo time share.  He invited me along, and we also brought some of the older kids.  He came to pick us up and Wyatt squeezed in some snuggle time with him.  Like usual, grandpa took a power nap, but Wyatt didn't seem to mind.

Off to Park City!

It was much bigger than we expected with a full kitchen and room to sleep 6.

At the condo in Park City, Carter helped us unpack.  Here is his bed. 

Haleigh's room...

My kids thought this McDs was from the future because it had a cool soda machine and TVs in the bathrooms.  

Grandpa went back to SLC to work and we stayed to hang out.  The kids were told to leave me alone to do my PhD work and then we took a few food breaks.  They played video games, watched movies and I actually got a lot done locked in one room for days with no babies around.

Here was my wintery view from my window.  

On one of our study breaks, we wandered around the town and found this Thrifty's ice cream counter in a drug store.  It's the only one in Utah and just so happens to have my favorite ice cream flavor in the whole world...Chocolate Malted Crunch. JOY!

The kids on our walk with the ski slopes in the background.

At night we played Barbie Uno, did jamberry on the girls toe nails and watched the movie Big.  The break from reality was much needed and I loved being able to relax for a few days.

Study time in the car...

We got home and went to school for a day or two and then went back up for the weekend without Grandpa this time who had to get back to Arizona.  All 8 of us drove up to the same time-share condo and got settled in. This time I got way less studying done but much more playtime with the kids. 

We discovered a shopping center that had a World Market.  I love this store!  They have the best ornaments, international candy, and unique things.  It was so fun to explore!

We also went to the future McDs again and bought all of their happy meal toys for a quarter because they were all the Peanuts characters. 

We explored the ski lifts and resorts which were empty at the time due to lack of deep snow.  In fact, this picture is showing the machine blowing fake snow.  

I found these gorgeous lamps in a grocery store there and bought some for our front porch.  

And we hung out at the condo.  There is a long hallway to another apartment that was empty (and open) so we turned it into a bowling alley.

I asked Haleigh to collect ideas for holiday treats from each kid so I could start planning menus.

We snuck in the open studio condo to take pictures of it for my dad to compare our one bedroom one.

We had this railing at the base of the stairs that became our "horse" for many shows put on by the kids. Grandpa was concerned that the condo might be too boring for the kids but I kept telling him they can find things to make it fun.  Hence, the hang on the stairs contest, the shows, renting Mall Cop 2 from redbox, and the homemade bowling alley.

We took them to our ice cream counter and drove around to see our favorite rainbow trees at night.  

Wyatt thought it was very cool to eat gummy bears for breakfast while watching Gummi Bears. 

I brought some snacks for Doug who wasn't feeling too good on our trip. 

Overall, we loved getting away for a while in Grandpa's new digs and now we know how to plan for it the next time it's our week.  There are very little restaurants for families so I'll have to plan ahead for meals, and I think we're going to try a new season like summer to be able to use the pool and hot tub.