First Day of Spring Break - Out and About in Utah

Because spring was kind enough to show up for the first day of Spring Break we decided that we better take advantage of the fleeting warmer weather yesterday. We woke before dawn which is way earlier than we usually get up to go to school. That doesn't seem quite right. But it is always easier to get up early for something fun (isn't this why my kids always wake up so early on Saturday but have to be dragged from bed in the morning for school?)

In the car, I started reading The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick out loud to the kids. We are all enjoying it and I anticipate that we'll finish it this week during the drives for our adventures.

Neal spent the morning skiing at Solitude. The weather was perfect. They had the slopes to themselves, got in eleven good runs and were home by noon.

The rest of us stopped at Corner Bakery Cafe on Foothill for bagels. I have enjoyed everything from the bakery and the bagels were good but the selection wasn't fabulous. In fact, I bought a dozen various bagels and the guy in line behind me tried to buy the same bagels. Neither of us were willing to wait for them to bake more. If you want a great breakfast sandwich or a giant muffin, the Corner Bakery Cafe is the place to stop. If you just want bagels, go to Einstein Brothers.

Once Neal got home from skiing, we headed to Temple Square in down town Salt Lake City. Even though the weather was beautiful and Utah Dad and I preferred to stay outside on the beautiful grounds, the kids wanted to go through the visitors centers. We weren't in a hurry so we did both.

We all enjoyed the virtual tours of the Salt Lake Temple and the cut-away model of the temple in the South Visitors Center.  I love that you can see a close up of the ceiling in the Celestial Room. It is so cool to focus in on the handiwork and art of the Pioneers. AMAZING!

We had a fun multi-cultural experience there yesterday. We talked about our favorite Bollywood movies with a sister missionary from India. Amberly told another sister missionary from Australia all about her upcoming baptism and about her first grade teacher who taught her all about Australia. We also visited with sister missionaries from the south of France, Milan Italy and West Virginia.

We enjoyed the beautiful flowers. It's been a cold spring and the tulips aren't blooming in abundance yet. But the hyacinths are blooming (love the fragrance) and the trees are blossoming. As usual, we had trouble keeping the children out of the fountains. Amberly rescued a drowning bumble bee and luckily didn't get stung.

After we spent several hours walking around, we went to dinner at Chuck-A-Rama Buffet (obviously, kids' choice). They love that they can try so many new foods and if they don't like it so much they can get something else.

The first day of our Spring Break was a fabulous success.