We cleaned up the cabin which wasn't anything like leaving the cabin in Montana. We only had to strip beds, take the towels to the laundry, load our stuff, and do a general tidy of the place. We headed down to my sister's home in North Orem from there and hung out with her for awhile. The cousins played while Susan and I unloaded stuff. Before we knew it, it was lunch time. She pulled out leftovers from our Sunday dinner at the cabin and fed the whole lot of us.
She was called in to the Young Women presidency in her ward on Sunday, so she was already scheduled with meetings on Monday afternoon. That was okay since my parents and I wanted to see the movie "17 Miracles" before leaving the state. Amy came to the movie with me while the younger two saw "Smurfs" with their cousins Jenna and Nathan. I was glad to not have to sit through "Smurfs", so thanks Jenna and Nathan.
Before the movie, we stopped at University Mall for a little shopping. My girls picked out some fun jewelry and clothes. Misha spotted this jacket in the store window as we entered the store and went immediately to find it in her size. Well, and then there's the mustache necklace. We didn't buy it.
After the movie, we dropped King cousins off at home, realized that one of the rings Amy had purchased at "Forever 21" had not made it in to our bag. I graciously offered to take her back to the mall to retrieve it. With that stop and traffic, it took us about 40 minutes to get out of Orem. Traffic is bonkers in Utah. There is construction absolutely everywhere.
We drove to our Homewood Suites hotel in Midvale to meet up with Chris for dinner. We found a Santa Monica Pizza and Pasta for dinner which seemed to satisfy everyone. Chris had a lot of work to do, but graciously offered to take me to Nordstrom Rack to return some items I had purchased in Colorado. Yes, I brought them all the way to Utah to return them knowing I would be somewhat close to a Nordstrom Rack in SL county. It was nice to have just some "us" time. The girls had hoped to visit the swimming pool, but having told them no, they were already in their pj's when Chris and I returned to the hotel. I knew that Chris had a lot of email to read, so at 9 pm, I told the girls to put on their suits. They were thrilled and Chris had about 45 minutes of peace and quiet to concentrate. I sat in the hot tub while the girls jumped back and forth between the hot tub and the pool. When it was time to head back, there were no arguments and they promptly fell asleep. Good plan.
Chris had more meetings Tuesday morning. My plan was to get Misha's birth certificate amended to her new name. I had an address, but my stupid Nav system in the Pilot would not let me enter it. It tries to be all intuitive and make life easier when entering info, but that morning, its intuition was off. I finally called the State Office and asked to have the address confirmed, and then when it wasn't any different, I asked for some streets and landmarks. Redwood Road. I knew it was west of I-25, so I then called my brother and asked how I would get to Redwood Road from where I was. It was quite simple. Until I made a wrong turn on to North Temple which took me out to the airport! I am so bad with directions. Amy could tell I was past my limit and helped all that she could. We finally arrived at the correct address, filled out a form, paid money, and waited.
Misha's name was finally called and they only wanted me to sign a form to verify that the information was correct. There would be a longer wait for the actual birth certificate to be created. I asked if they could simply mail it to me. Yes. Great, then we were off back to my brothers' optometry practice to have lunch with them. Crazy day!
Chris met us at the office where we got all sunglass issues sorted out, new cases purchased and started on our way. We had to return the rental car a short distance away and then headed home. At least part way. Since we were getting a late start, we were going through to Rawlins, WY for the night. Of course, we made a pit stop at the outlet mall in Park City, and then we were on our way.
Chris asked if I would drive so that he could work on his email. Crazy the technology that exists in our vehicles nowadays. The girls watched a dvd in the back, while Chris plugged his laptop in and spent the next three hours working.
If you have ever driven I-80 through Wyoming, you've seen the "Little America" signs posted all along the way. We've only previously stopped for gas and a restroom visit. This time we decided on dinner in the restaurant. While it was good, it took for.e.ver. So slow.
Wednesday wasn't too exciting. I drove once again so that Chris could continue working and catching up. We made a few stops for gas and food, as well as an unscheduled SOS stop. A couple with kids were stranded on the side of the road, and up until we stopped, no one else would pull over. They had a phone but no cell service to call for a tow truck. Chris was finally able to get through to 911 and had help sent. I am grateful for a husband who sees someone else's need and is willing to help.
We pulled into our driveway around lunch time and got busy unloading the car, getting lunch, and unpacking. Amy and I headed off to her school to pick up her schedule and bus information before they closed for the day. We had to do a little changing around with her schedule but were grateful for the help. The computers were mostly down, with only one working in the office.
After that I took Amy to an appointment at the doctors office. I suspected that something was going on because she just wasn't fully recovered and Melinda (from our trip to Montana) had reported that she tested positive for strep. Amy too! Though Kristen's test was negative. So glad to finally be home.
The rest of our evening was filled with back-to-school nights for Kristen and Misha. Such a busy day. In the midst of all of that, Chris left for Toronto. I had hoped to be home from the doctor's office to say goodbye. No such luck. Busy day.