Park City - 2008

A couple of years ago the grown-up girls on my dad's side started a tradition. We go to Park City for a weekend towards the end of the summer for 2 or 3 days of no-holes barred shopping. It is so much fun.

Brent willingly took all of Friday off work to be home with the kids and I left detailed instructions for him so he would know what time the bus came, who had what chores, and what time to pick up Damon from preschool. I also told him that he would need to stand next to Brooky as she ate her cereal Friday morning and remind her to take big bites or she'd miss the bus. Thats not a joke; Brooky is the slowest eater ever. She eats ONE Cheerio or Lucky Charm at a time. Thirty minutes for a small bowl of cereal is no exaggeration.

The adventure began Thursday afternoon. I dropped Damon off at Brent's office at 2:00. Brent was having lunch with some of the other staff so I stayed to visit for a few minutes. Brent said to me, "Don't spend too much money." I said, "Are you giving me a limit?" Brent said, "Yes. Four thousand dollars." (For those of you that know Brent, just imagine the sarcasm he used.) I told him it was a deal. I walked out of the room for a minute and overheard Brent say, "I really hope she doesn't spend $4000." I assured him I would not spend that much.

After making sure Damon was settled and entertained (Brent only had one more patient for the day.) I headed home to wait for my mom, Julie and Mallory to pick me up. (Grandma Audrey, Sally, Kara, Kelsey,and Jessica met up with us on Friday.) The house was completely clean when I left. I love having everything neat when I leave to go somewhere. It gives me a sense of completion. I knew that my chances of returning home to find things as neat as I left them were next to none. I left a friendly reminder.

The drive to Park City consisted of a couple of stops: Tai Pan Trading, of course. Love that store! And a stop at DSW (shoe store). We had great conversation and lots of laughs. Once we got to our hotel, we continued chatting and laughing and maybe even shed a few tears when the conversation turned to Dad.

Mom, Julie and I were up early the next morning and went running/walking. Mom gave us a bit of scare. She and I left at the same time but soon became separated since I was running and she was walking. Julie headed out sometime after we did. I met up with Julie in the hotel lobby after my run, expecting that Mom would have also returned. Julie said she hadn't seen her. We started to get worried because we all went the same direction and surly one of us would have seen her on the way back to the hotel. We went up to the room with the intent of getting the car keys and heading out to look for her. Mallory called her cell phone, she answered and said she'd be back shortly. We quit worrying but I still think its kind of weird that none of us crossed paths.

After packing up, we headed to Midway for Swiss Days. Its a big city celebration with lots of vendors selling home decor, crafts, purses, hair bows, etc. There was a booth selling neckties. I got a bunch for Damon and Brent. Although the designs didn't match, some of the colors did. Damon thought it was pretty neat that he had an orange tie and so did Daddy. We took pictures before church today. Damon wanted to make sure his tie showed up in the picture so he pulled it out of his vest. Too bad the wind was blowing.

We met up with the rest of our group at Swiss Days. When we were all shopped-out, we headed to the condo (Mom has a time-share) to rest for a while. After dinner that night we played games. I am proud to announce that I was the winner of the first game, "The Last Word" and I won a prize (Grandma always brings prizes.) Jessica won the game "Smart Ass" and got the prize for that one. The prizes were these cute little music boxes. Grandma, you always come up with the funnest things!

Kara and Kelsey

Julie, Mom, Mallory

Sally, Julie, Mom Jessica and Grandma

Saturday was the day for the outlet stores. It was also a day of drama for me. (Why does drama follow me?) As I made my way through the stores, the strap on my purse broke. Just like that! I could no longer carry it over my shoulder, I had to hold in my arm. A bit later I found myself in the dressing room of Old Navy when my cell phone rang. It was Brent calling to see how things were going. While I was talking to him, my call waiting beeped. It was mom and she left a message. After I listened to her message I am sure I put my phone back in my purse. I left Old Navy and went to the The Children's Place where I saw a cute little dress that would fit my niece, Boston. I reached for my cell phone to call Julie to see if she wanted me to get the dress. My phone was gone. I went back to Old Navy and re-traced all my steps. I asked the clerks if a pink cell phone had been turned in; Nope. Another customer offered to call my number to see if we could hear my phone ringing anywhere. Nothing. I'm sure someone picked it up and decided to keep it. Brent called and put a hold on my account. So, if you're reading this and I had your phone number(s) in my phone...I'm really sorry. I currently have no cell phone, so don't try to call me that way.

After the phone drama I didn't really feel like shopping anymore. We were about ready to leave and head for home by this time. Julie and I decided to run in to GAP Kids real quick before we met up with everyone else. This stop produced one of the few highlights of my day. When I took the kids school shopping, Brittany found a denim skirt at this store. I really liked it and decided to check to see if there was one that fit me. There was! Brit and I wore our matching skirts to church today. (I know, its a little bit cheesy. But who cares?!)

As we were leaving Brent called me on my mom's phone. He wanted to know what time I would be home so he could make sure the kids had their work done by then. We stopped at The Training Table in Layton for a late lunch. While there, the snap on my wallet broke. I can no longer close my wallet.

I came home to a "clean-ish" house. Apparently my definition of clean and Brent's definition of the same are not identical. (Yes, I knew that and I've been married long enough to know not to expect perfection, at least the way I define it.) To Brent's credit, they did work hard on the house, the kids were all bathed with their hair washed and he ordered pizza for dinner and he was glad to see me. Its a good feeling to know that my husband actually noticed I wasn't around and he said he missed me.

I love the Park City weekend. I look forward to it all year; I'm already excited for next year, despite the bad luck I had this time. I did not spend $4000. Not even close. I'll just assume it can roll over for next year.:)

p.s. Michelle, we missed you. You'll be there next year!