A few weeks ago, I drove to Utah with the kids. That's right. I said "I". Justin flew in from a dental conference in Seattle to meet us in Salt Lake for a week and then flew home to Missouri so he could get back to work earning the money to pay for our vacation. And actually, I can't say I was completely alone because my big sister's family was also driving from Missouri to Utah, so we traveled together on the way there and the kids kept each other entertained, hopping back and forth between cars at each rest stop. Then, my mom, who sometimes lives in Utah, sometimes in California, decided at the last minute to drive home with us so she could get some dental work done in Missouri.
The drive was actually very tolerable, and the little travelers did so well! We were able to stop and stay the night at another sister's new place in Denver, which was absolutely beautiful! And we were thrilled to find that nearly every gas station & McDonald's in Colorado has a RedBox out front. Handy!
I've found that a common misconception about Mormons is that every Mormon lives in Utah, and that those of us who don't live in Utah wish that we did live in Utah. I am here to tell you that it simply is not true. Not every Mormon wishes that he or she could live in Utah, and there are plenty of reasons why. To illustrate, I took it upon myself to take careful inventory of the "pros" and "cons" of living in the Beehive State.
Pro: Lots of churchy stuff to do
Salt Lake City is the worldwide headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Provo, Utah is the main hub for Brigham Young University, Justin and my church-owned alma mater. Between the two of them lies potential for limitless Mormony things to do. Things like Temple Square, The Bean Museum, and weekly Sunday morning broadcasts of "Music and the Spoken Word" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. In all my years of Mormondom, both in and out of Utah, I had never taken advantage of the opportunity of actually going to a live broadcast of the longest running nationwide radio broadcast in the United States. We finally got around to it this trip, and were lucky enough to arrive at the recording of the choir's special 4th of July patriotic broadcast. It was phenomenal! Such beautiful music a great memory for our family!
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| Music & the Spoken Word |
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| The Salt Lake Temple, where Justin & I were sealed to one another for eternity, 12 years ago next month! |
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| Cousins at the Temple Square Visitor Center |
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| Fish tacos at The Red Iguana in Salt Lake City. Yum! |
Con: 1pm Church
Lots of Mormons means multiple congregations sharing every church building. Every few years you've gotta take a turn with the afternoon time slot. As if 3 hours of church with a 2 year old wasn't challenging enough, try showing up at the beginning of nap time. Yikes!
Pro: Grass you can actually sit on!
No ticks, chiggers or poison ivy here! Man, that's 3 pros in 1!
Pro: Cabela's
One stop shopping before you head for the hills!
Con: Fireworks!
Dry desert sagebrush mixed with wayward fourth of July festivities can really mess up your camping plans.
Pro: Random Reunions
In one quick trip to Old Navy, I randomly ran into my bff from high school and my college roommate who I haven't seen since college, and who married Justin's college roommate who also became a dentist and who we were able to have lunch with. So fun to see old friends! For Mormons, Utah truly is the gathering place.
Pro: Cousins!
Long days with nothing to do but play with cousins is what we look forward to most when we go to Utah. This trip, all seven of my siblings were together for a wonderful reunion! We missed the five grandkids who were unable to make it, but had fun with the 25 that were there! I really do love hanging out with my awesome & amazing family!
Thanks, Utah, for another fabulous vacation. Although we love living in Missouri, we look forward to visiting again next year!
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