Utah Days 5&6

It's a shopping day.  I love that when I visit, we always get to have a shopping day for Miss Ophelia.  Cass had bought quite a bit already so we went through to determine what else was needed and if anything could be returned.  Once the decisions were made last night, we are off and running this morning.  The mall is handing out bunny ears and coloring books, so once we have Oph's new dresses/hat in hand and the returns have been made, she is treated.

Time for lunch and the Spaghetti Warehouse is right here. Yay.  Lunch is wonderful but my poor little granddaughter, who is potty training, is having a terrible time.  She really needs to go potty and doesn't want to go in her diaper, but is also afraid of those big commodes.   Ugh.  It's time to go home and give her some relief.

Cassie spends nap time working on a wonderful Easter gift for Oph.  They are wooden flashcards that she is painting brightly.  Just as she is finishing, Oph wakes up and Paul comes over to trim the apricot tree which as JUST popped with blossoms while I have been here.  Picture time.

Little Miss sets to cleaning up the yard and doesn't stop until all the branches are in the bucket.  What a great little helper.

The "blossoms", you say?  (I have no idea how to punctuate that sentence.)  Well here ya go.  Isn't this lovely?

Later in the evening, I catch Miss playing with her L'il Red doll.  Awww, my heart is again happy.

It's my last night here and I have requested ice cream.  The salted caramel at one shop here is absolutely the best I've ever tasted.  Must go.  When I mention ice cream, Ophelia is right on board.  No, she is not eating this one all by herself, she is sharing with mommy.  What fun.

I am so sad to go home already, but I am betting that Mister would like for me to be home awhile.  I have certainly been on the go since the year began.  Night.

UPDATE WAY AFTER THIS DAY:  Cassie sent me the following pics so that I could see how Ophelia looked in the dress/hat I bought her today for Easter.  Oh what a little cutie patootie.  I smile EVERY time I look at these and Cass even said that she kept her hat on the entire time at church.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.

 

Good morning and guess what.  We are off to the aviary in Salt Lake City this morning before my flight.  It's chilly out, so we grab a few coats and head out.  As we are driving, it starts to snow and by the time we reach our destination, the snow is sticking and it is dang cold out.  The aviary has the most ridiculous entrance and by the time we find our way in, we have missed one of the feedings that we came to watch.  Drat.  However, we do have a few minutes to walk around (a.k.a. freeze and get soaked) before they have an indoor bird show.  Yes, we were out in the sunshine all week.  Crazy and oh the poor apricot tree that we worked on yesterday.

As we are walking around, I spot these peacocks roosting on the fence tops.  They don't even budge as I get close and can see the snow just accumulating on their backs.  Brrrr.

We stop at an indoor exhibit for some warmth and a few minutes to move around.  Now HERE are some fun birds.  We have about 20 minute in here before the show and we take advantage of each one of them.  It is dang cold outside and we obviously didn't bring warm enough jackets.

 

Okay, it's bird show time and we are treated to an almost private (one other mother and two children) show.  This is the ONLY benefit of being out in this weather that I can find so far.  It's a great little show and we are so close to the birds.  One of the Macaws flies right at us and we literally have to duck.  WHERE is my camera?  For the second flight I get it out, but am not near fast enough.  Yep, that's the fuzzy at the top of the picture and Oph is definitely watching it.  

 

At one point they ask for volunteers.  There are exactly 3 adults in the room and all the children are too young to help.  Cass goes down to help and Ophelia's eyes get really wide before she determines that she wants to help too.  At that point, me trying to get her to stay put is a losing proposition.  She absolutely loves birds of all kinds and why is mommy getting all the fun?

After the show we decide that we are NOT going back out into the aviary to see any other exhibits.  It is just too cold outside.

How about a quilt shop instead?  I love this little shop and want to see if I can find another gem this time like I did last trip when I found the fabric/paper dolls.  No such luck and I don't think I even pick up a fat quarter.  Empty handed out the door.   There's something that doesn't happen too often, but we do get quite a few fun ideas for a quilt for Ophelia's new room.

Well that's it.  My trip comes to a close and it's airport time.  Dang.  I'm gonna miss my girls, but planes fly all the time.  I'll just have to book another flight.  Besides, a new sister is coming at the end of July.  That will definitely require another trip.  Til then -- love to the Ashtons and thank you for letting me visit and make memories.