June 5-12, 2019: Salt Lake City

Our eldest son Jared purchased plane tickets to Salt Lake City for me so I could spend a week with my grandsons, Mario and Milo. Jared was planning a trip (their 15th anniversary!) to New York City--their first time away without their boys.

I arrived in SLC on a Wednesday evening, and Jared and Jenny didn't leave for NYC until late Friday night. They picked me up from the airport, and we went out for a late dinner at Chuck O-Rama Buffet together. At their house, I played games with the boys, and then they pretty much went to bed. None of my other grandkids go to bed the way these boys do! No fuss or complaining. They're really well trained to go to bed and to fall right to sleep--it's amazing.

June 6th: Out with Jared's family for Korean shaved ice

Playing games with my Utah boys

On Thursday, I made breakfast for the boys and hung out with them while Jared worked from home (on his laptop) and Jenny studied for her two online classes and ran personal errands.We went out for Korean shaved ice in the afternoon, and then Jenny and I took the boys grocery shopping for my stay. That evening, they treated me out to a fancy meal--just the three of us. It was fun to be with them, and the food was really good. I had a BBQ brisket personal pizza.

A toast to good health and happy families

On Friday late afternoon, I treated Jared's family to All You Can Eat Hibachi. I wish we had a place like that in Albuquerque! It was delicious and such a great price. They stayed busy most of the day, and then they took an Uber to the airport that night.

June 7th: Our All-You-Can-Eat Hibachi chef making our fried rice

My precious Mario and Milo

Our vegetables, chicken, and steak

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with 11-year old Mario, our oldest grandson, and with his younger brother, 8-year old Milo. We mostly played games at the dining table, went for walks with their puppy Chloe, and played on the Madison school playground. We rode bikes together a few times; did some fun shopping and some grocery shopping; cleaned house; and watched "Napoleon Dynamite" on their big screen downstairs in the cool basement.

We also went to church together on Sunday, and Mario passed the sacrament. At the end of relief society, I invited a newly graduated teenager, Samantha Bergen, to join us for dinner. I had nearly forgotten about the invitation when the doorbell rang at 1pm (church was from 10am-12pm). The kitchen sink got badly clogged after using the garbage disposal, and I was trying desperately to fix the problem--but nothing was working, and both sinks were full of potato skin water! I was surprised and embarrassed when Samantha and her mother showed up on our doorstep at 1pm!

Laura was a jewel! She helped me with the clogged sinks, running buckets of the potato water to the toilet while I plunged one side. Her help gave me a chance to get the rest of the dinner prepared too. I made fried potatoes with cheddar cheese and bacon on top and a side of mixed veggies I found in the freezer. And we had ice cream for dessert.

I was able to unclog the drain and to eventually get the messy kitchen all cleaned up. We taught Laura and Samantha how to play a card game called "Idiot," and they loved it. We all had a great time together, and the boys also enjoyed playing Nintendo "Switch" with Samantha afterwards. It was a stressful but fun day! Laura said that she felt like we'd always been friends, and I agreed. I also felt that the Lord had sent an angel to help me that day.

On Monday Mario had a violin lesson, and I got a bit lost looking for the house--to and from his appointment! Mario plays violin, and Milo plays piano, and both boys are doing great and are making progress!

June 8th: Bacon and French toast for breakfast

This boy LOVES playing games--especially the card game called Idiot!

This is the place where Chloe pined for Jared and Jenny the first few nights--
near the side door and at the top of the stairs where they always come and go!

Milo LOVES riding his bike, and he's the most athletic one
 in the family. He's also gifted at playing piano!

Here's my cool grandson Milo!
Mario and I preferred the church parking lot, but we did go with Milo
up the hill and through the neighborhoods our first time riding together

And here's our #1 grandson, Mario! This sweet boy loves to play video games,
especially Nintendo SWITCH. And he plays the violin now too!

June 10th: My sweet, adorable boys

The awesome brook in their neighborhood

  

Playing at Madison school playground, where Mario
taught Chloe to go down the long, curvy slide!

Chloe missed Jared and Jenny but eventually warmed up to my bedside

On Tuesday and Wednesday the boys had track meets in the afternoon, so we needed to plan our days around that. In the late morning, we went to see two movies at the Cinemark Sugarhouse Theater: "Aladdin" and "Secret Life of Pets 2". We had lunch at Wendy's between the shows. They picked out some things at Walmart, and we got some storage boxes for Mario's closet. We also did some shopping at Nordstrom Rack.

That evening, I took the boys over to Gordon's new house to get a tour of the place while the girls were away. We played a new card game with Gordon, and the boys had some fried rice. Milo enjoyed playing with their two puppies in the backyard.

On Wednesday we went back to the theater to see the new "Godzilla" movie. The boys had TCBY frozen yogurt and had hair cuts at Supercuts. I made fried rice and a beef and vegetable stir-fry dish.

I took the boys to Kyoto Japanese restaurant for dinner, and my nephew Gordon Lemmon and his family joined us. It was fun to see Gordon, his wife Taylor, and their 2-year old daughter Amelia. They came over for games and dessert (watermelon and cookies) afterwards but didn't stay long, since Amelia has an 8pm bedtime.

   

My nephew Gordon, wife Taylor, and daughter Amelia (hiding behind her mom)

I used up the fresh (and some frozen) produce for an Asian meal

I LOVE these sweet boys--waiting at Supercuts with their frozen yogurts

I saw very little of Jared or Jenny, but I know that Jenny was grateful for the extra time by herself and for her studies. By the time she and Jared were free, it was time for me to get to the airport for my flight home. Jared had his Scouts activity with the boys that evening, so there was no time left for me to do anything with Jared's family. He called a Lift to pick me up, and I said my goodbyes and hurried out the door.

Jared and Jenny have a lovely and comfortable home in a historic and prestigious neighborhood. I like sleeping in the basement guest room where it stays cool. Their kitchen appliances are awesome, and they have the best washer and dryer. I also enjoyed driving their Land Rover all over Salt Lake--a first for me! Next time, I hope the boys can come to MY house to stay with us for part of the summer!

June 15th: Saturday SLC Temple date for Jared and Jenny

A delicious Japanese meal for Mario and Milo--with their haircuts