Eventful!

We traveled to Salt Lake City so Ryan could take a test there. He took the test so he could get even more letters after his name, and we jokingly say he took it so he can be even MORE overqualified for the jobs he's applying for!

Although we've gone on lots of trips lately, the boys and I decided to tag along. Monday, we had to get up early so we could drop Ryan off at the testing center before 8. We were planning on visiting a cyber-friend of mine who lives in Farmington, but we weren't about to crash her house that early! So I got the brilliant idea to ride TRAX. That's the light-rail train that runs through downtown SLC, and best of all, downtown it's free! The boys absolutely adore riding TRAX.

While we were riding, a nice woman overheard me say that we were just killing some time. She said, "Ooh, you should go to the library, then! It's the next stop!" So we got off and she showed us to the children's floor of the SLC library. It was a pretty neat place! They have rooms off to the sides that the kids can go in to climb around or snuggle up with a book. One was called "The Crystal Cave," and the other "The Attic." But we had the most fun riding up and down 4 stories in a glass elevator. It was rather strange, since the doors, walls, and ceiling are all glass. It was very cool! It's definitely worth stopping by if you're in SLC.

We rode TRAX back to our van, then headed to Farmington to meet Melanie. You might think it's strange to have cyber-friends, but it's rather like having a pen-pal. Just faster because it's by e-mail. Melanie has four boys, loves photography, and digital scrapbooking. We have lots in common! We just hung out and talked while our boys played. I wish she lived down the street instead of 5 hours away!
This is the first photo of the trip, if you can believe that!

Ryan called to say he was done with his test, so we had to leave to pick him up. We ate dinner at the Training Table, a fun, yummy restaurant only found in Utah. Too bad it was in SLC, because it was decorated with U of U sports memorabilia. The one in Provo is much, much better, because it's decorated with BYU stuff :)

We wracked our brains to think of something cheap or free to do that night. We decided to check out the LDS Church History Museum. They saved us by lending us a stroller and pointing us toward the children's exhibit. Wow, was that fun! There was much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth when they announced that the museum was closing. Ryan was going to a meeting in the morning, so I decided that he could drop us off at the museum and leave us there until he was done. That stopped the tears.

So the next morning, we went back, this time with the camera:

Zach picks fruit from the Tree of Life

Zach learns to be a good daddy

Jared builds a temple out of blocks

The whole time we were there, Zach kept asking, "Is it almost time to leave?" When I said, "Nope!" he got a huge grin on his face and ran off to do something else. We all had a good time.

Ryan picked us up after his meeting and we hit the road. You know how you drive the same route so many times, and see signs for various attractions or sites, but never stop to see them? Well, we decided to visit the Golden Spike National Historic Site. It's where the trans-continental railroad was completed in 1859.

This photo kind of hurts my eyes! They used an old sign as a bridge across the sunken work area under the trains. Zach is standing on the bridge.

All of us in front of a replica of the Golden Spike. The actual spike is in some fancier museum.The 119, a reconstruction of one of the two engines that met where the two railroads touched.

Jared liked the 119 the best.

On the side of the road out there by Promontory, ATK has rockets on display. They make rockets and missiles, etc. for the government. That huge one in the background is one of the rocket boosters for the Space Shuttle!

Zach occupies himself by sticking crayons in the holes of his Crocs.

I sure am glad to be home! I'm tired of hotels and restaurants. See the rest of our photos here.