It was so nice to get away from the daily grind. I didn't have time to do as much as I thought I would, everything that we did took much longer than I thought it would. Staying at the museum for SIX hours wasn't planned, but in the end it turned out better that way. Less running around meant more relaxation time for me.
It is funny how a vacation can be so relaxing, yet so tiring at the same time, I am exhausted! We are glad to be home, but I am not looking forward to my 6:00 A.M. internal alarm clock going off in the morning telling me that the daily duties are calling my name!
The Discovery Museum at the Gateway was a big hit with my kids. I had planned on staying an hour or two, but the kids had so much fun we were there for more than six hours! We arrived right before it opened and saw school buses pulling in, there were three schools there for a field trip. It was a mad house the first hour we were there, but once they left it was great! I sat there looking at the mess the school kids had left behind-disgusted that the teachers didn't have the kids clean up after themselves. I was about to get up and start cleaning when Bailia walked over and started organizing and picking up all of the paper. Why would kids leave such a mess she asked? It is funny that she likes things so clean, yet she is a slob at the same time!
I had to drag Jaden away from the magnetic wall ball run-he wanted to use all of the tubes, trying to get it perfect, he spent a good two hours on that wall! Koda loved the water station filling the water tube up, dumping it out, and repeating the process 2867 times! I don't know if Bailia had a favorite station, she loved everything she touched!
Mrs. Pentico just happened to be in Ogden this weekend for her son's college rugby game. She had told Jaden she wanted to come to his meet, I assumed that she had just told him that to make him feel good. Then on Saturday I received a text from her asking what time his meet started! When Jaden saw her sitting there with me (her daughter in law even came) he got a big smile and waved! She made him feel SO special! Now you can see why Jaden loves her so much. Not only is she a wonderful educator, she actually cares for her students. She makes them feel important, and her students love her just as much as she loves them! Mrs. Pentico will be one of those teachers that Jaden will remember forever! It's no wonder Bailia wants her for her 4th grade teacher next year!
After staying in Bountiful for the first two nights, we wanted to stay in Orem the last night. I like to be as close to home as I possibly can on my last night when I travel. I had Adam get me a hotel on Priceline and he won the Best Western in Provo.
I knew the area, and figured it would be fine. When we pulled in at 8:00 that night we were surprised at how DARK it was. Creepy dark. There were trees everywhere and the parking lot was completely dark. I usually don't get too nervous traveling alone, but when we got out of the truck we practically ran to the entry!
We walked in to check in and the guy looks up our information on the computer.
Oh, I see that you used priceline, he said kind of snobbish.
Is that a problem, I asked him?
Well were you expecting two beds?
Does the king room have a pullout?
No.
Then a double would be great.
Well usually when you book on priceline (acting as if I had got the room for free-I still paid $50 for this dive) we just give you a king room, but luckily for you I have a double room available, he said-as if the hotel were packed. The parking lot had maybe ten cars in it!
Oh good, I said trying to be as chipper as possible, trying not to say something rude.
He gave us our room keys and we headed down the very dark outdoor hallway. We walk in to our room, and see stuff everywhere. Make-up and a curling iron on the bathroom counter, luggage and clothes everywhere (are people really that messy when they travel?)!
We walk back to the front desk to tell them of their mistake.
Are you sure it is occupied, the gentleman that thinks he is working at the Four Seasons asks.
Well the room had stuff everywhere, so I am pretty sure it is occupied.
Acting as if I had put him out, he quickly gave us a different room.
Lesson learned-we will NEVER stay at the Best Western in Provo again! I paid $36 for our hotel in Bountiful and we LOVED it-and they didn't treat me any differently because I had won it on priceline! Obviously it wasn't the Four Seasons, or even the Marriott, so it's not like I am expecting the royal treatment, but SERVICE will either make or break your stay! Bountiful made our stay great, Provo-not so great! Be glad we only stayed in Provo for the night!
