Winter Break in Utah

It was one of those strange circumstances where a client of mine happened to invite me to Salt Lake City to speak at a conference there -- right in the middle of my kids' Winter Break. We don't have a lot of cash because we've been building a house, but with my miles saved up and a bunch of other promotions I was able to take advantage of, I was able to drag my three oldest kids to Utah with me where they would hang out with their grandparents and cousins while I went to the conference for two days.

We shared a suite in the Grand America hotel, Salt Lake's finest, I'm told. And between the various dinners we attended to sample the local cuisine, we were also star watching because Maroon 5 was staying (and performing) in the same hotel as were the Boston Celtics.

Once my conference was over, we managed a few little jaunts worth remarking on. I'll let the kids talk about some of the bigger events, but I'll focus on some of the random events we added in along the way. Hold on tight, they're coming fast:

First, we managed a tour of the Conference Center and Temple Square, meeting the superfabulous sister missionaries who take good care of visitors there.

We visited Uncle Jarrod's grave and had a nice conversation about how much I miss him and love him and hope my kids come to know him someday.

We sat back and watched the Jazz eke out a victory over our beloved Celtics. Lucky for us, we were surounded by 3 rows of Celtics fans to cheer with, including this cute girl in front of Jansen.


We got to hold Cousin Sean, who requested we give him right back to his Mom as soon as he figured out we were relatives.

We also went to play Rock Band with Cousins Connor and Maddie. They sang and played their hearts out.

It was a blast to spend time with so much family, including Uncle Brigham and his family and Uncle B.J., and Uncle Dylan and his family as well. Grandpa and Grandma took good care of us, even letting us drive Grandma's convertible Mercedes, though for some reason we didn't get pictures of that. Too overwhelmed, I guess.

I'm very proud of my kids and the aspects of their character that I get to see on an outing like that.