Salt Lake City

Between Christmas and New Years, Taylor and I concocted a plan for a secret getaway downtown to stay overnight.  I packed all the suitcases and loaded them in the car.  We just told them to dress warm and get in the car.  They grumbled a bit at first as it is always easier to just stay home.  We got a great deal on Priceline to stay at the Sheraton so we could ride the trax to see the lights at temple square.  The hotel was just redone and very nice.  We parked and told the kids Taylor was checking to be sure the new decorations were up and kids were allowed to come in.  Taylor returned and gave me one of the keys and we snuck up in two groups to the room.  They were confused when we ended up in the room and then we casually suggested we just sleep there tonight.  They were really surprised and after some adjustment in thinking, I think they all were excited.  We went to the Spaghetti factory for dinner and had a little photo shoot at pottery barn as we waited for our table.

    After dinner, we rode the trax up to temple square to see the lights.  None of our photos turned out well.  We went over the to the church history museum and played in the children's area which the kids loved.  This little Mexican dancing demonstration was a hit with both the girls and boys.

I love the pure joy on Lily's face here.

They did this dance over and over again.  The female dance was more fun so the boys just put on a skirt and jumped right in!  Ethan and Gabe are there behind the girl in the striped shirt.

When we walked out of there, we saw the horse-drawn carriages and offered to go on a ride together.  The children were so excited as they have asked us so many times to ride in the carriage.  It was magical to snuggle up together and ride around temple square behind our horse to see the lights. 

  Then we rode trax and walked back to our hotel for a dip in the hot tub.

And some serious checkers in the lobby.

The next morning, we ate at McDonald's and went to the city library.

Such a unique building with all the little reading areas for kids etc.  Here is Lily in the Iceberg room.

Here is Sophie and Ethan really appreciating the sculptures:)

We were all exhausted and had a great time but were glad to be back in our own beds.  When I went to check on the kids before turning in, Lily had snuck out of her bed and fallen asleep by Ethan.