Grandparents and BYU

Ireland and I were fortunate to be in Utah at the same time as my parents. They'd been touring with their Model A and had reunions, family, and friends to see out in Utah as well. We all sneaked off to meet up for a hearty breakfast and oh how excited that little girl was to get her grandparents all to herself!

Ireland has a particularly special relationship with these two. We celebrated her 4th birthday with them in South Africa where they were serving their mission and is still very memorable for her. Whenever they visit, she will sneak into their room in the early morning and either snuggle with them for a couple of hours or just hang out with them. She always, always asks to drive in their car with them, which bothers her little sisters to no end because Ireland doesn't need a booster, so she usually gets to go.

My parents tell me Ireland reminds them a lot of me when I was a little girl. I, too, was extremely sensitive and tearful when life didn't swing my way. We've since learned the asthma has a lot to do with that. I talked to my mom about Ireland's breakdown in the security line at O'Hare. She reminded me of another visit to Utah- must have been for Whitney's wedding, when Ireland was 2. After landing, we all agreed to meet up at Cafe Rio. My mom said she remembers when Ireland spotted her walking in because she was standing on a chair and she became so excited she stomped her little feet... and then burst into tears. Mom said she thinks Ireland is just at a stage of life where tears are how she ultimately handles her big emotions- negative or positive. 

I am SO very grateful to have people who love and care about this little girl and can help give me perspective!

We all enjoyed a HUGE breakfast at Jim's which was filled with senior citizens. It was a bit of a dreary day so it was nice to feel warm and full. Ireland and I headed down to BYU so I could show off my alma mater.

Once we were on campus, we made a beeline for the library. I'd read online that they were giving away free chocolate milk from the Creamery and in my totally unbiased opinion, it's the best chocolate milk in the world! It's really rich and smooth, not grainy like other brands. Unfortunately they were giving out free chocolate milk... while supplies lasted. Any Cougar worth his salt will be on a giveaway like that in a heartbeat! Dozens of students waltzed past us with their chocolate milk in hand but we had just missed it. And by the way, when did they start allowing food in the library!?! I was written up once for having a bagel while I was printing off a paper and I want my name cleared.

The library had a display on Martin Luther's Ninety-five theses, which Ireland didn't find nearly as compelling as I. After some convincing, she at least let me skim all the information.

This was my contribution. Brent's would have been "Indulge Me a Moment"

I showed Ireland the Periodical Room and before we stepped inside I encouraged her to just glance at what the students were working on. I guaranteed her she would see all different subjects, and several students would have their scriptures out. That place is as silent as a tomb and the second we walked back out the door, Ireland gave out a big breath that I think she'd been holding the whole time, so as to not make any noise.

We headed to the Wilkinson Center to buy our chocolate milk and grab a mint brownie. As we sat and enjoyed those, I quizzed Ireland on which guys in the food court she thought were cute. From there we headed to the book store to do some shopping.

Some unexpected changes made this trip a little more expensive than we planned so I really tried to reel in my school pride. I couldn't pass up letting Ireland get a t-shirt though!

She was so excited about that shirt, she wanted to wear it right away. My brief stint as a janitor at the Wilk paid off as I led her to the nearest bathroom- the one that's never busy because no one seems to know it's there.

I showed Ireland where we attended church and where we had Ward Council where I met Brent. We headed over to our respective apartments and she could not stop looking at those mountains!

 Brent's apartment was kind of a hole to begin with, but I was shocked to see how downhill it had gone, even since seeing it with Liesel two years ago. There was a pile of trash right next to a dumpster and thanks to the rain it reeked.

Ireland couldn't stand to stay long because the smell was so bad. Brent mentioned the original owner had gotten sick and the people who took it over really just wanted to collect rent checks.

My apartment just down the street has aged a bit better. 

I couldn't help but take the opportunity to explain to Ireland this is why we emphasize saving as much as they can for college when they are young. Normally I would get a look that says, "I KNOW MOM" but this time she quietly contemplated the concept.

Another change to campus is they've built a pavilion for the Costa Rican stone ball. As a student I never knew what it was for and now it has it's own home, with a plaque stating that no one knows what it was for. Literally. Use unknown: perhaps an astronomical marker, a boundary marker, or a burial memorial stone.

The altitude was getting to us so we rested now and again as we walked through campus. It was nice to just people-watch and Ireland was surprised by how many students were in Sunday dress. I'd forgotten about that. I explained that lots of students work at the MTC where they have to dress like missionaries and others are in business school where they are expected to wear suits and dresses.

 We stopped by the Testing Center and I excitedly asked Ireland, "Can't you just FEEL the tension in the air?" She looked at me quizzically and said, "Can you?" There's a joke around campus that the Testing Center is the most spiritual place at BYU because more prayers are said there than anywhere else. We peeked through the doors at the rows and rows of students taking their exams. Man I'm glad that part of my life is over!

We made a quick stop at the Art Museum but unfortunately, the main exhibit was on Pulitzer Prize photographs. Lots of those are pretty grizzly so I handed Ireland my phone to play some games while I sped through the gallery. We were getting pretty exhausted so we decided to wrap up our day at BYU with some quick photos on the cougar. 

Even though we still weren't hungry, I'd been told to go to The Bombay House while we were in Utah and the Provo location is the best because that's where the owner, Daniel, works. Apparently he is referenced in a book called The Orphan Keeper, but you're not supposed to mention the book to him. I should probably read that one. Ireland ordered the chicken tikka masala and I asked for the Indian butter chicken.

I'm drooling thinking about that chicken. Again, we weren't particularly hungry but it was SO good I was licking it up! I took the opportunity to pull up one of those lists of questions a mother should ask her daughter. The one that struck me the most was "What does it feel like when I hug you?" Ireland answered simply, "Love".

I had posted some of our photos on Instagram and our babysitter from back when we lived in Iowa City messaged me. She's at BYU and since she was free, we just had to stop by and see her.

Amanda is a good egg and I trust her completely with my children. She saved me in so many ways during those hard years in Iowa City and our whole family will always love her. We didn't have long to talk but somehow got right to the nitty gritty. And Ireland didn't mind a few extra snuggles one, tiny bit.

It started sprinkling just as we left Provo and we hit a storm on the drive back to our hotel. As it cleared, we saw the most brilliant rainbow I've ever seen in my life. Ireland tried to get a video of it but it just doesn't do it justice. 

We spent the evening lounging in the pool and hot tub and watching some old episodes of Say Yes to the Dress. It was a grand ending to a grand day!