Sydney's Utah Trip: This is the Place Heritage Park & General Conference

For breakfast we decided to try The Bagel Den in Heber. I'd driven by it a couple of times and thought, why not? Man we hit the motherlode with that one! The bagels were fresh and this hearty breakfast kept us nice and full for a very long time. YUM!!!

 
I managed to break a nail- badly break it- waaay below the quick and if I couldn't find a way to get it glued it was going to rip off in a big, bloody mess. Knowing Park City caters to the bougie crowd, we headed there and found a salon that was open with no wait. Sydney and I got pedicures while they decided what to do about my nail. One very officious woman took one look and said, "I know what you need!" She put on a lacquer and then had me dip it in a powder. She did this 3 times and that nail was solid as a rock. It wasn't going anywhere. I'm so grateful to her for that, I really needed it. 

We headed into SLC and the This Is the Place Historical Park. I honestly can't remember what this building was, but I can tell you it was not open and there were no restrooms anywhere. I felt like I was going to burst but Sydney wanted a picture by the pretty pink house. 

Finally we found the main building and after paying the entrance fee (I practically tossed my credit card at the lady), we made it to the restroom. Once the pressure was off, we could finally relax and look around a bit. First we checked out the monuments, read the plaques and took in the view of the valley.

Then we headed into Heritage Village. Each building had someone dressed in period clothes ready to give a little history and talk about what life was like for the pioneers. The first stop we made was to the school where they wrote out Sydney's name in the desert alphabet. They had so many people from so many different countries, this was their answer to learning to read and write for everyone. 

Words were spelled phonetically in a way. It was kind of fascinating!

Next Sydney wanted to do the pony ride so we jumped in line for that.

One year as Reagan and I were headed back to BYU, Dad wanted to follow the pioneer trail. There was a spot at Martin's Cove where you could push a handcart and for whatever reason Dad wanted to take the long way. Whitney, Reagan and I learned a lot of respect for our ancestors (who were handcart pioneers) and decided once was enough. So it was with great reticence that I agreed to the following:

See the pioneer in the corner of the photo who looks like she's running away? Yeah, she gets it.

Especially when the terrain is like this.

Sydney was a sport though and really enjoyed her own handcart adventure. We had a little time left and there was a playground so we headed over there. I don't remember how or why, but I told Sydney she couldn't get off the zipline unless she fully landed on the other platform and man, that became a thing.  

We changed into our church clothes in the bathroom and headed to the Conference Center for the Sunday Evening session. Sydney had seen it on tv and she was so very excited to be there in real life!

We arrive early enough to sit at the front of the balcony which was a wonderful view. We got to see that camera moving around- it must be controlled remotely.

She wanted to wear both her CTR rings for the occasion.

As we walked in, my shoe had been feeling a little funny and I vaguely remembered the heel coming apart and using the glue gun to temporarily patch it. Not only was the patch not holding, it was getting worse and worse.

We also picked up that purple backpack at the Deseret Bookstore and Sydney was so excited to have it with her!

Even though the temple is under construction, she got to see this model of what the inside looks like.

There were so many interesting artifacts among the displays!

I thought this cut paper was so beautiful and I love how the framed box is a more natural, rough wood. 

Look how Sydney is just beaming! I love that I had this time with her.

We walked through Temple Square and thanks to the windows they have on the barricades, you can see the progress they are making. If you follow that beamed bridge across, it goes to the front door. It's so crazy to see how far down they have excavated!

This is when my shoe absolutely died. The heel completely separated from the shoe and I had to walk on tip toe. I thought I was doing a pretty convincing job until Sydney said I looked weird. 

Before heading out, we HAD to stop at the big fountain- I mean that is a must, right?

I was really excited to take Sydney to Bombay House for their butter chicken. Sydney is our pickiest eater- something we battle all the time- and so I also ordered the chicken tikka masala. Brent makes that at home all the time and the kids all love it. Sydney took one bite and proclaimed that Dad's was better which made me laugh. 

She did love the butter chicken though and I got her to try hot gulab jamun which is sooo yummy!!!

Before we headed back down the canyon, the gas was getting a little low so I stopped at a gas station. When I got out of the car, I couldn't figure out how to open the gas tank. I got back in and searched all around the door and the inside of the car. Nothing. I Googled it and read articles and even watch YouTube videos. The button that every article and video said should be there just... didn't exist. I was going crazy and I asked Sydney for help. She couldn't figure it out either and I thought we'd be stuck in that car forever (there was no attendant at this gas station). Finally it dawned on me that I might be able to push on the cover and it might pop open. Lo and behold, that's exactly what it did and I was able to successfully pump the gas. It felt like a victory after a long, long day. Phew!