Visits with the Past

With very little on my agenda these days, and with very little in this big, empty house to distract me, Drew dropped me off with Christie, Topher, Maddie, and Caroline yesterday on his way to work, so I could tag along while they do what they do. Yesterday was $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point, so we loaded up and headed to the Museum of Ancient Life to check out the dinosaurs and such. "Ancient" is a difficult concept for anyone, but it's especially fuzzy for those under five. When you've been around for such a small fraction of the earth's history, it's kind of hard to grasp what happens over millions and billions of years and what it might mean for the continents to move and glaciers to form and the dinos to disappear. Still, there were plenty of things for Topher and Maddie and Caroline (and Christie and I) to ooh and ahh at in the museum, and I'd say the morning of educational entertainment was well worth the price tag.

Our first encounter with life of the morning. I somehow managed to convince Topher not to step on it.
I can't say so much for the other little destructive demons waiting in line at the museum.

These rocks alone were probably worth the admission price, even though they were free.
They promised hours of entertainment.

Watching the paleontologist do his thing.

A little unsure of the build-your-own-dinosaur activity. Honestly, I think they were more unsure
of the other crazy kids that were repeatedly pulling its head off.

Again, there are hours of potential entertainment here.

Maddie found the build-your-own-canyon activity to be "ewww". Topher was all for it. 

Topher's favorite - Megaladon. "Show this to Mimi!", he said. So, Mimi, this one's for you. 

After the museum there was a trip to Etta's lovely new home, lunch at Chick-Fil-A, and naptime (or laundry time for those of us who have - sadly - outgrown naptime). When Drew got back from work, we stuck around for dinner with Christie and Tyler, partly because it was 5pm and traffic on I-15 would have been horrendous, and partly because our access to high-quality dinners is currently limited by our residence in a very empty house with a very empty kitchen (and partly because we like Christie and Tyler).

Once we arrived back in Pleasant Grove, we headed to the park. With Etta's house on its way to new ownership, we figured we had better spend some final time in the setting of some important life moments for us. What now seem like defining conversations occurred one mountain summer on these swings and slides when we were wee 16-year-olds, and 8 years later, we officially agreed to become engaged to be married in one of this park's alleys (much to Drew's chagrin, it was the only available spot in the entire valley that day).

Everything about our lives is a little unusual right now, and it all promises to change drastically in the next few weeks and months. A lack of employment, our own home, silverware that is not of the plastic variety, and a recycling bin have created bothersome shifts in our typical way of doing life - some more major than others.  Thankfully, we're young, unattached (other than to each other, of course), and relatively responsibility free, so this fluid, unpredictable modus operandi is okay for us for now. On the days when our adventure in flux is more annoying than exciting, we're lucky to have the constancy of each other, which makes up for all of it (even the gaping hole left by the lack of a recycling bin) and gives us a perspective that helps us savor this weird little moment together in our little bit of time on this big, old earth.