Rebecca and I meet right before we started kindergarten. We have stayed friends for 30 years, even though I moved away from Seattle before the 4th grade. We became roommates at Ricks. Needless to say we have MANY memories together. She is a friend that you can not see or talk to for months and you pick up like you see each other daily.
Now we are grown up, or we should be since we are in our 30s... She has 3 kids, I have 2 1/2. Actually, I have only seen her 3 times in like 6 years and I have been pregnant each of those times! Yikes we need a trip without my big belly!!
We decided months ago we needed a get together. She was driving through Utah and was going to be camping in Manti for the Pageant. So the kids and I joined her and her darling girls. This will be a trip to be remembered...and not exactly repeated..
Top: Alic, Max, Ruby, Lily
Left: Betsy (couldn't you just eat her up!)
So the campground is in town. LOL that should be your first clue... It was a nice big grassy field with NO SHADE. I mean NONE. There was a pool but it was tiny and very very cold.
We found the city pool on day one. We set up camp and planned to stay til close. After 1 hour, a child threw up and we were all kicked out for the day with passes to return. Passes are great but what do people do in Manti!!!
We attempted to nap in the heat and sun. Funny but we were the only family camped between Youth Conferences. I mean literally, we were surrounded. So during the day they had a rock climbing wall with a siren that went off every time someone made it to the top, so every 5 to 10 minutes. There was no napping going on. We decided to try the campground pool....it was soooo full of teens. I am so sad I didn't get a picture because it was comical. Not just teens being thrown in, but being thrown in while in lawn chairs. This pool is the size of backyard pools. This pool time was when my favorite quote of the weekend was said..."this is camping hell!" This was said as the youngest of the group was screaming but no one noticed over those teens... BUT there was shade at the pool and the kids did have fun. So we stayed until dinner.
I wish I had taken this picture a little later in the evening when all the tents were set up, this isn't as full as it got. This was tent city, made up of teens... Very loud, happy teens. Loud and Happy ALL NIGHT LONG.
One of Rebeccas friends, (who i blog stock faithfully due to her darling heart transplant baby.)
All the kids had a great time on the air mattress that had a hole.
You can't have youth conference without a DANCE. The kids were in heaven until 11 pm. Yep, this was not a sleeping vacation for us...
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| Max and I had no idea our tent made rooms. |
We were back to the city pool the next day. We got there at open and stayed til close. It was AWESOME. The kids had a great time and so did we!! This was very exciting for me because swimming clicked for Lily on this trip. She could have cared less where I was and had a ball.
Due to the pageant, there were food vendors everywhere. We ate a taco wagon one night. We actually never cooked a meal... we either ate out, had pb&j or the youth conferences donated food as apologies for keeping us up all night...
Mimi went home at the end of this day. They were all burned and had colds. We didn't blame her but we were sad to see them go.
Isn't this such a beautiful temple!! I love it! We never made it to the pageant. It started to late for my kids. Rebeccas parents came and took her girls the day we left.
So not the best place to get together but with all the craziness and issues, we still had fun because that is Rebecca and I .... we don't know how to do things without having fun. Although next get together will not be camping in tent city... I am thinking a cabin somewhere on a beach... with husbands to cook for us...
Her parents got into town before I left. so fun to see them! I am already missing Rebecca and can't wait to see her again!
