There's Nothing to Do in Pocatello

And that's the way we like it.  After all the adventure of Bear Lake, we needed a place that involved not getting in the car more than once and eating really good food.  That would be my parents' house.  We did have a traditional dinner (it was 4:00 in the afternoon and we usually eat at 6:30, so is that something else?) at Golden Corral with my Grandma Shirley and Grandpa Curtis.  As is also tradition, Grandma and Grandpa arrived an hour early so that Grandma could do all her eating and then talk while we're eating.  (They devised this plan years ago after many meals at Golden Corral that ended up lasting more than three hours.)  Grandpa Curtis took his turn holding a baby while we ate and Grandma Shirley would caress a baby arm or hand while she talked.  It was pretty adorable.  We took our party to the Park in the Mall after dinner to watch Bridget play.  The babies blew right through nap time and Brian and I had to get a little creative to keep them happy.  Fortunately for all, it's fun to watch the babies crawl all over each other.

Bridget loves Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Bob's house.  There is a box of dollies, a box full of scarves and jewelry, purses, cradles, a dolly high chair.  Heaven!  She slept on a blow up bed in Grandma's sewing room and watched movies to her heart's content.  (We all watched "Pollyanna" together.  Ever since then Bridget has wanted to talk about the movie with the girl who fell out of the tree.  Spoiler alert, I guess.)  Mom and I went on a walk and she asked a neighbor for a few hollyhock blossoms.  When we got home, she made dolls out of them with Bridget.  They made them dance and twirl at a ball for a little while.

The babies didn't have as many things to play with, but they did have space to roll around.  I think they especially enjoyed my tour of the important spots in Pocatello from 5th, 6th, and 7th grade for me.  (Here is the school where I tore my pants during a "run and tumble" race.  That's the house where Aunt Jennie and I would sneak out and go meet our friends to toilet paper one of our other friend's houses.)  We ended our short tour by showing up at the LDS Institute on ISU's campus just as Grandpa was getting ready to come home from work.  In true vacation and Pollyanna-inspired style, we had steak and ice cream at Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Bob's house. :)

Brian and Emil watched Grandpa make steaks.  He is an artist.