Lauren, Jill, and I met in Lincoln when we were in the same ward while our husbands went to grad school. Jill's husband graduated first and they moved to Washington last year, and now of course my family is in Wyoming, so Lauren was left in Nebraska without us. Jill and Lauren are both from Idaho, and when Jill found out Lauren's family was traveling to Pocatello in June she hatched a plan to come surprise her! I am thrilled to live close enough to be able to sneak away for a very quick weekend. I left when Austin got home from work on Friday and was already home again 48 hours later.
We had a great time enjoying the local talent at the show. The best part was this dancing plate for "Be Our Guest." He looked so happy to be up there as a plate, and we got a hard case of the giggles haha.
We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant back in Pocatello with the most amazinggggg house guacamole. Chock full of cilantro, tomato, jalapeno, and Mexican magic. YUM.
My drive was delightful. Cheyenne to Pocatello is about 7 1/2 hours, and I was a little nervous that I would be too tired to drive that whole way since I didn't get to leave til around 4. Fortunately, I had a fabulous music session (Hamilton, John Williams greatest hits, "pop remix" playlist) and then after a quick taco in Rock Springs I started listening to my audiobook "The Hit." It's the second book in this series about a hit man, and it made for EXCELLENT driving listening. Kept me awake the whole time!
I got to Pocatello around 11 that night after a fantastic drive down Highway 30 in Wyoming and Idaho. It was so beautiful in the valley with mountains all around, especially at sunset. My soul was stirred and when I called to check in with Austin I asked if we could move to Idaho someday. Probably!
I got to the hotel where Jill had already checked in and we had a great time laughing and talking til way too late at night, blissfully aware that we did not have children near who would wake us up way too early. It was a treat to sleep in til 9! (We woke up briefly at 6:30 and rolled over again, reveling in the opportunity to just stay in bed.) We had a hilarious moment trying to open the blackout curtain when we were ready to wake up, and the sunlight was so unbelievably bright that we felt like Dracula in the sun. We laughed about that for the rest of the weekend haha.
We got breakfast (I don't even remember what the restaurant was called), grabbed some snacks at Walgreens, and parked at the playhouse. Lauren thought she was going to see Beauty and the Beast at the community theater with her husband Cam, but secretly Jill and I were there to surprise her. Cam was in on the surprise, and it was so fun to sneakily make the plan! We opened the door after they went inside and Lauren was stunned to see us! Our plan was a success!
These pictures are out of order...oh well. After the show we went to Deseret Book and Hobby Lobby quick, and then we drove to the Lava Hot Springs. I've never been there before but it's this little touristy city outside of Pocatello in the mountains with natural hot springs that you can go and soak in. The hottest one was over 116 degrees! We stuck with the one around 106 degrees. It was completely delightful and relaxing. We stayed there for almost 2 hours, reveling in adult conversation and no kids vying for our attention.
The bugs on the drive were insane! My car had a mustache when I stopped for gas.
These mountain views!! And I got to drive through Austin's hometown, Montpelier.
Jill was staying the night at Lauren's parent's house, so I dropped them both off after dinner before I headed to Salt Lake to stay at Grammy Bee's house with my parents. It was such a lovely day with these fun friends!! I haven't laughed that much in a long time. I'm grateful that our husbands took the kids for us so we could get together and make this happen. It was a lot of driving for just one day of frivolity, but it was totally worth it.
I picked up a cinnabon at the closest gas station and headed to Salt Lake with "The Hit" to keep me company. It was fun to chat with my mom and Gbee when I got there, and then really nice to sleep in a little bit the next morning. My mom and Grammy Bee had planned to come back to Cheyenne with me for a little visit, so the kids were double excited for me to get home since I had extra visitors with me.
It was so nice to get out and be independent! I love my family but I need Jessie time. I don't need a whole week off, or even a few days....even just the one day was perfect and rejuvenating. Friends, food, and mountains were the best companions for this weekend.
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