Our son, Brandon, lives in St. George and we like to visit. The car cannot head south without Hadley and Elle on board, and this time Grandma Red decided to join us. For Christmas each year, Santa delivers some Tuacahn tickets for the week school is out, and Bran’s outdoor pool is open by then so as soon as the graves are decorated in Malad, we are on the road.

An added bonus this year, was baby Teagan, Taya and Brandt’s new little one, who we got to meet on our way down. This was the highlight of the trip for Grandma Red. In her book there is nothing like a brand-new baby to snuggle. That stop was an A+.

Next on the agenda was to get cross-stitch kits for the girls to limit screen time as we traveled. We stopped at a Michael’s, got the kits and were back on the road in a flash. Hadley lost her needle before we got to Fillmore. So now we had a rogue needle somewhere in the back seat and both girls were on the iPad. That’s not all bad, the trip was quiet.

We got to St. George, saw some plays, hung out at the pool and played Consecutive SkyJo, which is an adaptation of SkyJo with Evanson House Rules. We also went to Olive Garden one afternoon because as far as the girls are concerned there is nothing like a noodle. Our waiter was particularly good…not too over the top but took good care of us…until the very end. Then, Elle asked as we were leaving, “Where are the mints?” I didn’t realize she was such a fan. I told her we would survive, but as we headed for the door Chris, the waiter, appeared. Elle looked at me like do something. So, I said, “Chris, these girls really need a mint.” His response was quick, “Wait right here.” We did. He returned in a few seconds with more mints than Elle could carry in her two hands. You couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. The girls counted when we got to the car…24 mints! That made the whole trip a success…until the very end.

On the way home, Elle lost her needle. Now, two rogue needles in the back seat. The iPad became a point of conflict…one girl wanted it on all the time, the other was trying to limit screen time. We hit construction and spent 45 minutes going two miles. When we stopped for lunch, we went into Panda to get our food-to-go and left Grandma Red in the truck. Not sure how it happened but the truck alarm went off while we were inside. We got back to the truck quickly, but Grandma was a little rattled. We finally pulled into Malad about 4:00pm, unloaded Grandma, Brett picked up the girls, and Brent and I settled in for a quiet evening. Quiet evenings are becoming the definition of a Good Life.  Does that mean I’m old?