Memorial Day – Picture Heavy

So, Memorial Day was the last day of my trip home. It was a pretty good day. I spent the first half of the day my myself. It was nice to get out and do what I wanted to do. Usually when I go home it’s a flurry of friends and family wanting to do this and that and everything else. Can get a little hectic. So it was really relaxing to head out on my own and do my own thing.

Before I was able to embark on my little adventure, dad wanted me to proof his contracting bid. He owns his own lawn care business and was putting in a bid to do lawncare for some condo complex. It was fun to read through his bid and make minor adjustments. He and mom are trying to talk me into moving back home and being their accountant. lol. I told them all they have to do is scan me all their documents and I can do it from here. No moving required. haha.

After that, dad showed me his spiffy new riding lawnmower. The one he crashed into the side of the house. lol. It’s pretty cool. I got to drive it a little bit. This is me driving the lawnmower:

Finally, I was able to start my little journey. For the first bit, I drove around and took pictures of places I used to go. The first place I was was Charlie’s. Half the people I know worked at Charlie’s as their first job. It had the best subs and ice cream. When I was in elementary school, I used to go inside on my way home and get candy and a cup of water. lol. I only lived two and a half blocks north of the school, but when you’re in second grade, that seems like miles! Anyways, a year or so ago, Charlie’s was sold to someone and they changed it into a bistro. Yeah, didn’t last long. It’s been closed for a while, from what I hear. This is the ‘new’ Charlie’s:

The next place I went was my middle school. Last time I was there was about five years ago. I was working at an oral surgery center and they were paying for me to take Spanish classes at night. The classes were taught at the middle school. Actually, about the same time, I was also taking Russian classes in the evenings, too. They were also taught at the middle school. lol. This is Dixie Middle School:

This is just a cool view of the Temple. I was leaving the middle school and saw the Temple above the trees with the mountains in the background and thought it would be a cool shot. I like it. St. George has a lot of beautiful scenery.

I decided to take a little drive to Silver Reef  after a while. I haven’t been there since I was a little kid and I just felt like going up there. Here are some pictures I took of the scenery while driving down the freeway. I took about a thousand, but I’ll just post a few. If you want to see all of them, check out my online picture page. There’s a link on the right-hand side of this page. Anyways, here are the mountains:

This is the river we used to play in up in Silver Reef. We played in a shallow section of it that wasn’t more than a stream. It seemed a lot bigger when I was little. lol. I remember one time we had these really awesome water shoes and my brother and I were using them as boats and racing them down the river. One of us would run up the river and then let the shoes go. The other person was supposed to catch them when they got to a certain point. The game kinda ended when I missed his shoe on one of the runs. Oops. He was pretty mad at me. lol.

I decided that since I was up there and I had my camera, I might as well take some pictures of myself. I had a lot of fun doing that. I know, totally vain and conceited, but I was having fun just doing my own thing and not caring what anyone thought. Again, these are just a few of the pictures I took. They’re my favorites. lol.

Yes, my legs are very white. And, yes, the water was very cold.

These are some shots of the view from Silver Reef. When I was leaving, I saw this view and couldn’t leave without taking a picture. It’s breathtaking.

After my little adventure at the river (I spent probably two hours there), I went to lunch with my mom and sister. It was fun. I didn’t get a picture of my sister there, but I got a few of me and my mom. I have such a pretty momma.

After lunch we all went to the splash pad. It’s a little ‘water park’ thing. There’s a fake river, community flower beds and water sprayer thing that is kinda like the fountains at the Bellagio, only not quite as cool. lol. This first picture is actually the old 6th grade center. All the kids in the area went to the same school for 6th grade before splitting and going to different high schools. Well, they used to. Now they’ve changed it into a theater, school office buildings and one of the buildings got torn down to build the splash pad.

This is Judd’s. Every kid who was cool in 6th grade went to eat lunch at Judd’s. lol. It’s an old fashioned ice cream, soda and candy store. I’m kinda surprised it’s still in business, but not really because they people that own it are really cool. I grew up around the corner from them and they have always been really good people.

Me and my dad at the splash pad!

Sorry, dad, but I look better in your hat than you do! 😛

My sister, me, my mom and dad at the splash pad. Only thing missing is Chris! I miss my bubba!

After the splash pad we all went to Snow Park for a while. It was nice to just be able to swing and then sit on the grass and talk with my family. It would have been awesome if my brother had been there. Then we would have been complete!

This is me avoiding packing to go back to Oklahoma. lol. I decided it was much more fun to play with my new phone than to pack my little bag. But, eventually I had to do it.

After I got all packed, we went to a neighbor’s house for a barbecue. They made some awesome food! Grilled chicken, deviled eggs, layered dips, salad and a bunch of other stuff. It was way good. Too bad I didn’t get any pictures. Oh well. I will next time.

Sadly, I had to leave in the middle of the barbecue to fly back to Oklahoma. Usually I get all sad and mopey when it’s time to fly back, but this time I was ready. Not that I wanted to leave my family, but I felt ready to come back here and face my life. I’ve been on such a roller coaster since my divorce and have felt like nobody really understands how I’m feeling. It’s been hard to talk to people about it all because most of the friends I have here have never even been married and the ones that are married, only a handful have been divorced and I don’t quite have a relationship with them to where I can ask about their divorces and if how I’m feeling is normal. Both my parents have been divorced, so they understand. Maybe not every tiny thing I’m feeling and going through, but they have an idea. So it was nice to be around them. I love my parents.

Overall, it was an awesome trip. I had a really good time and it really helped me feel better. I wasn’t so down when I got back to OK. Family is definitely a good cure for being sad. Now, if Jill had been there, it would have been that much better! lol. I’ll be back over 4th of July weekend and will see her, Nate and maybe Jared along with a billion of my relatives for our family reunion. Yay! Can’t wait to go camping in the mountains for three days!