I felt like Cade needed some one on one time to read a book with me and see some beautiful scenery. So we began to plan a trip. It went through MANY different iterations that went something like this: Yellowstone/Tetons (too much one on one time?) Coeur d’ Alaine with Aunt Alli (not enough one on one time) BYU Campus tour (just the right amount of one on one time but not as exciting as Yellowstone) Yellowstone (100 year flood closes Yellowstone) Tetons (where everyone goes if Yellowstone is closed, ie. too crowded) Looks like it’s BYU Campus Tour for the win!

Though it was not Cade’s first choice, it was an awesome trip. We had lots of driving time to read and discuss an amazing book-Digital Minimalism-I highly recommend it! Cade loved seeing BYU and the dorms where he’ll be living this fall. We also got to show him some of the beauties of the Wasatch Front. Overall, I’d say my mission was accomplished!

Monday:
Drove to Utah and wandered up Little Cottonwood Canyon, which I’d never seen before. WOW!!! It was so awesome Cade wanted to come back the next day to hike it.

Alli drove up to join us at the best Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake-The Red Iguana.

The night was young, so we hiked to the top of Ensign Peak for some amazing views of the valley.

Tuesday-BYU Bound
Cade totally loved the BYU campus. We found his dorm, the Cannon Center, found all his classes, ate at the Cougar Eat and shopped at the bookstore. And no trip to BYU is complete without a stop at the Creamery. Best ice cream ever!

For dinner that night we met up with Sarin at my other favorite place to eat in Provo-the Pizza Factory. Love me some long braided breadsticks.

As if walking around the entire BYU campus were not enough walking for one day, we decided to celebrate the longest day of the year by going on an evening hike up to First Falls on the Mount Timpanogas Trail. We were well rewarded. Not only was it a beautiful night and hike, but we got to see a MOOSE! They really do exist and are not, in fact, mythical creatures as I was beginning to believe! I caught a video of it because Levi and I have been looking for one for years! He was extremely jealous. I told him, “Hey, odds are you won’t have to wait as long as me to see your first moose.” That didn’t make him feel better.

And… the Non-mythical Moose!

Wednesday
We went to see some of the temples in the area, hiked the Temple Quarry hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon, ate lunch at In-n-Out and headed home.

I am really proud of this kid. He learned a lot from the book we read together and is trying hard to implement it in his life. He is doing a month-long digital declutter/detox, is taking up piano again, walking for hours a day, reading tons of books and making lots of great goals for his future.