Paul and Stacy Jensen Family

Thanksgiving Weekend

A multi-post travelogue of our adventures in Utah.
Part V

By Monday, Alayna has gotten into a routine and accepted the fact that she shares a room with Cavell and stays up late at night without taking a nap during the afternoon. Stacy and I had almost adjusted our internal body clocks to the Mountain time zone by now and were preparing ourselves for a rude awakening when we traveled back east. But although Monday was our last full day in the state of Utah, we still had lots to accomplish.


Alayna had been looking forward to seeing two people the whole trip. She met Chloe on Sunday and was now chomping at the bit to reacquaint herself with her best friend from Utah, Jaycie. Jaycie is the daughter of Stacy's best friend Alinda and is the catalyst of communication. Although Stacy and Alinda do not email or phone each other as often as they would like, Jaycie and Alayna have a fairly regular pen pal relationship set up that guarantees regular mail between the two families.


Alayna and Jaycie got to spend a large portion of the day together playing with and near each other at the Stewart home. Alayna enjoyed playing with her friend and her friends cool toys. Stacy enjoyed spending the day with her friend and discussing their children (cool toys for big girls). Paul went shopping at the distribution center for things that can only be found in Utah.


Later that evening was the signature moment of the entire trip. Sure we justified the expense by saying we were flying out for Grandma's funeral, but the truth is we came all the way to Utah for the ice cream. The BYU creamery makes the best shakes I have ever put in my mouth. We were spoiled living so close to the center of goodness for so long. Stacy and I have tried in vain to find a decent shake in the state of Florida with no success. Every recommendation we have had for the 'best shake in town' has turned out to be soft serve ice cream blended with milk. I can get that at McDonald's for half the price.


The Creamery did not disappoint. We met up with the Onines clan for one last hurrah before we all traveled home. As expected, the Creamery is a crowded place on a Monday evening in Provo on BYU campus. Lots of 'family night' activities are centered around the consumption of ice cream. Stacy and I had the Chocolate Mousse Fudge flavor. There are so many flavors to choose from, but how can I resist the combination of mousse and fudge?


After our evening meal we completed the obligatory Onines Family Tradition #67 where gifts and other items are exchanged between vehicles after dark in the coldest weather possible while trying not to tie up too much traffic in the smallest and busiest parking lot in the area. Once all of the gifts, hugs, kisses, and good will were exchanged, we were on our way back to Minda's house to pack and prepare for our trip home.


What is the use of sleeping three hours before getting on a plane anyway? We woke up at 4am to get to the airport for our flight. The trip was fairly uneventful. We were experienced traveling pros now. Alayna was wearing her velour jogging suit just like all of the other chic traveling women in the airport and pulling her back pack on wheels behind her. I had learned how to carry the car seats more like a backpack, putting more of the weight on my back and shoulders rather than on my forearms. We had smooth flights back to Orlando and made it home just in time for bedtime.