Taylor just returned home from the second annual backpacking trip he takes with his dad and siblings. I’ll get around to putting up pictures from this last trip in Escalante National Park (Utah), as well as the one last year in the Uintah Mountains (Utah).

We certainly missed him, but didn’t mind being on our own for a few days! This post is a note here to reference for future solo parenting events.

Biggest takeaway: the schedule worked best to have two outings everyday. Let the outside world, and not me, entertain my kiddos 🙂

For one day, we laid sod (which I picked up free off of Facebook Marketplace!) and colored during library storytime:

Went to the “fancy” car wash (an automated one), then hanging out with adult friends for the evening (who were also so wonderful to bring us pizza for dinner. Love you Beth & Joe <3!)

New couches were delivered (another score from Facebook Marketplace). Junior approves.

Dinner another night at Zupas:

Splurged on an afternoon to a water park. Note to self: don’t save the big activity for the end of the day… at this point you have zeeeeero energy. But the kiddos were pretty thrilled:

My grandma and dad took us on a field trip to This Is The Place Heritage Park. It’s a tribute / interactive outdoor museum of sorts that showcases life in the day of the Mormon Pioneers who moved into the Ute Indian territory in the mid 1800s. I loved learned about different types of smithing careers, such as blacksmithing or tinsmithing.

Some other photos from our outing:

Bought a couple buttons from the pottery artisan. I had no idea that buttons, especially the elegant kind, were fashioned from clay 😮

The miniature replica of the grounds was pretty impressive as well. There’s something about tiny figurines that is just so fun.

Yeah, we were pretty busy this week. Next time Taylor leaves for an extended trip, I definitely liked having a balance of splurge activities and also regular errands. This way I felt like a fun, organized mom, without having to sacrifice family business or acting as a cruise director for nonpaying customers. 🙂

So good to have Taylor home nonetheless though! ❤️❤️❤️