Rainy Adventures

So Greg was home sick today.
Which meant I either needed to leave the house, or spend the day glaring at him as he relaxed in bed and I cleaned up accidents and made meals. (I love him, and was sweetly doing the cold wash clothes, fresh water and hand holding last night . . . but once he's actually done vomiting and the body shakes have subsided, I kinda can't help but stare at him thinking, "Wimp. You've been asleep for 18 hours and haven't thrown up in 12. There are dishes to be done . . . " But, since I understand that he needs his rest, and I need to not start resenting his fourth straight hour of playing the Nintendo DS, the best bet is for the girls and I to find some out-of-the-house-activity to occupy us.) :-)
But then there's been the rain.
The nonstop, never ending, downpour that has made it nearly impossible to go to the park or even play in the backyard for nearly a week now. So, when my Mom called and told me she was supposed to go pick up my sister Talina from work and take her to the airport, I quickly volunteered for the job. Talina could leave work anytime after noon, and didn't have to be to the airport 'til after 3PM; and with the University Hospital, where she works, being practically right next door to the zoo, it seemed a pity not to stop in. So, Annie, Ellie, Talina and I went to the zoo. Despite the storm clouds and cold temperatures. And really had a great time. Around the time we were riding the carousel, the rains came. It was wet (and cold.) We decided to take refuge in the dry, warm, (smelly), reptile house. Where Ellie fell head over heels in love with meerkats. We killed some time, hoping that the rains would die down, but boy were we mistaken. The rain had picked up, and there were little lakes and raging rivers of water along all the pathways. I even think I started noticing the animals pairing off. We had brought in one umbrella. I proved to be a wonderful mother and sister, as I had Talina take Ellie and the umbrella and start the long trek back to the gate. Annie and I made a run for it. And got soaked. I tried using Annie as an umbrella, but she was an especially wiggly, giggly umbrella, and utterly useless in keeping my hair dry. We both utterly enjoyed splashing in puddles and getting wet. It's the kinda moments I sometimes miss out on, trying to be the 'Mom' and keeping everyone clean and dry and pristine. It made me want to go make a mudball or something. I loved just being silly, and wet, with my little girl. We eventually made it back to the van, and started the next leg of our journey.
Talina and I had googled 'cupcakes Salt Lake City' before leaving today. I've been wanting a good cupcake, and wanted to check out some of the places I've heard raved about online. So, we hit not one, but two, cupcake shops. The first was actually a regular bakery, and Talina, Annie and I split a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. Talina and I were less impressed. Call me crazy, but cupcakes should be sweet. Or at least flavorful, lemony, tart or something. We thought it was bland. Well, almost bitter, but mainly bland. Annie on the otherhand may still be off somewhere licking her hands, the bakery box, the cupcake liner, anything that has some chocolate stuck to it. Glad at least someone enjoyed the $3 cupcake. (Actually, when I ran into the bakery from out of the rain, and saw some of the prices, I almost turned around and went back to the van, but felt stupid just leaving, so ended up buying our most expensive, and least impressive, cupcake from that bakery.)
Our next stop was at Mini's Cupcakes. The rain had kicked it up a notch. Something I wouldn't have thought possible. So, I rushed through a downpour that would've caused Noah to have flashbacks. But, it was worth it, 'cause this one cupcake was a Madagascar Vanilla Bean cake with cream cheese frosting that I would've braved snow, sleet or hail for . . . and I used my own body to shield the precious cargo (i.e. the box with the cupcakes in it) and I arrived safely back to the van to my waiting sister and children. It's like 6 hours later and my shoes are still wet, and my hair is freakish in it's frizz, but those cupcakes were so good.
We still had a little time to kill, so we did a little shopping. Where Annie made up a new song, she loudly and proudly sang in the middle of the bookstore. It went something like, "We're going to the potty! Going to the potty! Mommy and Annie need to go to potty training!". Then, after several customers and employees got a kick out of my daughters antics, we headed out and took Talina to the airport, ditched her and started to head home. When Annie suddenly announced she had to pee. Now. We were just a few minutes from my grandparents house, so I told Annie we'd stop there. And then she proceeded to have a complete meltdown. She screamed that she wouldn't pee anywhere but at her own house, but I was trying to point out that we were still aways from home. And since I didn't want her to have an accident in the carseat, I stopped at their house anyways. She wouldn't leave the van willingly, screaming bloody murder the entire time I was carrying her into their house. Yeah, that's not embarassing or anything. Hello my grandparents neighbors! Anyway, so we get inside, I sit her down and try to 'talk' to her. I give her the following 'option'. She could go use the bathroom here, or we could take off her panties and she would have to wear Pull Ups for the rest of the ride home. I thought I had her over a barrell on this one, 'cause the kid has not worn diapers or Pull Ups since her birthday over three weeks ago. "OK," she said, taking off her pants and panties right there in my grandparents frontroom as her tears magically ceased, "give me the Pull Ups." Crap. That didn't work. But then again, nothing would get peed on, so it wasn't a total loss. (Note: Peeing at Grandma's or Great Grandma's bathrooms, no freaking way. Peeing in gross gas stations restrooms, grocery store or Walgreen's bathrooms, totally cool. Weird.) We stayed and played at my grandparents house for awhile, before getting a call from my sister Talina at the airport that she had not gotten on her flight (stand by), and could we come pick her up. She promised a Cinnabon for my efforts, and I got there as soon as I could, exclaiming it was the best souvenir I've ever received from someone who didn't actually go anywhere. (It is still in on my counter though, waiting 'til later. I have basically had like 2 and a half cupcakes already today.) At this point though, Bangerter heading South was a complete nightmare, so my genius idea was to head way west, and head South on 8400 West. Of course, I don't really know where I'm going up by the airport, so I hopped onto I-80 Westbound (hoping I'd somehow, magically, hit 201 that way. You do not hit 201 on I-80. Which makes sense if you think about it. Which I obviously didn't.) So, we headed West, until I was pretty confident the only option was to turn around, head down Bangerter and find the actual 201 onramp, and not the fabled one we'd left civilization in search of. But then at the exit we took, it really looked like if we just headed South, we'd end up where we wanted to be. So, we headed South. Even once we were no longer on actual pavement, we just kept going South. Annie thought this was the coolest thing, loving the bumps and the mud, exclaiming, "Our van is getting so dirty!" At one point we were like, "Hey, look, it's the backside of the dump!" Then we followed a truck that was covered in mud, and swerving to hit all of the puddles, until we made it back to 5600 West. Just a minute or two from where we'd started this adventure 20 minutes ago. It was a more scenic route though. And Annie liked the seagulls. And we did eventually get home (after one, possibly two, more wrong turns on my part, but I'm not admitting to that.) It was a fun day, and by the time we got home after 6PM, Greg had even gotten up and showered (and nearly finished his Zelda game, from the looks of it.) The girls were wiped out, and ready for bed. All in all, a good day.