Our Wonderful Week with the Wells Family

We love family! 

The next best thing to having family close by is having family visit from afar.  While Greg and Alesia have traveled to Salt Lake City multiple times, this April was the first time Aunt Janet came as well, coming all the way from Long Island.  As soon as the Wells's picked up their rental car, we met up to see Eli at West High where he was spending the Saturday with his Red Rock Robotics team. 

Robotics is Eli's passion.  He traveled all the way to Houston with West's team for the 2025 FIRST World Robotics Competition.  Their robot won most of their matches, ranking them 6th out of 75 teams in the Milstein division and earning them a place as one of the Alliance captains.  The only downside was that Houston overlapped with the Wells family visit.  Still, we had a great time following the competition from afar.  Here's a link to one of my favorite final rounds.  Even though they didn't win this one, you can see how fantastically their robot functions.  Look for the blue robot, 3006.

Despite the fact that Gregory and Janet were functioning on practically no sleep, we dragged them skiing later that day as well.  Come Sunday we hit the trails and hiked Ensign Peak with the Wilhoits.  Vacationing in Utah is rarely relaxing, but hopefully our antics are entertaining.

Adam made it to the top as well, having gotten a late start after dropping Eila off at Girl Scouts.

Gregory and Eli were great sports, charging up this second peak just because Anders wanted to.

That night we ate chicken broccoli casserole chez les Wilhoits.  The main course was tasty, but the homemade ice cream was exceptional.

The majority of Monday was spent at Primary Children's because Annika was getting an IVIG infusion.  She had to get labs drawn first, so we hung out for a bit to watch movies on the iPad and eat breakfast at the cafe.  Our friends Sonja and Hazel even joined us.

With access to therapy dogs, an X-box, and the entire food service menu, Annika didn't mind hanging out for the day.  I just wish I'd taken a photo of the very best part--when Alesia showed up as a complete surprise!  Like all of us, Annie was thrilled that she'd finally made it from New York.

Greg took off a bit early to go skiing and Jason had work appointments, so Janet, Alesia, Annika and I walked home from the hospital.  It was a beautiful day, even if our arms were full of stuffies.

Introducing Alesia to Zion.

That evening we met up for a hearty dinner at Santo Taco, then went to see Talia's art where it was displayed at the Marmalade Library as part of her International Baccalaureate art show.

I'll save the best pics of her art for another post, but still wanted to share the experience.  Talia, we are so proud of you and your beautiful creativity!

So many thanks to the Wells family for the beautiful flowers too.

Afterward, I conned everyone into taking photos in this courtyard by the library.  Looks like we have some Warrior Cats in our midst!

Got Jason, but we nearly lost Adam.

Winner winner chicken dinner, or at least close enough.  The littles were tired of fake-smiling, plus the light was running out.

Tuesday was zoo day, followed by a long drive down to Southern Utah where we were staying in Kanab.  Full disclosure, this drive was stressful.  Annika had been complaining of a bad headache all day long (we suspect it was a side effect of the IVIG infusion on Monday).  Loading into the car around 3pm, it was getting worse.  At one point we almost turned around because Zion National Park is far outside of Annika's two hour travel radius.  While we were driving a nurse called to check on her (standard procedure following visits to the Rapid Treatment Unit.)  When I told her what was going on, she suggested that if the headache continued to get worse, we should probably take Annika to the Emergency Department.  Needless to say, I was wracked with a guilty conscience the entire way down.  If there was an emergency, how in the world would I explain our location to her cardiology team?  Plus, the entire van suffered, both from Annika's failed deodorant and from the fact that we kept the middle seat next to her empty.  (This was primarily to let her rest more comfortably, although no one minded spacing themselves out from her stinky pits.)  Poor Janet was crammed in the back middle seat for hours!  And then to top things off, Annika puked.  This part could have been far worse--we caught it in a Ziploc and found a gas station right after.  Plus Annika always perks up immediately after throwing up.  Still, she was in tears again as we pulled into Kanab, complaining that her head felt like it was being smashed by a vice from every side.  As a nurse, I was imagining the worst with rising intracranial pressure leading to a stroke.  Being so far from medical care, I wondered if we'd made a poor choice.

Mercifully, Annika slept well that night and woke up in the morning feeling better.  We made it through the remainder of the trip without any major medical incident.  It was a relief to get back into the permissible zone without getting "caught."  Looking back, this was probably a good wake-up call for me.  As much as I love to travel, this experience satiated my desire to push the limits.  Annie's travel restrictions won't last forever, but while they do, I think I'm content to stay within bounds.

Also, just in case anyone was wondering, the trip to Zion was 100% my idea.  Jason had a work trip planned, and I asked if we could tag along, pitching the idea to Janet and co.  Would I do it again (knowing how everything ends)?  Absolutely!  But will I do it again while travel restrictions are in place?  Probably not.

Moving on, here we are waking up to a beautiful new day in Kanab.  This was the view from our hotel window.

Jason had to present at the Utah NAHRO conference on Wednesday so we dropped him off, then spent the day exploring St. George.  Here's Alesia drawing upon her inner cactus in the Town Square park.

The Northeasterners were surprised to discover that St. George has palm trees.

Rock hopping.

Becoming one with the sculpture.  Well-done, Alesia!

Keep trying Talia!

Annika lands on top.

And now for the totem recreation, hearkening back more than a decade to Ketchikan 2014.

Taking a tour of the historic tabernacle.  Not to brag, but the Wells's home on Woodbine Avenue is older.

Next, we headed to Snow Canyon for a picnic lunch and some hiking.

Definitely toasty.

Janet's sailing hat and Lake George tee make for some stark juxtaposition with the desert sand.  You'd be hard-pressed to find water here!

Oh wait, water!  This is a tank at the Red Hills Desert Garden boasting of rarely seen Virgin River fish.  I suspect they are rarely seen because the tank is rarely cleaned.

While the Red Hills Garden is surrounded by, well, red hills, these rocks are fake.

I think the cacti may have been introduced here as well.

Talia's expression is amazing.

Ascending the real red hills by Pioneer Park.  While I'm not sure that Janet's knees liked it, they still made it!

Worth it for the views.

Annika likes to be up tippy top.  Greg too.

Talia says the sun is so bright!

Annie and Alesh.

Barely a moment after Alesia asked if tumbleweeds actually tumble, one blew over and attacked her!  How's that for experiential learning?

Our next stop was Switchpoint where Jason gave us a tour of the housing project ASSIST designed.  It's always exciting to see these projects near completion, especially when they meet such an important need in the community.  I'll explain more about it when I blog their Open House.

After a Peruvian chicken dinner, we hopped back in the van for the drive to Kanab, taking the scenic route through Zion at sunset.  Some roads never disappoint.

The next morning it was off to Zion National Park for an adventure.  The park was surprisingly busy for a Thursday!  We managed to find a mostly-legal parking spot on the west side of the park, close to Zion Canyon overlook.  If you go through the tunnel, you've gone too far.

Okay, funny story.  Alesia uses a mineral-based baby sunscreen stick because it's the only protection that doesn't irritate her skin.  When she lent it to me at the zoo a few days prior, I had no idea that you needed to rub it in.  I started to walk around the zoo with oodles of thick white paste on my face!  Even after rubbing it in, it leaves your face a little paler than usual, as noted by the man who stopped Alesia on the trail to congratulate her for wearing sunscreen since this atmosphere is thinner up high!  

Working our way through the crowds.

Annika enjoyed watching the cheeky chipmunks.

Playing I spy.

Our whole happy gang!  Alesia, Greg, Talia, Annika, Kara, Janet, and Jason.  Brooklyn and Eli, we missed you!  (Uncle Jay too.)

Janet, thank you for coming.  Utah looks pretty great on you!

Just don't fall!

I know, I know, so many pictures.  It's just hard to stop when you are in such a beautiful place.

After this first hike, we drove through the park with the intention of finding a parking space at the Visitor's Center.  Easier said than done, but Jason succeeded!  Look at the intensity on everyone's faces as they watch the cars duel for a parking spot.

After a picnic lunch, we hopped aboard a shuttle to hike to the Emerald Pools. I still can't believe how busy it was on a Thursday!

Busy, but still oh-so-pretty.  Also, Talia apologizes for her hair.

Fun as it was, we turned around after the first pool.  After all, we still had a long drive back.

Alesia taking a picture of her Dad (carried in a locket.)

So much love in my heart for Zion.  I guess it's a good name for our dog--some days I need a lot of love to like him.  Speaking of which, so many thanks to the Wilhoits for watching him while we were away!

Collapsing after another long but fun day.

Ice cream at the Beaver Creamery on the way home, then treats at a coffee shop the next morning with NomiAnn and Papa Kay.  They surprised us all by driving until 2am so that they could see the Wells family before their flight home!  What a special treat.

Janet, Alesia, and Gregory, thank you for spending the week with us and the Wilhoits.  We love you all so much, and can't wait to connect again!