Baby it’s cold outside…
It’s fascinating to be in a place where the butter on the kitchen counter doesn’t melt and the salt is not all stuck together. The cereal stays crispy once the box is opened, items in the drying rack actually dry, and two minutes after rubbing lotion into my hands, it’s disappeared and I need another round. As we walk outside we follow a visible cloud of exhaled air, take cautious goofy steps to avoid falling on ice and find ourselves discussing when frost bite will set in.
When we arrived in Salt Lake City and exited the terminal to head to the car rental area, Aidan and Emma spotted snow and ran for it.
Emma gathered too cold snow into a snow ball, and threw it at her brother just to feel it disintegrate and settle all over her. She quickly told us that snow is colder than she remembers!
We spent a couple days in the Salt Lake area visiting our daughters, Ashley and Aundrea, and were also able to see some of my sisters kids. Being with family is such a beautiful thing.
It’s so interesting being back in the US after all this time. Everything is so spread out and so commercialized. Advertisements are everywhere you look, and constantly replay on the TV. There’s so much stuff. Everywhere! Huge stores of food. Piles and racks of clothing, and everything else that one does not need. It’s all there – everywhere, just dollars away. I listened to the kids talking in the hotel room…
Emma – ‘Is the tap water drinkable?’
Jude – ‘Yes, it’s all fresh’
Emma – ‘Really? We can just drink it right from the there? It’s available to everyone?’
Mycah – ‘Yep, it’s safe for everyone. What an amazing thought!’
Emma – ‘That’s amazing. Even poor people have water to drink. No one has to buy it. It just comes out fresh right there from the tap.’
Mycah – ‘Isn’t it amazing. So much fresh water.’
Emma – ‘I’m going to drink from it all day. If anyone needs me I’ll be by the tap. Drinking free, fresh water.’
I love that our children don’t take priceless gifts, like fresh drinking water, for granted. In so many places we’ve been and lived and explored, people are sick, they are dying, because they are so thirsty and dehydrated and desperately drink from polluted waters.
A glass of water. What a gift.
The creatures have been so excited to be back with Kjira. We are loving spending time with her and my sweet Momma. Jet lag is kicking our butts a bit, but we are adjusting as we visit with friends and family, drink Reeds Dairy Chocolate Milk, and venture out into daily highs of 7 degrees and other crazy numbers that should not be found in nature.
Beautiful new adventures are being embarked upon, memories are being made and we continue to draw closer still as a family. The creatures got really close yesterday as they tried to all fit into a photo booth!
Life it good. It’s freaking cold, but its good.
Adventures of a Tribe 