With Christmas over and our boys still home from school we decided it was now or never. So we grabbed the boys, packed the coats and took off to Salt Lake City. Since it was more spur of the moment, we figured we would grab a bite to eat with one of the numerous restaurant coupons we had in hand. The trip turned out great!
The last time we went to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights it was very crowded and we were concerned about keeping the family together in such a crowd. But one of the benefits of going during the week is that the crowds tend to be much smaller. We were able to walk around most of the grounds as a family, not just a bunch of ducks in a row.
The boys loved to see the lights. We stopped to see most of the significant statues and monuments on the grounds for small "teaching moments". At one point we lost track of Quinten who had wandered off but David was quick to find him. The second half of the grounds visit went quickly due to the late hour and we still wanted to at least see everything. So we walked past the numerous nativity scenes, around the manger scene in the pond, past the Assembly Hall and with a token glance at the full nativity scene by the Tabernacle we completed our visit and headed to dinner.
For dinner we stopped at Village Inn. We had a coupon that would get a kids meal free with the purchase of an adult entree. When we asked if they would honor the coupon the manager came out and offered us an even better deal. I don't think I could explain it again and it took the manager at least 3 tries to help us figure out what the deal was. In the end we paid for 2 entrees and a couple of drinks but got more than enough food for everyone! Whatever that deal was it turned out to be a great deal for us!
We didn't get home until nearly 10 pm despite our early departure from Provo but it was an excellent adventure and a great memory for our family.
(Posted 1/23/12)
