Annual Shopping Trip to SLC

This was only my second trip on the annual shopping trip. My sisters and mother have been doing this for about four years, but I jumped on the bandwagon, never to be left behind again. It is kind of mushrooming into a family-type reunion. (Last year, we spent three hours at Target's food court, trying to decide where to go for dinner) So this year, one sister and Mom missed the trip. We really missed them. But I got to drive my "new" used car to the big city for the first time. I've had it a week. I really enjoyed the ride. Plus my 17-year-old niece went with me. She was great company, and I liked her music. I'm not sure she was all that thrilled at spending three hours with her old aunt, but she hid it well. (By the way, I forgot to get my key back.) During the course of the weekend, I got to visit with my daughter, son and daughter-in-law and brother and his son, another brother and his girlfriend who all live in Salt Lake, my niece from Layton, my sister and another niece from Cedar City, another nephew from Cedar City who is currently living and working in Vernal, Katie, who rode out with me, and another niece and her husband and two kids who also drove out from Vernal. We managed to see two movies--"The Holiday" with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law, and "Stranger than Fiction" with Will Ferrell. I recommend both, but I liked "The Holiday" best. It was funnier and more light-hearted, and Jude Law is hot. We tried out a new restaurant called Cafe Med, with Mediterranean and Greek food. Really good. The last day, we ate at IHOP. And we even managed to get in a little shopping. May I just say that I love Tai Pan? I could shop there for hours. I bought a few things for the Christmas tree which is looking extremely lovely, I must add. The tree topper is growing on me. A few of us even managed to go to Temple Square to see the lights. It is quite spectacular as you can see from the picture. I passed this year but I try to go down there every few years to soak up the Christmas spirit. I got most of my shopping done, spend quality time with the fam, and spent too much and ate too much. All in all, a very succesful trip.