The beginning of last week was super fun when I was able to tag along with Ryan on a quick business trip to Utah. We were planning to leave Tuesday morning on a commercial plane and get back Wednesday evening. It would be an awful lot of flying considering we would only spend one night in Utah, but I was excited. I would get to see my parents, Ryan's parents and the beautiful mountains! A couple days before we were going to leave, Ryan told me the plans had changed and we would be leaving Monday now, but we could fly on the company jet. It made me laugh that these guys can just change their plans at the last minute without it affecting anyone, when I had to get on the phone with several people and try to re-arrange four children's schedules. I was supposed to be a chaperone with Lindsey's class to the zoo on Monday, and Logan had his last two soccer games that evening. It was a lot of work to get everything rearranged, but it ended up being worth it.
On Monday morning, Lindsey said she had a stomach ache and thought she might throw up. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me. I really didn't want to have to cancel all my plans, so when Brynlie offered to stay home from school to take care of her, I called the elementary school and told them both girls would be staying home. Not my finest mom moment, but I was determined to take my mini-vacation! Brevan headed off to school and I took Logan to his friend's house. I started to get a little nervous as I got to the small airport where the private jet is kept. I have always sworn I would not fly on that "toy plane." The friend who was watching Logan is married to one of the pilots who flies the plane, so I told her if the plane crashed then she would not only be a single mom but she would have to take in my 4 kids too, so she would be a single mom of 10!
The flight to Utah only took 2 hours! Literally from the time we got on the plane to the time we were in our rental car in Utah was only two hours. Within 5 minutes of getting on the plane with Steve T and Steve M, we were in the air on our way. No security checks. No lines. No waiting at all. I parked my car next to the plane and got on. The plane was stocked with food, drinks and the morning newspapers.
When the plane landed at a small airport in SLC, we got off and an SUV drove right up to us. Someone grabbed our baggage off the plane and loaded it in the car, and we were off. I called my Mom to tell her I was on my way to meet them at a restaurant. It was so strange to think I had been in Missouri just a couple hours earlier, and here I was having lunch with my Mom and Dad!
Ryan dropped me off at a Mexican restaurant where I met my parents. We had a wonderful lunch together while my Dad had a few hours in between clients. It was good to catch up with them in person, especially since my Dad has experienced some health problems lately that have reminded me he is mortal.
After lunch, my Mom and I went shopping for several hours. We stopped at Home Goods so I could buy a Mothers Day present for my mother-in-law, Thomasville Furniture so I could get a fabric sample of a leather couch I'm ordering, Downeast so I could get shirts that me and Brynlie needed, and back to my parent's house for some down time.
Around 6:00, my Mom dropped me off at PMI, which is one of the businesses where Ryan is a vice-president. I've never gone through the large building at the point of the mountain, so Ryan took me on a tour. Then we drove to Provo to meet up with our friends for a yummy dinner at Tucanos. We met Nate, Stephanie, Michelle, Jed, Sandy, Brian, Steve M and Steve T there. We had a private room in the restaurant where we celebrated Platinum Payment Systems (Ryan and Nate's company) reaching a large goal. Without a doubt, Ryan works with some of the best guys I have ever met. They are such fun, honest, respectful, hard-working family guys.
This is one of the open areas inside PMI. The picture doesn't do it justice, because the view of the mountains is incredible.
This is the SUV Ryan and I were given to drive while in Utah - a Cadillac Escalade. Uh huh, I could really get used to this life.
The outside of the PMI building. I forgot to take pictures of the PPS building.
I took this beautiful picture while driving to the restaurant. I miss having this view outside my windows!
After the fun dinner, Ryan and I bought some chocolates to take home to the kids before heading over to Nate and Stephanie's house. They live in a gorgeous home on the mountainside of Salem. I finally got to meet their four darling girls - Ashley is 14, Cali is 11, Whitney is 8 and Chelsea is 6. They are almost the exact same age of our kids, so we are excited for them all to spend time together this summer at Lake Powell! We stayed up late making plans for the trip before sleeping in their guest bedroom at night.
In the morning we drove to the Sandy area to have breakfast with Roy and Bonnie at Mimi's Cafe. I loved being able to hug each of our parents and tell them how much I love them..
Then we headed back to the airport for our quick flight home. This is the 7-seater company plane.
While in flight, one of the pilots told me to take his place in the cockpit with the other pilot (who is named Bob Barker - no joke). What a trippy experience! Bob gave me an hour-long flight lesson at 39,000 feet! These little planes fly higher than the commercial airliners, so it was crazy to see large planes flying down below us in the clouds. Bob explained the purpose of each button and had me decipher what I heard on my headset from the control towers. For someone afraid of heights, it was crazy how calm I was the whole time! The only time I got a little nervous was when we had to fly around a group of clouds that were producing lightning. It was strange to see my steering wheel move and feel the plane turning.
This was my view out the side window!
What a perfect mini-vacation! Now that I saw firsthand how spoiled Ryan is when he travels, I will have to work him extra hard every time he gets home!
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