Last Saturday was Mantua's Little Valley Days celebration. We only got to go to the fireworks. Matt usually golfs in the tournament during the week (which they didn't even have this year because his dad wasn't there to organize it), we usually go to some kind of activity during the week, I run in the dam race on Saturday morning (which I LOVE), we watch the cute little parade, we have dinner up at the park where we watch fireworks, and then when it's dark, we watch fireworks.
We missed it all (well not the fireworks)--because we went to Idaho. Yup. Idaho.
The annual Twin Falls trip fell on the same weekend. It wasn't terribly fun. It's getting a little old (for me anyway). The older kids love it (Chloe and Port), Coop even loves it, and probably Ava does too. I have a hard time entertaining 4 kids for that long when you have to be out all day with only a hotel room to go "home" to. Ave is too little for movies, and, well, it's Idaho, so what else really is there? The shopping's not great, it's tough to take 4 swimming by myself, and it's too hot to do much outside.
This trip had an extra snag in it too. I want to preface this story by saying that I wanted to stay at the Hilton in the first place.
We booked rooms at a hotel that we've stayed at lots of times in years past. I didn't go last year on account of Ava being only 3 months old (and I just don't love golf trips that much). So I guess maybe it all went to H in the one year I didnt go? So we get in our room and it smelled a little iffy. Eh, sometimes they just do. Whatever. Not bad enough to be a deal breaker. Then, we're getting the kids ready for bed (showers and such), and we discover that the tub doesn't drain. Nice. We pull out the sofa bed, and there's trash under it. Gross! Then I start to wonder what else they missed in the room. I start to pull down the covers on the beds-looking to see if the sheets look clean. They didn't. I called downstairs to ask for clean ones. They front desk said it'd be about a half hour because housekeeping was on a break. Uh, ok. So I decided to go fill the ice bucket (you know me and my ice). I took the lid off, no liner, and it was wet inside, AND there was hair in it, AND the lid was dirty-straight dirty! OH NASTY!! So Matt and I started walking around the room looking to see what else was dirty. By then it had been close to an hour since I had called about the sheets. I walked downstairs myself with the ice bucket to show the girl at the desk and to ask if I could get sheets myself. She said they keep the sheets in a different place. I told her I have kids I have to get to bed (it was 10:30) and that I wasn't too happy about the wait. She apologized. I showed her the ice bucket. I told her I wasn't too sure the room had been cleaned. She looked at her computer and said it showed that it had. I said well the room says otherwise. She apologized. I thanked her for the clean ice bucket and went back upstairs. So about 15 minutes later (10:45 pm) the housekeeping lady shows up with "clean" sheets singing "doo duh doo duh doo" as I opened the door. Doo duh doo duh doo?? At 11:00 at night? When I called over an hour ago? And I've got 4 little kids who need to get to bed? Doo duh doo duh doo?
The next morning, after a HORRIBLE night's sleep for all of us, I got up at 7 to go for a run. I finally got to run down the canyon. I've wanted to for years, but never could because of tee times or babies or whatever. It was beautiful! I (sort of) ran past the big waterfall, I got to hear it and smell it, I ran past a lot of smaller trickling waterfalls. I loved it! I got back and was just about the step in the shower when I saw a bug crawling on the towel that was on the floor (that you step on when you get out). I yelled for Matt to come see it. I asked him if it was a bed bug. We yahooed it. I swear it was one! Matt squished it and put it in a cup. We were outta there! In a matter of 10 minutes we were packed and the hotel general manager was in our room trying to talk us into staying in one of their extended suites. What? Why, are the bedbugs smaller in there?? I told her thanks, but I think we'd be more comfortable somewhere else. (Like THE HILTON!!)
So that's where we went for our 2nd night, and it was much better. Matt kept saying how much better it was too, and that I should've listened to him and stayed at the Hilton. Ha! You'd think that after 10 years he'd listen to me in the first place, right?? :]
So the moral of the story: When in doubt, stay at the Hilton.
Other than the hotel ridiculousness, it wasn't bad. We went to Home Depot to look at house stuff, took Chloe shopping, took the kids to the smelly jumpy place (ohh it's nasty), and swam at the hotels. We missed Richard and Susan a lot on our trip. We missed them a lot during the whole week they were gone to the MTC. They came home yesterday for the night just to do laundry and pack a few more things, then they were headed out today for California for the whole 18 months. We miss them already.
Anyway, here we all are at the fireworks in Mantua. We had fun there. Matt didn't win anything in the raffle (he usually doesn't), but it's fun to try. Jennie, Jared & Sarah, and Amberlee & George were there, so that was lots of fun.
