Fresh Junk

This last Tuesday Vinny had to go to Salt Lake City for some work thingy. Personally, I think they ate cake and took naps, but he says it was training. Whatev. Anyway, the kids and I decided to go with him. It was a short trip, but as usual we crammed in what we could.

We stayed with my mom, but were able to have dinner with Vinny's sister Jen and her family. We also got to see Vinny's cousins Felicia, and Misty as well as Misty's husband Dave and their two boys.

When at home, little K spends her days wishing someone in her family was dying to be snuggled and bottle-fed. So imagine her delight when this little guy came through the door! At just 7 months, he is still too little to run away from her, so she held him nearly the entire time. And I know we are family, but is he not the sweetest little man!?!

One man's trash is another man's treasure-- or more specifically, another man's shelves. My mom's friend had gifted her this busted-up, gigantic beast. It was in her basement, waiting for someone handy enough to put it all together. Enter Vinny. After getting all three pieces upstairs, he spent a few hours rebuilding it. When it was removed from its last home, it was taken almost completely apart. As usual, I was so impressed with Vinny. Not only was he amazing at getting it put back together, but who wants to do that for their mother in law on one of their only free mornings? Man I love him!

Here is a picture of how it looked after he had it put back together.

Then we (and by "we" I mean Vinny), made sure it was stuck for good. Oh, and if you look closely at the T.V., you will see that while Vinny was working his little rear off, the rest of us were playing Super Mario Brothers...from 1985. Are we supportive or what?

At last the finished product! We grabbed a few things from around her house and did a little decorating. And Voila! Oh, Vinny. You're the best!

Now for the oddest moment of the trip. My nephew Gabe had a few bucks burning a hole in his pocket and so he begged (and I am not kidding) my mom, sister, and me to go to D.I. with him. So we took Gabe, as well as the rest of the kids to spend a few dollars on total junk. Ridiculous, but all kids seem to love thrift stores.

While we were there, I saw one of the funniest things I have ever seen. A man dressed in a shirt and tie was pushing a cart, covered by a sheet, down the isle and probably 20 people were hovering around him like he was about to unveil the cure for cancer. Finally, he lifted the sheet to reveal....fresh junk. That's right, junk fresh from the pricing room. And the crowd was ecstatic. Rummaging through all the treasures. Fighting and throwing elbows. It was a thrift store madhouse! So of course I had to take a picture. I was a little late, so the crowd was dwindling, but you can still get the idea. Ah, D.I. what a place!

For all of you in Utah who are reading this and are about to post something like, "Why didn't you come see me? or "Hey, I live right there. You should have stopped by..." Please remember it was a short trip, so stop trying to make me feel guilty and for once maybe you should make the drive up here to Idaho. Oh burn! Ok, not really.